Posted on 12/14/2013 3:59:04 PM PST by chiller
Engineering breakthroughs like the Tesla Model S may be burning up the electric car market (figuratively and literally), but they’re leaving drivers cold and under-powered in the face of Old Man Winter.
Cold temperatures have adverse effects on batteries, slowing down the incoming and outgoing flow of energy and inevitably losing some in the process. The 250-mile average range of an electric car in normal climate conditions can see its performance reduced by 70-miles on a single charge in average winter conditions. The colder it gets, the shorter than range.
Not only that, the average winter driver tends to turn up the heat — a function that also puts a draw on the battery uncommon during other seasons.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
You’re correct of course, but out of synch with one of the “11th commandments” of FR - hating on edrive.
Read the rest of my posts. If someone wants an electric car, good for them. Just don’t tax me to make their coal burning car cheaper.
Electric cars have their niche; it’s limited and often seasonal. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to fit in extremely hot or cold climates.
I agree with all that. That’s not what you posted to me about, you posted to me about diesel being used to move coal around.
The really old Volkswagen Beetles had a gas heater as an accessory too.
The point here is not to eliminate all oil use.
Oil will still be used in rocket fuel generation, plastics, fertilizers etc.
The point is to lower oil use where our Domestic production far exceeds our needs that what OPEC/Russia does is irrelevant.
And diesel has not role in the production of electricity that I use for my car since all of it is either natural gas or hydro. But it would be ok if it was.
Point is we don’t need oil to power cars anymore.
Soon we won’t need diesel to power trains.
When I was driving back and forth to work, I needed a good gas mileage car. At 28-30 mpg, this fit the bill. The fact that it is fun to drive is a bonus. You only go around once, enjoy it.
>> “You are just placing one more step in between the fuel and your end use.” <<
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You’ve got it exactly right, and then add to it the fact that the electric car is heavily subsidized by our governments, local, state and federal, and the thing is an economic H-bomb, as well as a potential killer to the driver and passengers in an emergency situation.
Wrong cubed!
>> “A surface street jitney, 30 mph safety rated local errand car could be little more expensive than a golf cart.” <<
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Very true, but that simply is not what is happening, is it!
Sensible vs insanity.
>> “ But to the extent they make it possible to use electricity generated from non-oil indigenous sources as transportation energy, it is A Good Thing in my book” <<
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Were it not so heavily subsidized by our governments, and propagandized in schools, and the snooz media I might agree, but as it presently sits, the electric car is a disaster for all in America.
>> “ If someone wants an electric car, good for them. Just don’t tax me to make their coal burning car cheaper.” <<
Amen!
Agree.
>> “You do know I have a grid-tied (no batteries) PV array on my roof, don’t you?” <<
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Now I do. I don’t think that kind of solar is what we need; it disrupts the economics of power generation with leftist politics, intended to destroy free enterprise.
At the ranch I have off-grid pv running 16 year old batteries. WE are 14 miles off the grid there, with cell phones and radio being our only communication.
Since the batteries are getting shaky when we have two consecutive days of cloud cover, I use a 2 cycle 800 watt generator feeding the ‘shore power’ circuit of the Heart 458 inverter when we need more than the lights. Works well, and fairly economical.
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>> “The Tesla plant was the old NUMMI plant, it wasn’t new construction. I’d be willing to bet a lot of the old car manufacturing machines and tooling were re-purposed at pennies on the dollar.” <<
Wasn’t that place Solyndra for a while?
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I agree with doing away with all those things.
Well, the hot water bottle is an interesting comment. In my situation, that would be a "freezer pack" by morning...but the other idea isn't so far fetched.
Kat's, the same people that make engine block heaters,also offer a battery heater. It's like a heating pad that wraps around your battery. Now the battery thinks it's Summer time when you go to start.
Of course, that's just for a single car battery. But you might be able to construct something out of heat tape or roof-edge heating cable.
You'd want to be damned careful though, and test it on some milk jugs full of water, or cement blocks first. No need to give that electrocar another reason to go up in flames.
They’re already doing it. It can be done large scale , but probably not with the current administration. Shell decided against a 25 billion plant in Louisiana last week because of said administration. The plant will more than likely be built offshore
Where’d ya go?
I wanted to discuss something.
“When the oil price drops below the cost of pumping it out of the ground and supporting all the infrastructure to get it from the well head to the refinery the oil company will shut off the valves and turn off the pumps until such a time as they can, oh I dunno, actually make money from that well.”
Been in in and out of working in the oil business (not on the business end). It’s a little more complicated than shutting off a valve and turning off pumps. The working wells will keep working, no new drilling or exploration is what actually occurs. Working wells are plugged when shut down, an unescessary and expensive op
Nope. Solyndra was down the street...
Sending trillions from America abroad and from the West to the Middle East is an economic H-bomb.
If it was not for Western Petro Dollars the Saudi’s would be a few hundred thousand Bedouin roaming the desert without any geopolitical influence at all and Iran would not be that much more important.
Subsidies for electric cars are a pittance compared to protecting the international flows of oil and fighting multiple middle eastern wars to keep the price of oil relatively low.
Subsidies for oil exploration etc etc etc.
Because Leftist support electrics for ridiculous global warming reasons does not mean it is not the right thing to do. Columbus discovered American looking for a shorter route to the Indies. You can make the right choice for the wrong reasons.
Automatically opposing something because your political opponents support is just plain stupid.
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