On 18 Mar 2014 at 0:17, [email protected] wrote: > regen does NOT add any range. It merely uses a generator on the wheel > to capture some of the energy used for accelerating instead of wasting > it in heat.
That is - regen recaptures some of the energy used for accelerating instead of wasting it in heat, AND THEN RETURNS IT TO THE BATTERY, SO YOU CAN USE IT TO DRIVE FARTHER. So yes, regenerative braking DOES increase range, for normal driving situations where you can't coast up to every stop and you have to actually use the brakes. You could also increase our range by adding more batteries. That would probably be more cost effective. It would also be less elegant. ;-) A practical EV design balances elegance and efficiency against cost. If it isn't affordable, or at least somewhat price competitive, no one will buy it (showroom) or build it (conversion). Then what's the point? > Using this out of the way route, with little or no traffic, I use 1.0 > to 1.1 Ahr per mile without regen, and at times that I have traffic, I > use 1.15 to 1.2 Ahr per mile using regen. And how much energy to you use if you use the friction brakes the way you used regen? I refer you to the above. In normal driving situations - not carefully selected "out of the way" routes - you just can't always coast to a stop. Traffic doesn't allow it. In those case, regen beats the friction brakes hands down. > Think about it.. how efficient is the generator on the wheel for > charging a battery? I saw what you did there. Maybe not deliberately, but you used the EV- hobbyist hot button phrase "generator on the wheel." That's an emotional appeal, not a reasoned argument. Whether you put the generator on the wheel or in the drivetrain is immaterial (except in matters of detail). You're still increasing efficiency as long as you use your generator (or your motor rewired as a generator) to recapture energy only when you want the vehicle to slow down and can't coast to a stop. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
