Zero-emission vehicles, their batteries & subsidies/rebates for them.- No politics regarding the subsidies!

[Suffolkhifinut]

No. That's wrong.

It's misunderstanding the instructions for lithium ion batteries (see below), and does not apply at all to LFP batteries.



No. Leaving the battery at > 90% SoC will shorten its life. No problem charging to 100% and then driving away.



Your round-trip is 440 miles and there are no fast-charging options available anywhere along your route? In the UK? Really? Have you looked at the map? (That's just Tesla, of course. The map in the PlugShare app has much more extensive charging options. I'd have to work very hard to find a 220 mile stretch of road in the UK without any fast-charging options along it.)

We travelled most of the way on motorways, stopped twice and their were fast charging stations at both places. if we had an EV could have fast charged it at either place, once here on vacation commercial fast charging points aren’t around. From what I’ve read fast charging points cost over £40 for a charge to get the battery up to 80%. I drove here in my BMW coupe on less than half a tank of petrol. One argument regularly used by contributors about EVs is how little they cost to run compared to cars with internal combustion engines. If you home charge definitely right! In the UK all domestic charging stations are fitted with monitoring software. Not used at the moment but there will be a tipping point when the Government will use it and charge for it.
just one more point, if I do buy one and it isn’t out of the question it will be a BMW I4 with a claimed range of 338-352 miles, there are caveats to this:
IF 75% of your journey is on motorways, if the ambient temperature rises above 15 degrees C, if you use your air conditioning then the range falls to 265 miles. Their figures not mine!

 

[Spocko]

The electrification of vehicles does create some questions and with electrification comes other issues we don't have with ICE vehicles. Like rare earths supply and it's ethical supply, where is all this electricity coming from? and is the price going to come down?

Agreed - there's no way California's existing grid can handle a 25% conversion to all EV from the driving population. Forget raising rates, there's just not enough electricity. We're going to have to get solar panels and be completely off the grid in the next 5 years, things are going to get bad.

 

[Spocko]

And that's actually the most revelatory part of the experience of driving an EV: constant available torque from 0 to v_{max}. If you're used to an ICE vehicle, the instant (and sustained) response, when you step on the accelerator, will just blow your mind. Hard to articulate how different it feels. But, once you've experienced it, your inevitable conclusion is that ICE vehicles are for chumps.

Not just acceleration from 0, but the instant pedal response while driving allows for amazing modulation and control of the car while moving - video game-like is the best way to describe it!

 

[MediumRare]

Agreed - there's no way California's existing grid can handle a 25% conversion to all EV from the driving population. Forget raising rates, there's just not enough electricity. We're going to have to get solar panels and be completely off the grid in the next 5 years, things are going to get bad.

They're working on it - obviously - in California. Meanwhile, while this number may sound high, the US already spends $235 Billion a year in upgrades to the electric grid, so $30 B over the next few years in Cal is almost trivial. https://www.rechargenews.com/energy...-unprecedented-green-power-demand/2-1-1165980

 

[Spocko]

They're working on it - obviously - in California. Meanwhile, while this number may sound high, the US already spends $235 Billion a year in upgrades to the electric grid, so $30 B over the next few years in Cal is almost trivial. https://www.rechargenews.com/energy...-unprecedented-green-power-demand/2-1-1165980

Converting the billions to actual electrical production, I'm hoping it's enough! Or maybe the water shortage will just render this all a moot point - how much energy will desalination plants require I wonder?

 

[Gorgonzola]

It is the upcoming MX30, and it is a Wankel rotary which will be small, run at high rpm and fixed speed, fixed throttle.

Mazda MX-30 Rotary Range Extender: Why I'm Looking Forward To 2023

An electric Mazda MX-30 with a Rotary Range Extender is coming soon-- here's Why I'm Looking Forward To 2023!

cleantechnica.com

Way down in this second link is more info. Mostly claims with little specifics.

Mazda Might Actually Be Onto Something - CleanTechnica

When I heard the rotary was coming back, I was skeptical. It has a history of poor efficiency and bad emissions. But Mazda might be right about the rotary.

cleantechnica.com

I had a Mazda RX2 I bought on 1974. It was a fun ride but definitely a gas-guzzler.


(A stock picture, not my car ... )

 

[Blumlein 88]

I had a Mazda RX2 I bought on 1974. It was a fun ride but definitely a gas-guzzler.


(A stock picture, not my car ... )

I almost purchased an RX8, but a small car that had the same gas mileage as a full size pickup truck was just too much.

 

[Ken1951]

More to the point, Wankel rotary engines have huge apex seal problems, and it's inherent in the design. I wonder if it's some other rotary engine, or a turbine?

And I don't want QUITE an SUV but we shall see. (Currently driving a Mazda 3 skyactiv that gets 30 in town and 40 on the highway.)

Mazda 3 SkyActiv is a great car. I had one for my last 5 years of teaching when I drove home every Friday and back up every Sunday. 240 miles each way. I would get in the low 40s regularly. I'm 6'2" and it was very comfortable with great visibility and had a huge trunk.

 

[Willem]

I guess that we will have to completely cover our island with solar panels

Not really. These days you do not need that many panels to produce all the electricity for an EV. With modern efficient panels most domestic roofs should be enough to charge your car and cover most of the other electicity consumption of your household. And PV panels have come down enormously in price.

 

[Doodski]

Not really. These days you do not need that many panels to produce all the electricity for an EV. With modern efficient panels most domestic roofs should be enough to charge your car and cover most of the other electicity consumption of your household. And PV panels have come down enormously in price.

About 20 years ago I managed a solar and battery shop for ~3 months for a friend while he went on holidays. The solar panels had up to a 25 year warranty at the time. What warranty do they come with now?

 

[Timcognito]

This is cut and pasted from the agreement on the system with a PowerWall I have installed by Tesla Dec. 2020

System Maintenance & Repairs
System maintenance IS included for 20 years from the Installer. You are required to perform the following system
maintenance:
 Shade Management: Shading on your solar display dramatically reduces electricity production. Keep trees or
other tall plants trimmed to prevent shade on your system.
 Panel Cleaning: Cleaning your panels of debris can improve your system performance. Flushing the panels from
the ground with a water hose can let more sunlight penetrate through the glass cover.
“System repairs” refers to actions needed to fix your System if it is malfunctioning. System repairs ARE provided by the
Installer.
If System repairs ARE included, the coverage periods for each hardware component of your System (in years) are:
Solar Panels: at least 12 years
Inverter: at least 10 years
Powerwall: 10 years
Please check the Manufacturer’s warranty for the coverage period of other hardware components.
If System repairs ARE included, the coverage periods for the labor/workmanship for each component of your System (in
years) are: 20 years
Powerwall System: 4 years
Please review your Contract for additional information about any warranties on the System installation and equipment.
Note that equipment warranties for hardware are not required to include labor/workmanship. Your Provider may assign or
subcontract any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any affiliate, successor, partner or purchaser. If such a
transfer occurs, you will be notified if this will change the address or phone number to use for system maintenance or
repair requests.
Roof Warranty
Your roof IS warranted against leaks from the system installation for the first 10 years by the Provider.
Performance or Production Guarantee
Provider is not providing you with a performance or production guarantee.

 

[samsa]

We travelled most of the way on motorways, stopped twice and their were fast charging stations at both places. if we had an EV could have fast charged it at either place, once here on vacation commercial fast charging points aren’t around. From what I’ve read fast charging points cost over £40 for a charge to get the battery up to 80%.

Zounds!

Really?

Here in the US, Tesla Supercharging is $0.30/kWhr. So $17.10 buys me 238 miles of range.

I was shocked to read that it was so much more expensive in the UK.

So shocked, that ... I ... looked it up.

Tesla Supercharging is 28p/kWhr in the UK. So that same 238 miles of range costs £15.96.

I drove here in my BMW coupe on less than half a tank of petrol. One argument regularly used by contributors about EVs is how little they cost to run compared to cars with internal combustion engines. If you home charge definitely right!

If you quote the correct figures, definitely right.

Can you get 238 miles of range in your BMW for less than £16? I don't think so ...

In the UK all domestic charging stations are fitted with monitoring software. Not used at the moment but there will be a tipping point when the Government will use it and charge for it.

That sounds like a rather weird conspiracy theory. Given your track record on these matters, I am going to have to ask you for a source on that.

just one more point, if I do buy one and it isn’t out of the question it will be a BMW I4 with a claimed range of 338-352 miles, there are caveats to this:
IF 75% of your journey is on motorways, if the ambient temperature rises above 15 degrees C, if you use your air conditioning then the range falls to 265 miles. Their figures not mine!

I am completely unfamiliar with the BMW I4 (never even read a review of it). But I will assume that, on this one matter, you have actually done your homework.

 

[samsa]

Not really. These days you do not need that many panels to produce all the electricity for an EV. With modern efficient panels most domestic roofs should be enough to charge your car and cover most of the other electicity consumption of your household. And PV panels have come down enormously in price.

Not to mention that if you pay 7 times as much for electricity as US consumers do, then your investment in solar panels will pay off 7 times faster.

 

[EJ3]

Power plant construction is invariably funded by bond issues, with the rate-payers repaying the loan over the course of subsequent decades.



And you say that, by contrast, wind and solar would "completely destroy[ing] our environment"?

Uh huh.



The typical life-expectancy of a diesel-fired power plant is about 25 years. Since yours is probably not brand-new, you'll be replacing it in the not-too-distant future, whether you want to or not.

For new power generation, solar is now cheaper/MWhr than any alternative.

Talking about destroying the land & some rare flora & fauna. You are talking about mostly about destroying the air. Since we have ZERO industry, the air here is definitely not a problem. Unless you have an aversion to clean, humid, ocean air. Unless the solar/wind power would have the same or less footprint? I understand that there has been some progress on wave action (our harbor can have 20 FT swells or 4 FT swells, weather dependent) or tidal electric generation but really haven't read anything about it for several years, what with all the focus on solar & wind (my grandfather & mother were designing building wind mills that they carried the parts up the ALPs in the 1930's & 40's, so don't think that I am against these technologies. Although I do not think that wind & solar combined can be 100% of the power grid, I do believe that they have a large part to play. And there are & will be other technologies also, such as wave action & tidal.

 

[Doodski]

I understand that there has been some progress on wave action (our harbor can have 20 FT swells or 4 FT swells, weather dependent) or tidal electric generation but really haven't read anything about it for several years

wave action & tidal.

Expensive well funded long term tests where carried out in Nova Scotia and the equipment failed for various reasons. The engineers decided to re-engineer the gear and voila apparently they have it right now I guess.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Does the moon hold the key to the earth’s energy needs?

Tidal power is the only renewable source derived from the moon. Now an extraordinary array of devices promise to unlock this vital energy potential

www.theguardian.com

Nice summary with simple pictures of various tidal energy harvesting schemes.

However, DON'T DO IT!

We might stop the rotation of the earth in only 1000 years!!!!! Details in the pdf below.

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/zjl/pdf/tide0.pdf

 

[Doodski]

Does the moon hold the key to the earth’s energy needs?

Tidal power is the only renewable source derived from the moon. Now an extraordinary array of devices promise to unlock this vital energy potential

www.theguardian.com

Nice summary with simple pictures of various tidal energy harvesting schemes.

However, DON'T DO IT!

We might stop the rotation of the earth in only 1000 years!!!!! Details in the pdf below.

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/zjl/pdf/tide0.pdf

Whoa! Trippy issue for sure. Fry one side of Earth and freeze the other side permanently.

 

[EJ3]

Courage, EJ3:

975 people aren't a problem anywhere, so -- come to that -- you can do whatever you like and no one need care. Sure, EVs are most relevant in places where there are a lot of vehicles the "1st world" be the prime instance.

OTOH, I'll bet you have sun and wind on your Pacific isle. One suspects that solar and wind might already be a cheaper alternative for you islanders than imported gasoline where it can be substituted.

Land scarcity, potential impacts on threatened bird species, and typhoon level winds (as in we recently had 223 MPH gusts during a 190 + MPH typhoon) may complicate siting of wind turbines. Because we lie on active volcanic formations, geothermal energy potential is being explored.

 

[Doodski]

geothermal energy potential is being explored.

Geo-thermal is good because it takes oil drilling and uses much of the same stuff and personnel. Directly transferable skills.

 

[samsa]

However, DON'T DO IT!

We might stop the rotation of the earth in only 1000 years!!!!! Details in the pdf below.

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/zjl/pdf/tide0.pdf

That's just wrong. By many, many, orders of magnitude.

The rotational kinetic energy of the earth (the thing that's being "extracted" in tidal energy generation) is 10s of millions of times the total annual energy consumption by humans.

His assumption is that human energy consumption will increase exponentially until the two numbers are comparable. If that were true (in any scenario for how that energy was generated), we'd be in much bigger trouble than that.

Of course, the assumption that exponential growth will continue unabated until some absurd result obtains is always a flawed assumption.