Posted on 12/11/2010 3:38:13 PM PST by editor-surveyor
Vlado Bevc
Synergy Research Institute, P.O.Box 561, San Ramon, California 94583
The promotion of General Motors Chevy Volt by three mayors (Contra Costa Times, November 6, 1010) merits some mundane evaluation from the energy standpoint. Electric vehicles –with an internal combustion engine assist – are compared to a “typical car” using 13 cents of $3.00/gallon gasoline per mile, that is one that makes 23 miles per gallon. (13/300 = 0.0433 gallon/mile)
In a conventional car 25 percent of 37 kWh from a gallon of gasoline gets into traction (because of losses in the engine and drive train). “Conventional car” thus uses 0.4 kWh/mile and so does any comparable car.
Reader Coughlan (CCT, November 13, 2010) correctly pointed out that at residential electric rates of 40 cents/kWh the energy cost is “about 10 cents/mile” rather than 3 cents/mile (above calculation shows 16 cents/mile). Moreover, Chevy Volt has a 435-pound battery costing $8,000 which wears out after 100,000 miles. That adds 8 cents to the energy associated operating cost of the electric car.
PG&E also has an experimental tariff designed for users of electric cars through which all of us are subsidizing electric vehicle owners.
Electric power plants supplying energy require from 3.5 to 4 kWh of thermal energy to generate 1 kWh or electrical energy. Thus the 0.4 kWh used by the electric car requires 1.6 kWh to generate. Energy wise we are at the same place as with an internal combustion engine.
About 70 % of electric power generating plants America use coal. 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. In other words, electric vehicles cause production of 1.25 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile. On the other hand, an equivalent conventional car using 0.0433 gallon/mile emits 0.78 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile. Electric cars thus cannot reduce emissions of carbon dioxide to which climate changes are wrongly attributed.
The mayors say 500,000 electric vehicles in the Bay area would reduce costs and emissions dramatically. As shown no cost reduction can happen. Moreover, if 500,000 electric vehicles using 500 gallon/year producing 4 tons of carbon dioxide each were eliminated, there would be 2 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions less. This would be only 0.4 percent of the annual fluctuation (48,000 megaton) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which totals about 3 million megatons, an insignificant amount.
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. Efficiency of any electrical generator is proportional to the fourth power of its dimensions, hence a number of small power generating stations would waste more energy than a normally sized electric power plant.
Vlado Bevc
925 683 9254
The interesting thing about your posts is each one dazzles the readers with your expertise .....
NOT.
You’re the only one on the thread stupid enough not to already know the facts that I posted.
You should have stayed in highschool, and at least taken basic General Science.
.
I (apparently unlike you) left HS to go to college. It would be nice if you would put up some 'evidence' for your points instead of making personal attacks. I gave you my list of emission parts for my car. Of course it falsifies your 'facts' so you dismiss it and put up another personal attack. Please address that issue and my post. Thank you.
Correct. The EPA only sets emission standards. They don't tell the manufacturer how to achieve those standards. The air pump is old technology which has fallen by the wayside as engine management systems have become more sophisticated.
Once again you are wrong. See #104.
Did you know Hybrid electric cars reduce fossil fuel dependence because while they are running on gasoline they charge the battery and then the battery can take over and save gasoline? .... Progressive Talk Radio logic.
Did you know that if you’re not going anywhere, a perpetual motion machine will get you there?
> “Did you know that if you’re not going anywhere, a perpetual motion machine will get you there?”
.
I’m already there!
I got an email today from some guy named Ben Ford who is selling perpetual motion machines:
http://homemadeenergy.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=a9d0b88893df51894dbaf9282&id=19625b4f0d&e=83937438a4
Buy yours before the world finds out, and you can use it to charge your Volt.
There’s a nincompoop posting on this thread that probably already owns one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.