09-12-2011, 05:36 AM
Lots of focus on long-range or quick battery swaps.
But if I could recharge an electric car in 5 minutes I could live with a 100 mile range. I need a car that can drive an hour or more each way, which with highway miles is 120 or so round trip. That won't work with most pure electrics. If I could recharge in 5 minutes after the outbound leg I could make it work, assuming that in very cold or very hot weather use of heating or A/C didn't drop the range below 70 or 80 miles.
In the near-term I think we are going to see a lot of "e-assist" where a battery is used to let the car turn off the engine when at a stop light, then start off and drive a short distance while the engine restarts. I already turn off my engine at known long stop lights, then restart a moment before the light changes. These systems are not outrageously expensive like "full" hybrids (Prius, Honda Insight, etc.) and can have a significant impact on fuel use in stop and go driving.
On the comments about using coal to generate electricity: two advantages over burning fuel in a car:
1. It's much more efficient in energy conversion, as others have pointed out.
2. It's a big point source. It's easier to clean up one big plant than to reduce pollution from millions of moving cars. If you are worried about CO2, that can be captured and dealt with (say by injecting it into old oil wells). No easy way to capture CO2 emissions from cars.
- Winston
But if I could recharge an electric car in 5 minutes I could live with a 100 mile range. I need a car that can drive an hour or more each way, which with highway miles is 120 or so round trip. That won't work with most pure electrics. If I could recharge in 5 minutes after the outbound leg I could make it work, assuming that in very cold or very hot weather use of heating or A/C didn't drop the range below 70 or 80 miles.
In the near-term I think we are going to see a lot of "e-assist" where a battery is used to let the car turn off the engine when at a stop light, then start off and drive a short distance while the engine restarts. I already turn off my engine at known long stop lights, then restart a moment before the light changes. These systems are not outrageously expensive like "full" hybrids (Prius, Honda Insight, etc.) and can have a significant impact on fuel use in stop and go driving.
On the comments about using coal to generate electricity: two advantages over burning fuel in a car:
1. It's much more efficient in energy conversion, as others have pointed out.
2. It's a big point source. It's easier to clean up one big plant than to reduce pollution from millions of moving cars. If you are worried about CO2, that can be captured and dealt with (say by injecting it into old oil wells). No easy way to capture CO2 emissions from cars.
- Winston
