Posted on 01/28/2011 8:25:48 AM PST by Second Amendment First
Count me among the many thousands of Washington area residents who spent Wednesday night stuck in traffic as a snowstorm sowed chaos all around us. Being car-bound in sub-freezing weather for six hours can make a guy think. I counted my blessings. The situation could have been worse, I realized: My fellow commuters and I could have been trying to make it home in electric cars, like the ones President Obama is constantly promoting, most recently in his State of the Union address.
It is a basic fact of physical science that batteries run down more quickly in cold weather than they do in warm weather, and the batteries employed by vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Volt are no exception.
The exact loss of power these cars would suffer is a matter of debate, partly because no one has much real-world experience to draw on. But there would be some loss. Running the heater to stay warm, or the car radio to stay informed, would drain the battery further.
Here's how thecarelectric.com, a pro-electric Web site, candidly summarized the matter:
"All batteries deliver their power via a chemical reaction inside the battery that releases electrons. When the temperature drops the chemical reactions happen more slowly and the battery cannot produce the same current that it can at room temperature. A change of ten degrees can sap 50% of a battery's output. In some situations the chemical reactions will happen so slowly and give so little power that the battery will appear to be dead when in fact if it is warmed up it will go right back to normal output. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Sounds like a great time for a group hug
You clearly need high speed rail.
Or stick a sail on the roof and use free wind power.
A new word can be introduced for all the people who freeze to death in their electic cars when they cease working...
Voltsicles
Well if the rest of the world isn’t going to let Americans have air conditioning, they probably aren’t going to let us drive in cold weather either. /s
if it is warmed up it will go right back to normal output. .
...Which might keep you warm and informed for maybe a couple of hours.
If God had meant for man to have electric cars he would not have provided oil in unlimited quantities.
Can I ask a stupid question about electric cars?
Why do the batteries run out of juice so quickly?
In a gasoline powered car, the battery which starts the car is recharged when the engine is running. The engine generates power and recharges your battery as it’s running. Why couldn’t the same happen in an electric car? I’m always puzzled about how you have to recharge an electric car overnight and stories about only running 100 miles or so before you have to recharge.
I know it’s a stupid question, but, if electric car batteries could recharge as you drive the car, as the battery does in a gasoline powered car, a lot of big issues with electric cars would be solved right there.
Then again, it shows the limitations of technology, and that there’s still lots of work to be done with electric car technology.
And one key issue is: where are we going to generate the power needed to recharge millions of electric cars? As things stand right now, coal fired power plants are going to be the source of all of this new electricity. In the liberal zeal for a “pollution free” electric car, we may actually generate more pollutio as we generate more electricity to make it all work.
The Law of Conservation of Energy.
I have no idea what you all are talking about. With global warming we do NOT have to worry about cold weather. These cars should work just fine.
Thanks for making me laugh. Best post of day.
The batteries that the writer is talking about is not the same as the battery in your gasoline-powered car, but the battery packs that provide all of the energy to the electric motors. These are much larger, and (in a purely electric car) are standalone, in that there is no other energy source w/in the car that can charge them. To charge a battery off of another battery would be a waste.
The batteries in your gasoline-powered cars are considerably smaller, and are recharged via the alternator, which converts the mechanical energy of the engine to electrical power. But ultimately, the source of all energy for these cars is the gasoline itself.
Not so in an electric car.
obammy should start pushing the perpetual motion machine as the next big thing to save America.
Yes, and then you'd finally obtain the worlds first perpetual motion patent.
The truth is, electric cars are for the rich and privileged, with guilty consciences.
The are very expensive to buy, and they are expensive to maintain. And no one but a jackass would choose to drive one as his only car.
Basically, they are spare cars, which can be used on a nice day to drive down to the corner market or commute to your job or train station if it is close by. But you wouldn’t use it in cold weather, or for a long trip, where it might break down or run out along the way.
Typically, a rich family might buy a Chevy Volt as their third or fourth car, to show off to their neighbors and prove their green credentials.
That’s what hybrids do. The big problem is you’re basically carrying around 2 engines, one of which (depending on which one is powering the vehicle) is pretty much always dead weight and wasted space.
Basically a glorified golf cart. I seem to recall some people were buying golf carts and getting an energy rebate that paid for the thing in full.
Now if I could just find some way to turn prophecy into profit!
simple solution
keep the car plugged-in when not moving
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