If you really intend to adopt electric vehicles, you have to face certain realities. For example, a home charging system for a Tesla requires 75 amp service.
The average house is equipped with 100 amp service. On our small street (approximately 25 homes), the electrical infrastructure would be unable to carry more than 3 houses with a single Tesla, each. For even half the homes to have electric vehicles, the system would be wildly over-loaded.
This is the elephant in the room with electric vehicles ... Our residential infrastructure cannot bear the load. So as our genius elected officials promote this nonsense, not only are we being urged to buy the damn things and replace our reliable, cheap generating systems with expensive, new windmills and solar cells, but we will also have to renovate our entire delivery system! This latter “investment” will not be revealed until we’re so far down this dead-end road that it will be presented with an oops and a shrug.
If you want to argue with a green person over cars that are eco-friendly, just read the following:
Note: If you ARE a green person, read it anyway. Enlightening.
Eric test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors...and he writes...For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine. Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9-gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh battery is approximately 270 miles.
It will take you 4-1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.
According to General Motors, the Volt battery holds 16 kwh of electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery. The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity. I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $116 per kwh. 16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery. $18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery. Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine that gets only 32 mpg. $3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile.
The gasoline powered car costs about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000........So the American Government wants loyal Americans not to do the math, but simply pay 3 times as much for a car, that costs more than 7 times as much to run, and takes 3 times longer to drive across the country…..
” For example, a home charging system for a Tesla requires 75 amp service.”
Only if you want a fast-charge system. Otherwise just let it charge overnight. Besides, you won’t normally need a full charge as most people don’t commute 200+ miles a day!
“It will take you 4-1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.”
In a typical road trip you wouldn’t stop to recharge. You would just fill up the old gas tank and go recharging when you reach your destination.
“the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine. “
Volt gets over 50 miles on battery.
the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.
” Then add 10 hours to charge the battery”
Five hours.
“while the Volt costs $46,000”
$34,000.
“The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity. I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $116 per kwh. 16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 $18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery. “
I assume that the $116 is a typo!
But where the heck do you live? I am paying about $0.11 cents per kwh.
To get a realistic number for the present volt it would be 18 kwh * .11 / 50 miles or about 4 cents per mile!
You are off by a factor of almost 80!
“The gasoline powered car costs about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000........So the American Government wants loyal Americans not to do the math, but simply pay 3 times as much for a car,”
The Volt is $34,000, not $46,000.
“that costs more than 7 times as much to run,”
The cost per mile on electricity is half the cost per mile on gas.
“and takes 3 times longer to drive across the country…..”
It would be about the same time as there is no need to stop to recharge. Just keep the gas tank off empty as you would any regular gas powered car. Plug in at night and you may even have a quicker trip due to less stops!
“Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. “
I would like to see your source! Car and Driver got 45 mpg only on gas.
If you include the 54 miles on battery, that would be 50 mpg compared to your 30 mpg.
“Then add 10 hours to charge the battery “
Perhaps you didn’t know that the Volt can recharge its own battery?