Posted on 07/06/2005 8:33:43 AM PDT by skyman
That's why they invented and use regulators on the charging system.
A mid-sized car has about a 3 ton AC. That is about the size that is used in the average house.
Something like a Cadillac Escalade probably has a 5 ton unit.
That's a lot of cooling and I don't see these chips cooling an SUV sitting in the sun in the South on a summer day.
I think you're wrong. My father is an electrical engineer who worked for Allegheny Power for over 30 years.
My brother works in a power station for the same company.
Both have told me that as the electrical load increases on a generator, more power is required to run it.
Not only that, if you've ever had a car that has an alternator that's about to go bad, you can literally hear the load that is put on the engine when doing something as simple as turning on the lights.
Check this out:
"And, in case you are wondering, the amount of horsepower used to spin the alternator changes with output. When the alternators produce only a small amount of current, the horsepower drag is very small (less than 1/3 amp). Large amount of output causes more horsepower drag (about 3 or 4 horsepower to produce 120amps output). "
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/howitworks.shtml
ping
Your father should have gotten a '71 Maxwell's Demon. He'd have really had free A/C...
Rule of thumb: 1 kW ~ 1 HP (With the friction and heat losses)
LOL I have a Masters in Mechanical and I never heard that one.
I made it up especially for you...
Compared to the load on the engine of running a compressor?? I don't think so........
Glad to hear it. I noticed after posting my last reply to you that you had already admitted error.
Yes, although thermocouples are usually made of metal (e.g. iron - constantan) while Peltier effect devices are made of semiconductors (bismuth telluride relatives). I know you can make a thermopile, many thermocouples in series, but I think the charge carriers in metals are always electrons. In semiconductors, they can be plus and minus, so you can add outright the two effects in a pile, while in a metal you have to subtract, the metal with lesser effect reducing, but not completely canceling, the output from the other metal.
An example is a worn alternator belt squealing due to the increased load when you put the headlights on...
Peltier chips require a LOT of electricity. The load on your alternator as it tries to put out 100 kilowatts would probably seize it up.
I believe that's because there's nothing like a 5 HP air conditioner unit sucking energy from the alternator. 5 HP is 3.72KW, or at 12V about 300 amps. That's lots of expensive and heavy copper to carry that load. I think the battery powered cars use 48V to avoid the wiring problem.
1/4 HP I kinda believe, which isn't much compared to the engine load, but I just wonder what the real load at the alternator is. So many times these rated specs just don't touch reality.
"Once turning, the alternator generates an electrical current. No matter the electrical load you place on the alternator the engine will NOT work harder. If the electrical load becomes to much for the alternator things will simply stop working. but the cost to run that specific alternator will not change (barring wear and tear on the bearings and sh-t like that)"
Now that is one ignint statement.
"Thermodynamics doesn't come into play here, although a toilet tank does exactly that to fill. "
Now that's even more ignint. Thermodynamics ALWAYS comes into play.
The energy to charge the batteries, or rather the energy to run the generators that feed the peltiers are accounted for in the 4 billion gallons of fuel left over. Apparently this system is twice as efficient as standard AC, which of course means they still require energy, but only half as much.
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