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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Sun May 24, 20 3:24 pm Post subject:
ps if the private school nearby ever reopens "trophy wives and nannies" in poison carts may be exposed to my education, especially if they park and run while waiting. the difference has been so dramatic that i have no prob with pointing that out.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun May 24, 20 4:25 pm Post subject:

Electric cars have drastically less brake wear because of regenerative braking.
Also, even if powered by fossil fuels you still put out less CO2 per mile in an electric car. Much more efficient to burn petroleum in one big generator than in many small engines. But the power grid is continually shifting towards more renewables, so the equation is continually shifting towards even less CO2 per mile.

Things are also looking up for a massive reduction in grid generating/balancing needs as power sources are decentralized (solar) and as there is the potential for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of batteries to buffer the power grid whenever they are plugged in and not driving.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15993

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 7:11 am Post subject:

I have not been able to find reliable figures for all of it, but it certainly concerns me that power is generated, is transmitted by grid, then is put into batteries with losses occurring at each stage. Renewable energy certainly helps and electric cars are becoming more sensible, certainly in towns. Hope our car will carry on a few more years until we know whether to consider hybrid or electric. I certainly don't agree with using a car when it is unnecessary, leaving the engine running or travelling further than needed, but think that the only way people will be wooed away from the car these days is to have a cheap, effective public transport system that will get them where they want to go.

Another good thing with the lockdown is that people are walking and cycling a lot more, and may find they can go to the shops, work etc. by these means rather than having to use a car. At present Dpack, I don't fancy trying to pull over 500kg of firewood up the hills we are blessed with using an electric bike.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4613
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 10:18 am Post subject:
Or a box load of cattle Chris, One thing that`s worrying is the number of people knocked down on the roads at present,i`m sure that will increase with more electric cars when you cannot hear them coming.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 10:35 am Post subject:
most folk are shifting no firewood or cattle by car.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 1:02 pm Post subject:

Most of these comparisons are actually biased towards petroleum cars because they ignore the huge amount of energy used to refine the fuel, but still, even accounting for production and disposal, and ignoring newer battery production that is cleaner and ignoring recycling or reuse of vehicle batteries which is about to be a lot more prevalent, the electric cars still come out ahead.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-and-figures-infographics

Why not add a speaker to electric cars if being too quiet is an issue? (Because new safety tech is making it a non issue with new vehicles of all sorts)

There's a reason that freight trains are usually powered by electricity - even if it's produced by an onboard diesel generator. So yes, electric for high torque for heavy loads, it just hasn't made sense to develop those vehicles first because economics demand that passenger vehicles be developed first as the low hanging fruit of the market. Trucks are about to rush on to the market.

The internal combustion engineer vs electric motor debate for 90% of vehicles is stale in the year 2020, but the real world is still catching up and will be for the next couple years. 10 years from now will see much fewer ICE vehicles on the road as old vehicles are swapped out.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 2:31 pm Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

Or a box load of cattle Chris,

One thing that`s worrying is the number of people knocked down on the roads at present,i`m sure that will increase with more electric cars when you cannot hear them coming.

Is it really true that you cannot hear electric cars coming? Granted they are quieter than ones powered by infernal combustion engines, but silent? I doubt it. There must be noise from the tyres on the road, and displacement of air; unless they are totally smooth something must generate wind noise. I can hear cyclists whizzing past my gate quite clearly, mainly tyre noise.

Henry

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 5:17 pm Post subject:
they are quieter than badly driven ice ones but similar to a well driven ice one. if it proves to be an issue a few morris bells* should sort it *other sound generating machines also exist

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 9:25 pm Post subject:
Square wheels should do the job! Henry

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 9:48 pm Post subject:
i rather like the idea of them playing soothing "mood music" or banging rotterdam gabba depending on velocity squished is much easier to avoid than breathing no2, photochemical soup and micro particulates

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 10:08 pm Post subject:
I remember a poll discussing potential sounds for hybrids to make when they're in electric mode, back about 15 years ago. I was disappointed that the Jetsons space ship nose didn't win....

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Mon May 25, 20 10:13 pm Post subject:
as there are decent sensors available, owt with a pulse in the area about to be driven into could be treated to timely "ay up, mind out" and an empty space would not need noise pollution i would be happy with morris bells, bet that would be fun on york cobbles

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15993

Posted: Tue May 26, 20 6:40 am Post subject:

So must Morris dancing!

A slowly driven electric car is virtually silent. Sons FIL has one, and we can never hear it pulling away when it is moving at its slowest.

Thanks for that Slim. It does of course only give carbon dioxide levels, so disposing.recycling of battery will cause other pollution, as will things like the plastic parts of any car.

I think the reason there are being more accidents than usual at the moment is because pedestrians are surprised to see vehicles, and so walk all over country roads, and vehicle drivers aren't expecting to see pedestrians. I know round here on the way to the woods is a nightmare with cycles and pedestrians, and that is only about 2 miles. Sadly, people tend to assume that 'other people' are doing the same as them. Having said that, some vehicle drivers are pushing their luck. We expected to see a van in the hedge down the road from the woods on the way out the other evening as a white van shot past the end of the bell mouth by the gate and at that speed wouldn't have made the bend at the bottom of the hill.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46246
Location: yes

Posted: Tue May 26, 20 2:18 pm Post subject:
and some folk see an empty road as a topgear opportunity without having the required skills

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Tue May 26, 20 3:12 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

and some folk see an empty road as a topgear opportunity without having the required skills

semi-guilty. The daily commute (to a hospital) has been much reduced in time recently, and the temptation to drift a little on the roundabouts has been.....succumbed to on occasion.

Also have an electric car on order.....

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