A hybrid basically, just takes care if idling does it not? The motive power is all ICE unless it is PiH. I don't mean to sniff at that, but just saying.
I am in a mostly rural area, but rather dense, and I cannot imagine my carrier exceed the range of a Leaf for example. Here an EV might work nicely. When delivering in a more densely urban area the carrying capacity is likely to be an issue. Seems like USPS could have been pressing Multistop (or who ever it is) to make a more efficient, less polluting vehicle for some time now. Or they should start. I doubt this delivery of mail is too tough a nut to crack like this fellow Lee says it is. A $20,000 pack gets paid for in fuel costs with little trouble. All of them won't need that much storage. An EV could be potentially less trouble to own and operate. Certainly more pleasant for the operator. Mike On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 9:09 AM, Mike Nickerson via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > Interesting story. I'm surprised that the story didn't mention hybrids. > That seems like it would be ideal for postal delivery trucks. The energy > from the frequent stops would be recaptured and could be used for > acceleration. That is well developed technology for SUVs. > > Mike > > > On March 19, 2015 2:17:13 AM MDT, brucedp5 via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > >http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/03/greener-delivery/ > >Greener delivery? > >March 16, 2015 | By Alvin Powell > > > >[image / Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer > > > http://media.news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/031315_mail_truck_022_605.jpg > >(old usps ice) With the U.S. Postal Service poised to replace its mail > >trucks, which get 9 mpg, with more fuel-efficient models, the options > >can > >get complicated. For the biggest impact, improving the efficiency of > >truck > >engines, particularly small trucks, is the answer, contends Henry Lee, > >an > >authority on electric cars and the Jassim M. Jaidah Family Director of > >the > >Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Belfer Center > >] > > > >Wider opportunities seen as Postal Service looks to improve on 9 miles > >per > >gallon > > > >The boxy mail truck familiar on American roads for more than two > >decades > >soon may be a thing of the past. The Postal Service is beginning the > >process > >of replacing some 180,000 of the trucks, a significant portion of its > >total > >fleet. > > > >The request for proposals sent to automakers in January carried several > >design considerations, including enhanced fuel efficiency, lower > >emissions, > >and enough space to allow workers to stand up in the back as they grab > >letters and boxes for delivery. > > > >The Gazette asked Henry Lee, an authority on electric cars and the > >Jassim M. > >Jaidah Family Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program > >at > >the Belfer Center, about the opportunity for the Postal Service to > >improve > >its environmental footprint — and perhaps spark broader automotive > >changes — > >through a more fuel-efficient replacement for the current model, which > >gets > >roughly 9 miles per gallon. > > > >GAZETTE: How important should fuel efficiency be to the Postal > >Service’s > >consideration of a new vehicle? > > > >LEE: That’s a tough question to answer. From the perspective of someone > >concerned about the environment, they should be quite concerned. But if > >I > >was [head] of the Postal Service, I might say, “If society cares about > >this > >issue, they’ll put a price on carbon and that will change my thinking > >about > >what I’m going to buy. But if they won’t do it, why should the people > >who > >buy mail services and a company that’s multiple billions of dollars in > >the > >red pay more for something that government hasn’t told us it cares > >about?” > > > >GAZETTE: Would that higher initial cost be offset by lower operating > >cost? > >You take something that gets nine miles a gallon and get something that > >gets > >25? > > > >LEE: I haven’t done the numbers, but you have to ask how many miles > >postal > >workers travel in a day. Not many, though they travel a long time and > >they > >keep the engine idling. They probably travel more in a day than they > >would > >be able to if this was an electric car. They’d probably run out of > >electricity. I haven’t done the analysis, but what if you went to > >natural > >gas? Or hydrogen? Certainly natural gas would be an option. > > > >GAZETTE: Not electricity, though, because of the number of hours > >they’re on > >the road? > > > >LEE: Well, you have to have a lot of batteries to move something that > >heavy. > >So if you need 30 to 34 batteries — lithium batteries — the cost of the > >vehicle would be $20,000 more, times 180,000, which is a pretty big > >number. > > > >The good news for electric vehicles is that they would all go back to > >the > >same garage in the evening, and you could put charging facilities in > >the > >garage quite easily. So charging won’t be a problem, which it might be > >if > >you or I bought the car. But you’d have to figure that it needs more > >batteries than a normal car. You really don’t want the vehicle to have > >to > >come back at noon to be recharged. > > > >So you’re going to need more batteries in each vehicle so you have > >longer > >range. A Tesla has a phenomenal number of batteries. But it can go for > >240 > >miles. > > > >GAZETTE: Do you have a sense of what an ideal mail vehicle would look > >like? > > > >LEE: No. It’s an interesting problem. If I had two weeks free, I bet I > >could > >come up with some ideas. I can tell you what won’t work, but I can’t > >tell > >you what the answer is. I can certainly beat 9 miles per gallon, > >though. The > >question is: Do I want to beat it by a factor of two or a factor of > >three? > > > >GAZETTE: If the media coverage is correct and the Postal Service is > >going to > >replace 180,000 vehicles, is that big enough to make an impact on the > >tailpipe pollution that the country emits? > > > >LEE: Yes and no. The no is because you have these vehicles dispersed > >across > >the entire country, so that’s not going to make a big dent [in local > >air > >quality]. Where it can make a dent is if you are now manufacturing > >engines > >that are a lot more efficient for midsize and small-size trucks — small > >trucks and SUVs are what Americans buy these days. And if you can > >improve > >the efficiency of truck engines, particularly small trucks, that would > >have > >a major impact. > > > >If I build an engine that is more efficient and I have to buy equipment > >and > >parts, somebody has to manufacture all those parts. They would probably > >like > >to sell some parts to customers beyond the U.S. Postal Service, so the > >impact of the improvement becomes wider. It’s like when an elite car > >model > >has some [advanced] device, and the next two years more cars have it > >and, > >after 10 years, all cars have it. So the more we can build more > >efficient > >vehicles, the better off we’re going to be and the better off the > >world’s > >going to be. > > > >GAZETTE: Where do vehicle emissions rank in the list of climate change > >challenges? > > > >LEE: Again, a simple answer is hard here. If you forget climate for one > >second, smog is a huge problem in cities like New Delhi and many others > >in > >China. Smog is a chemical soup that consists of a number of chemicals, > >including small particles. A lot of these particles and a lot of the > >NOX > >[nitrogen oxides] are emitted by vehicles, particularly older trucks. > > > >So if I can either substitute much more efficient models or get those > >trucks > >off the road, I’m going to make a dent in conventional pollution. I was > >just > >amazed at the number of trucks I’ve seen in China. I haven’t spent time > >in > >India, but I would suspect it’s not much different. > > > >Second, as I ratchet down emissions of power plants — there’s the new > >Obama > >[power plant] rule and I suspect the Chinese are going to do the same > >thing > >when they come up with their cap-and-trade program — then those sources > >I’m > >not ratcheting down will contribute a higher percentage of the total > >CO2 > >emissions. People may say that we can get everything we need [in > >emissions > >reductions] now from power plants, but that’s not going to be the case > >10 > >years from now, or 20 years from now, or 30 years from now. So if you > >want > >to make a difference in the out years, if you want to meet the 50 > >percent, > >60 percent, 70-80 percent goals that the politicians are talking about, > >you > >have to address transportation. > > > >I’ve done a lot of work on electric cars, and I’ve done some work on > >Chinese > >electric cars and at first blush they look like a monumental failure. > >They > >were trying to build cars to compete with Toyota and Tesla, but there > >are a > >couple of small, private entrepreneurs who are saying, “We have a > >pretty > >good monopoly on electric bikes, why don’t we produce small electric > >cars > >that cost $5,000 and go 35 miles an hour and maybe can’t even be used > >on the > >highway?” > > > >So they started making them and, lo and behold, they sold 400,000 of > >them > >last year. In fact, they sold 200,000 in one province. That’s five > >times > >what they sold in (larger) electric cars, so maybe they’re onto > >something > >here. These cars’ costs are at most $5,000 to $10,000. And somebody’s > >going > >to come along and say maybe there’s a niche here at $20,000 or $15,000 > >or > >$18,000 for a better electric car. That doesn’t solve the > >transportation > >emission problem, but with 800 million households in China, it can > >really > >make a dent. And these cheap electric vehicles might just be what India > >needs. > > > >Our focus is on the Tesla and these fancy $75,000-$80,000 cars, which > >are > >great cars. But maybe the answer for the world is these small and slow > >electric vehicles. > >[© harvard.edu] > > > > > > > > > >For EVLN posts use: > >http://evdl.org/evln/ > > > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=subject%3Aevln+NOT+subject%3Are&days=0&sort=date > > > > > >{brucedp.150m.com} > > > > > > > >-- > >View this message in context: > > > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Will-replacement-USPS-mail-trucks-be-Electric-tp4674337.html > >Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at > >Nabble.com. > >_______________________________________________ > >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) > > _______________________________________________ > 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) > > -- To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 585-6737 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20150319/814d91a8/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ 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)
