My 2 cents on electric cars... One, I don't think we have to wait for "quick charging" to be invented for electric cars to be a good value as a second car. I've been driving a Nissan Leaf for about 3 months. My wife uses it to go to work and I use it when I can.
Fun to drive. Carpool sticker (in CA) lets me drive in the carpool lane solo. I feel good about not sending $300/mo to the Saudi's every month. Its also very convenient to charge-- plug it in to 220V and it starts charging after midnight for the lowest rate... and by morning its ready for another 50-80 miles. Plus more businesses offer free or low-cost charging.. Again, not for long trips.. but 95% of my family's driving could be electric without problems. The only major improvement would be a decrease in the non-government subsidized price... they are still pricy for what you get.. but Uncle Sam makes them affordable to buy or lease... - Brad On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 3:01 PM, David L Babcock <[email protected]>wrote: > Starts to look better, when not in driver's home. > I still have problem with 1.2 MW! Car's system is very unlikely to be > over 480 volts at the battery, which implies 2,500 amps capability in the > battery hardware. Wow. The station's current requirement could only be > less if the car has a (completely unnecessary otherwise) 400 lb step-down > "box". Bigger than a pole pig and much more expensive. > > Okay, "400 lb" is a WAG, but I bet not too far off. > > An engineering nightmare. The PR flack who dreamed this up... Geez, he > could work for big bucks in free energy. > > > Ol' Bab > > > On 3/7/2013 4:21 PM, [email protected] wrote: > >> In reply to David L Babcock's message of Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:35:14 -0500: >> Hi, >> >> I get the impression from their web site that there would be refueling >> stations >> dotted around the country, analogous to the way gas stations are now. The >> range >> of the vehicle is projected to be 1000 km (it weighs 2 tonne, which >> implies lots >> of batteries), so they don't need to be *too* common. >> >> Note also that the vehicle has two charging modes, one for a quick charge >> (at >> suitable station), and also a home charging mode that takes longer (i.e. >> overnight). >> >> I guess that the intended purpose of the quick charge mode in combination >> with >> the long range, is to make long trips feasible. >> >> BTW just a thought of my own:- An adaptation of >> http://www.rand.org/pubs/**research_memoranda/RM2522.html<http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM2522.html>might >> provide a means by >> which charging stations could rapidly convert stored chemical energy into >> electrical power for rapid recharges. (No idea how (in)efficient this >> would be). >> [snip] >> Regards, >> >> Robin van Spaandonk >> >> http://rvanspaa.freehostia.**com/project.html<http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html> >> >> >> >
