Dr Bevc is an Electrical Engineer living in Damville, California. Email: akobevc@sbcglobal.net
Electric cars are an energy hoax!
In conclusion, the proponents of electric vehicles clearly think that electricity comes from magical holes in the wall.
Because a good percentage of these short-distance vehicles will be used to commute, half the recharge will happen in the employers’ parking lot getting ready for the return trip. First off there’s the cost of building that infrastructure and then the cost since the electricity used will be billed to the employer at commercial rates.
Exposing the deception WRT electric cars.
The batteries last 100,000 miles at cost 8K according to the article. My 02 Chevy SUV has 112K on it and has had to have some parts related to the drive train replaced.
If you want to dive the Volt past 100K you need to replace all the batteries. Has anyone calculated the impact of that on the environment verses a few parts on a traditional car, besides the much lower cost.
Spreading the wealth:
PG&E also has an experimental tariff designed for users of electric cars through which all of us are subsidizing electric vehicle owners.
But how are corporate subsidies any different? I would note that the Constitution talks about tariffs, but does not seem to drop any hints that taxpayers' money should be used to benefit certain businesses over other businesses.
I'm not 100% opposed to taiffs. I think they have their place. But I am opposed to subsidies.
Electric vehicles would find no welcome in the marketplace if the government did not heavily subsidize them. It's just a bad business.
For example, there is no mention of such items as "comfort" costs. Will the Chevvy Volt be air-conditioned? If so, how will that affect the energy cost per mile traveled? How many kilowatt hours will be required to cool a vehicle to, say 75 degrees, in sunny California where the external temperature is, say 90?
Other things, like heaters in colder weather, which must be electric because there is no heat generated automatically by the engine as in a gas-fueled vehicle. Anyone with electric heat in a home knows the cost of this. How would electric heating affect the Volt's mileage?
“Particularly unreasonable is the hint that electric vehicles while parked in employee parking lots could be running their gasoline engines to feed energy it back to the network.”
What????
Who (what idiot) thinks employees are gonna run their engines, using their gas, to feed energy back into the system? Furthermore, leaving you car engine running all day is rarely a good idea, except in maybe really cold climates.
Even the idea of employees recharging their batteries at work is not gonna please the employer. His higher utility bills will ultimately force him to charge for a charging.
i bet there were electric “car” prototypes before the internal combustion ones. the unfettered free market therefore has already told us that electric cars couldn’t be as efficient, but it’s nice to see it proven analyically here. thanks to the author and for this post. this is why it’s great to be an engineer.
Promises are best bought cheap.
‘Chevy Volt has a 435-pound battery costing $8,000 which wears out after 100,000 miles.’
I remember when Insinkerator came out with their residential model. It cost about $250.00. Not much difference than to days price, but the average hourly wadge was $.55 per hour.
“At heating value of 3 kWh/lb, 1.3 pounds of coal is needed to generate 1 kWh. As coal is 80% carbon 3 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted in generating 1 kWh of electric energy. “
Can someone please explain to me how 1.3 pounds of coal produces 3 pounds of carbon dioxide.......It just doesn’t sound right....
The only chance that Electric Cars might be feasible is the availability of cheap plentiful nuclear generated power. As of now electric cars run on coal.
The ‘article’ is full of false and misleading statements. Two thumbs down.
“Electric power plants supplying energy require from 3.5 to 4 kWh of thermal energy to generate 1 kWh or electrical energy. “
False. Coal plants are about 2.5:1, gas plants are about 1.7:1
“Reader Coughlan (CCT, November 13, 2010) correctly pointed out that at residential electric rates of 40 cents/kWh “
PGE top tier rates in the Bay area are about 30 cents per kwh. If yo go to smart meters and off-peak (it could be MUCH less).