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I Idled in an Electric Car for 12 Hours in the Freezing Cold to See What Would Happen
Inside Hook ^ | 20 Jan 2022 | ALEX LAUER

Posted on 01/21/2022 1:10:37 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT

BY ALEX LAUER @ALEXLAUER After a winter storm left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95 in Virginia earlier this month, many for over 24 hours, we were left with plenty of questions. What went wrong on a governmental level that led to this? How could similar traffic shutdowns be avoided in the future? What should we be carrying in our cars in case of an emergency like this?

The most perplexing question of the bunch was a hypothetical one: what would have happened if all of these cars — stuck on icy roads in the snow in temperatures that dropped down to the teens — were electric? Well, it was posed as a hypothetical question, but most of the people who asked it perceived it as a rhetorical one; the implication was that if I-95 was full of EVs, the outcome would have been a catastrophe of dead batteries, stalled vehicles and frozen occupants.

It’s easy to make an argument against electric cars in extreme cases like these, partially because the technology is so new and thus easily misunderstood, and partially because, as we have previously discussed, EVs do indeed fare worse in freezing temperatures than in warmer weather (as do internal combustion engine cars). But to see whether there was an argument to be made in defense of our supposed electrified future, I did something a little more difficult: I idled in an electric car for 12 hours to see what would happen.

(Excerpt) Read more at insidehook.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Travel
KEYWORDS: clickbait; electriccars; electricgrid; electricvehicles; evdreamers; toastie; umicorms; unicornfarts; unicornfartz
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

—”We don’t have the electrical infrastructure for batteries anyway, not even close.”

SIMPLY WRONG!

The average daytime load is half of the peak output.
The nighttime load is half of the daytime load.

And while you are ciphering do not forget a diversity factor...

PLS Show your work.


121 posted on 01/21/2022 3:40:23 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: dragnet2

A fun reply but avoided the issue.


122 posted on 01/21/2022 3:41:49 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

You have no clue what you are talking about.

The bulk of electricity is made from fossil fuels / coal anyway.


123 posted on 01/21/2022 3:42:58 PM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (Let's go Brandon)
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To: dragnet2

—”And their durable and much cheaper to repair than an auto transmission.”

Mostly true unless some dodo ride with his hand on the shifter and wears out the synchros... and the clutch riders...


124 posted on 01/21/2022 3:48:08 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: nesnah; dragnet2; setter

See reply #121

Outside of NY and California more than enough for the 2~3 % of sales.

As a kid only the movie theaters were air conditioned.

Somewhere late 1960s-70s; everyone had air conditioning!

No blackouts?
Over the decade there was a build of the grid.


125 posted on 01/21/2022 4:00:01 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“That’s true. If you turn the car off at 20 or 30 below zero and the oil turns to gel, you may not get it started again.

Dude, everyone knows you drain the oil and take it into the Igloo with you.


126 posted on 01/21/2022 4:05:11 PM PST by dljordan
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To: dznutz

—”I thought the internal combustion vs. steam vs. electric question was settled at the inception of the horseless carriage.”

Similar to how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

A reductio ad absurdum challenge? mental exercise?

“Drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.”
Or post an EV positive article...


127 posted on 01/21/2022 4:08:08 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: The Great RJ

—” Could you keep the windows clear when creaping along in below zero weather and you needed your lights and wipers?”

I have heard it can get cold in Norway?

“OSLO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Electric cars made up nearly two thirds of Norway’s new sales in 2021, with Tesla the top selling automobile brand overall, as the country pursues its goal of becoming the first to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars.”

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-t...


128 posted on 01/21/2022 4:11:23 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

—”In the future when my ass emits sunshine and rainbows the world will be perfect.”

Just keep that thought in mind; for it appears to be all you have.


129 posted on 01/21/2022 4:14:22 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: Little Ray

Yea, that test was cute but not real world. I was in the Virginia traffic debacle. All in all, it took me 24 hours to get from Baltimore to Charlotte, including a few hours of sleep. I had winter gear so the engine was off while I slept for 5 hours or so.

Were the lights on the whole time? Just heating footwells is not heating the car. Did he include revving and getting out of being stuck in the snow? I had 4WD so being stuck was no big shake but some others did get stuck?

How about 50 miles of power outage so if there was a problem, there’s no opportunity. That’s 42% of the total charge at 100%.

And in my case, I was about 80 miles into the trip before I had any inkling of a problem until I saw brake lights


130 posted on 01/21/2022 4:15:32 PM PST by cyclotic (I won't give up my FREEDOM for your FEAR)
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To: teeman8r

See my post 130. That was my exact scenario. When I hit traffic I was at about 1/3 tank. I left home north of Baltimore intending to fill up and eat lunch as soon as I got out of Northern Virginia.

When I hit traffic, even at less than 1/3 of a tank, running out of gas seriously was never a remote concern. Even after ten hours of sitting and idling, I still had about 1/4 tank. V8 F150


131 posted on 01/21/2022 4:21:24 PM PST by cyclotic (I won't give up my FREEDOM for your FEAR)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

This experiment took place during the day. Was it cloudy or sunny? It makes a big difference.


132 posted on 01/21/2022 4:25:39 PM PST by Romulus
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To: cyclotic

https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-861-february-23-2015-idle-fuel-consumption-selected-gasoline-and-diesel-vehicles


133 posted on 01/21/2022 4:27:37 PM PST by nascarnation (Let's Go Brandon!)
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To: Romulus

—”This experiment took place during the day. Was it cloudy or sunny? It makes a big difference.”

YES!!!
Solar gain even under clouds...


134 posted on 01/21/2022 4:27:45 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

“We don’t have the electrical infrastructure for batteries anyway, not even close. Talk about it again in 20 years.”


Our electrical infrastructure increases every year. It went up 6% from 2020.

The average American home uses less power than 20 years ago. Energy saving appliances mostly, improved insulation, people restoring old homes replacing single pane windows with double insulated, led bulbs and lastly people are more conscious about not wasting as electrical prices have increased.


135 posted on 01/21/2022 4:40:38 PM PST by setter
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To: kiryandil
Highways could imbed an inductive charge rail into the center of the right lane. (Charge while you drive along).

ICE cars can pass freely in the left lane.

136 posted on 01/21/2022 4:41:35 PM PST by Does so (Americans had no desire for war between 1939 and 1941. Rheinland? Sometimes...War Finds YOU!)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

I bet you were all in on the metric system too when “they” tried to force that down our throats.


137 posted on 01/21/2022 4:46:25 PM PST by dznutz
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To: dznutz

Do you seriously believe that using an irregular system of measures that dates back to various king’s body parts is better than the metric system, based on multiples of 10? The push to change was in the 1970’s. I don’t know which influential American groups stopped it. Only three countries in the world, the USA, Liberia and Myanmar, still use the imperial system.


138 posted on 01/21/2022 4:53:14 PM PST by Freee-dame
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To: Freee-dame

In the automotive industry here in the US, pretty much everything switched to metric by the 90s.


139 posted on 01/21/2022 4:56:15 PM PST by nascarnation (Let's Go Brandon!)
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To: dljordan

LOL. Do you sleep with it in a bottle by your warm body?


140 posted on 01/21/2022 4:59:12 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (81 million votes...and NOT ONE "Build Back Better" hat)
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