Perpetual Innovation

Category: PHEV

  • EV v ICE, What’s the Price?

    EV v ICE, What’s the Price?

     Every couple months something pops into my news feed or email about how bad or expensive Electric Vehicles (EVs) are compared to the olde Internal Combustion Engine (ICE machines).  (See cartoon from Yale Climate Connection Don’t be fooled: Electric vehicles really are better for the climate.)

    One that popped up was from a very biased web site (can’t call it a magazine or journal). The cost for EVs to operate were $17 per gallon, equivalent. It relied on an actual study, and then changed out all the facts.

    First, it assumed that you only charge away from home, never at home where it’s much cheaper. Some 99% of EVs are charged at home or (free? at the office) almost all the time. By this assumption, it would assume that the home did not use solar panels which would make the home charging costs even cheaper. Then, they added in all possible externalities for EVs including government subsidies. Wah-la, the magical cost per gallon for EVs is 5 to 8 times ICE machines. (non-news site intentionally not cited)

    Why then, wouldn’t the ICE machine side of the equation include government subsidies to oil and gas. Several studies show that coal, oil & gas get at least $1T in subsidies every year, and the equivalent of about $15T including indirect subsidies and extenalities. 

    If you really want to know the comparison between EVs & ICE vehicles, look at  SkepticalScience: https://skepticalscience.com/evs-really-better-climate.html  … they provide some of the best sources and best analysis. Because of the cost of production (an EV can weigh twice an ICE because of the batteries), it takes about 22 months before breakeven — emissions-wise. But after that the emissions are massively less for the EV. Figure about $1 per gallon equivalent.

    If you want to do an analysis of an EV and an ICE machine, consider how you will use the vehicle and check out these sources. 

    Total Cost of Ownership is a big question as well. The raw materials to make each type of car, where it is made, shipping, etc. There are a few sources that work on this. (Sites/sources on lifetime costs tend to be overly simplified or overly complicated.)

    Dealers don’t like EVs because there’s not really any maintenance. No urgent need to see the customer every 6 months to 1 year. No oil to change, no belts to replace. Only fill the windshield washer tank. The brakes have low usage because of regenerative power is used to slow the vehicle by generating power back to the batteries. The dealers will continue to lose touch with their customers, and the trade-in that comes with it.

    But the big reason for going EV is making a conscious and continuous effort to move away from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are not sustainable. The air pollution from burning coal, oil and gas causes health issues and premature deaths of millions of people worldwide every year.  To move toward sustainable solutions, we have to move away from those that aren’t. 

    Two points that often come up is: 1) Renewable Energy (RE); and, 2) electric mix for the power grid and sources of materials like lithium & cobalt for EV. Renewable energy is growing at crazy rates and it is consistently far cheaper (even with battery augmentation) than coal, oil or nuclear. Battery technology (and such) will continue to improve, much like computer chips and hard drives. Products continue to be built with full life cycle designs so the materials in EVs will (soon) be completely recycled. 

    We need to electrify everything to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases. It took 120 years to build a world economy powered by coal, oil, gas, nuclear and hydro. Over time we need to completely replace fossil fuels. Many people thought we could simply wait until we started to exhaust the (readily available) supplies of fossil fuels and high prices would recalibrate the economy toward more sustainable methods of power and transportation. Waiting another 20, or even 5 years, to act is no longer an option.

    #EV #BreakingTheICE #Renewables #RE100 #CarbonEmmissions #CarbonFootprint

  • Earth Day 2022 Who Killed the Electric Car?

     Earth Day 2022 (April 22, ’22) Who Killed the Electric Car?

    The statistics and the forecasts for Global Warming and
    Climate Change are increasingly dire. The decision – and it is a decision – to do
    business as usual (buy big gas guzzlers) is becoming increasingly costly to the world. And the window to avoid
    the worst warming scenarios is closing. The CO2 and methane that we have been
    pumping into the atmosphere will persist for decades (centuries really)
    continuing to heat a warming world.

    On that note, a documentary is in order for Earth Day 2022, Who
    Killed the Electric Car     (2006). Read about it on Wikipedia,
    watch on many venues including IMDb and Prime Video. It pretty much describes the methods of
    Big Tobacco in its hay day, and the methodology adopted by oil companies for
    about a century. Lots of celebrities. Hard to find a single factoid that is not true.

    General Motors was starting to be very successful with its
    electric car in 2005, rolling it out to meet the aggressive zero emissions vehicle
    (ZEV) standards that California was phasing in at the time. The standard,
    appropriately call CARB, was suddenly watered down and phased out, with both
    the state of California (Schwarzenegger)
    and the Federal government (Bush) chasing after a shiny object: Hydrogen. Cool technology, but… Hydrogen is still not here, and will probably never be truly competitive for most applications.

    GM (and the other Big Autos) killed off their EVs. In GMs
    case, the recalled them all back from their leases (not renewing) and crushed
    them all (but 1). If GM had stayed with their EV program they would have been
    in the same market position as Tesla is now, only 15 years earlier.  GM bought controlling position in a wonderful
    battery technology that would have given the EV 200+ mile range (vs 60 for the antiquated
    lead battery technology they were implementing). But that battery was never
    utilized. This controlling stake in the battery company was later sold to …
    Chevron!

    The documentary investigates who were the murders of the EV
    and who were the accomplices. But the obvious victims are the general public
    and, of course, the environment! We continue to be addicted to oil. Ukraine is
    a stark reminder of what the power bought with oil revenues can do.

    For now, drive less. Plan for a small vehicle. Make sure
    your next vehicle is either electric of plug-in- electric hybrid.

    As we celebrate Earth Day of 2022, think about how easily
    the citizens can be manipulated away from objectives that are better for the
    world into paths that are only good for monopolies and the ruthless.

    Please let us know if there is anything that is factually untrue. Also, are the conclusions sound?

    #EV #PHEF #WhoKilledTheElectricCar #GlobalWarming #ClimateChange #EarthDay

     

  • Backup to a Better Backup Generator Solution

    You may already have a backup generator for the house. In
    fact, you may have the backup generator with you just about everywhere you go.
    Plus, it might be totally quiet, for hours.
    Yep, we are talking about your hybrid gas-electric vehicle.
    Hybrids have been selling like crazy on the farms because they can easily be
    used to generate 120-volt electricity to run hand tools and generally provide
    backup power.
    Most newer vehicles offer a 120 plug, but they won’t power
    much. What you need is an inverter that will power whatever you want,
    frequently 300 to 400 watts will be sufficient for many applications. Smaller
    inverters can be simply plugged into a cigarette lighter, but bigger inverters
    should be wired directly to the battery.

    A backup solution for the house is rather awkward,
    inconvenient and requires fuel at a time when the least fuel is available,
    storms and outages. Here’s the cost for a generator solution.
    Generator
    The generator solution costs something like this:
    ·        
    Generator $500 (or about $500 to $1,000 for an
    inverter that is much quieter and provides smoother power).
    ·        
    Fuel, maybe 8 to 12 gals per day. At 10 gals x
    $3 is $30 per day.
    ·        
    Storage of generator and fuel cans.
    Traditional generators (gas or propane or diesel) provide
    lots of smoke, noise, and require maintenance. The generator produces
    electricity, even under very low loads, so much (maybe most) of the electricity
    (and fuel) is wasted.
    Generators are best used some distance from the house so as
    not to asphyxiate the inhabitants.
    Tip. Make sure not to allow the generator to run out of
    fuel, the sputtering causes the generator to surge which kills off appliances
    at an alarming rate.
    Auto with Inverter
    Hooking an inverter to the vehicle may be a very good
    solution for many purposes, especially lower loads in the house such as
    refrigerator, lights and fans. However, you will have to go start the vehicle before
    the battery gets too low. (Taking regular lead batteries below 50% will
    seriously erode their life span.)
    A 1000-Watt inverter can cost between $80 and $110
    (modified-sine wave), and about twice that for the higher quality output of a
    pure-sine wave recommended for sensitive electronics.
    Your vehicle is rather quiet, and rather fuel efficient
    compared to a generator. Your typical vehicle will not be able to handle large
    loads, however. One approach is to set up a battery (or battery bank) that can
    be recharged via the vehicle.
    Even better is to hook up to your hybrid vehicle.
    Hybrid Vehicle with Inverter
    The hybrid vehicle is a wonderful backup power supply, just
    like the uninterruptable power supply (UPS) you use for your computers and wifi.
    You can have continuous power as needed, when needed. Plus, the hybrid vehicle is
    designed to start up the motor and recharge when the collective batteries get
    low. Very cool.
    Here’s how you do it. Hook up your power inverter directly
    to the 12-Volt (direct current) battery of the hybrid vehicle to produce
    alternating current (120 AC). Put the vehicle in the “on” mode, but with all
    the vehicle electronics turned off, i.e., turn the air conditioner and lights
    off. Now, when the batteries run low, the vehicle will automatically start to
    recharge all the batteries, lithium as well as the 12-volt battery.
    Tip: Please make sure the vehicle is in a safely ventilated
    area. Do not set this arrangement up in the garage!
    Add in a Battery
    (Bank) and a Solar Panel (or More)
    So good news, you now have an inverter with your vehicle so
    you can use good, clean, quiet power anywhere you and your Prius happen to be.
    Yippee!
    But how about the home or cabin when the Prius is away?
    Get a battery or more, and hook up the inverter to it. This
    should help you get through several hours with just the refrigerator. Batteries
    of this type (deep cycle, for example) will cost $150 to $350 each.
    Then, get a solar panel, or more, and hook them up to
    recharge your batteries during sunlight hours. (Costco has a 100W Coleman with
    8.5 amp charge controller for $159.)
    Now, I have continuous power for low load (the battery plus
    a 1100W inverter at $90, all for under $400). I’ll buy more batteries and/or
    more solar panels as and when I need them. The 1100-watt inverter does
    everything that I want to do in emergency or in the cabin. It does a small air
    conditioner (window unit or small mini-split for a short period of time; a
    refrigerator for several hours; LED lights and fans for days). It won’t do
    central air, well pump, oven, dryer, hot-water heater, microwave, or several
    heavy load items simultaneously. Bigger load electronics include blenders
    (making Hurricanes and Margaritas), blow dryer; coffee pots, electric saw, etc…
    Be careful putting together your system and your battery
    banks. Hooking two 12V 100 amp batteries together can result in doubling of the
    voltage (48 Volt in series) or double the amps (200 amp hours in parallel)
    depending on how you hook them together. Make sure you get the right inverter
    to match the higher voltage if you go in series. Try to get the same batteries
    if you bank ‘em.
    I can see you eyeing your electric golf cart, you already
    have your own battery bank on wheels. Unfortunately, the voltage will be 36 or
    48 Volts (say 6 x 6-volt batteries hooked up in series is 36 volt). Your
    inverter would need to match the voltage of your cart (or carefully hook up a 12-volt inverter to 12-volt battery equivalent,
    which in this case is two 6-volt batteries).
    In short, you may already have a great backup power supply
    solution. Hook up your hybrid to an inverter and you are good to go. Add in a
    battery (or more) and a solar panel (or more) and you have a nice, quiet,
    renewable power solution.
    Tip. Use a volt meter. The meter is cheap. Burning out electronics
    can be expensive, cause fires, shock the bejeebers out of you, and generally be
    very inconvenient!
    Tip2. When you buy your new hybrid vehicle you get “up to”
    $7,500 back in the form of current-year tax credits! The federal tax credits for new
    EV and PHEV cars (and for home solar, as well) are phasing down, so you might
    want to accelerate your purchasing decisions. (See ins
    and outs of tax credit     for vehicles at Edmonds.)
    Do we all need to rethink the way the design/plan for (emergency) backup power? Let us know what you think?