what's the futur for gasoline van/RV/camper

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maybe not quite the same.. this is a standard 15 liter diesel OTR engine.

Not on one charge... but oddly enough some diesel pickups make about the same HP as 18 wheeler, and are close on torque... and the Rivian electric pickup beats big rigs on HP... 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque!

Yah, it's insane how we are making such big heavy and powerful electric vehicles rather than tiny efficient ones.

 

[John in Montreal]

I am referring to massive power production facilities, not an individual vehicle.

I stated solar (and wind) power plants always need a backup source of electricity for the communities they serve since there is no solar power generated after dark and no (or very little) wind power on calm days. I am correct on this. If you re-read my first sentence in post number 28, you should be able to understand my statement.

BTW not all EVs have 'huge batteries'...some of the 'budget' EVs have small batteries and only go about 100 miles or so on a charge.

As more drivers switch to EV's those batteries can be used to store solar power produced during the day, and sell it back to the grid at night.

EV's = Batteries
More batteries ==> Fewer coal plants, not more

 

[tx2sturgis]

Enjoy your Kool-Aid.

How is an EV going to 'sell' power back to the grid at night when nighttime is the time that most EVs are consuming power while being charged? Your statement makes no sense to me.

 

[gizmotron]

LOL Empirical logic. It's makes magical sense. It's the unicorn grid. People will line up to get a charge out of it.

 

[rruff]

How is an EV going to 'sell' power back to the grid at night when nighttime is the time that most EVs are consuming power while being charged? Your statement makes no sense to me.

Why would they be charged at night rather than during the day when the sun is out? Most people will be able to charge at work during the day or wherever they are parked.

The solution is simple... the price of electricity (in both directions) will vary depending on how much is generated and the time of day. Someone with a 300 mi range who typically uses 20 mi at a stretch will have a lot of excess capacity they can sell when demand is high.

 

[John in Montreal]

Enjoy your Kool-Aid.

How is an EV going to 'sell' power back to the grid at night when nighttime is the time that most EVs are consuming power while being charged? Your statement makes no sense to me.

The point is to charge EV's during the day with renewable solar power. Then use the aggregate surplus of all those EV batteries to supply power back to the grid at night, reducing the need for coal fired power.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think you are assuming everyone with an EV commuter car will be working at night or remotely from home. Going to work with an EV car for most of us almost NEVER involves parking at a charging station. There are very few of them actually near where people work, or at large employers. (this will improve in the future I assume)

In most of the country, people typically USE their vehicles during the day. Especially electric vehicles used in vocational service such local delivery, food service, buses, sanitation, etc.

Then most of those personal EVs and vocational EVs are charged at night.

 

[rruff]

Going to work with an EV car here almost NEVER involves parking at a charging station.

Of course they don't now! There are very few EVs now. But when EVs are common, charging stations will be everywhere.

 

[thegoodtom1]

I doubt anyone would want a discharged car in the morning, heading to work, AND, the excess cycling of the battery bank would only lead to premature failure. Who wants to throw away a car every 2 years and buy a whole new one?

 

[gizmotron]

Who wants to throw away a car every 2 years and buy a whole new one?

People that want to save the planet. They will be willing to make some billionaire more money on the way to empowering a few to vote for their best interests and meanwhile go to the same parties as their billionaire friends. It's the new improved 1%. You didn't actually think that altruism makes the world go round and round did you? EV's = big bucks. People are totally willing to support that.

 

[thegoodtom1]

They can have it. I still use flooded lead batteries. Solar, yes but lead is rebuildable and less toxic.

 

[rruff]

I doubt anyone would want a discharged car in the morning, heading to work, AND, the excess cycling of the battery bank would only lead to premature failure. Who wants to throw away a car every 2 years and buy a whole new one?

Your car has a 200 mi range and your work is 20 mi away... and you can charge when you get there.

And the LiFePO4 batteries I have are supposed to be good for 6,000 full cycles. Over 16 years if you full cycle every day.

 

[bullfrog]

Why would people in this country need to have an inefficient vehicle to go work or anywhere for that matter. There are several much better and cheaper alternatives to buying and maintaining a vehicle. I have walked to work for many years, if fact my old motor home enabled me to find a situation that allowed me to do so and hasn't moved since! Lol!!! Many of my coworkers only start and drive their vehicles to town once every 3 or 4 months. Most local trips are done by walking or now a days electric bicycle for people that are older. My son's employer provides a van for every 5 employees to ride share to and from work. Everyone uses online shopping and virtual health visits when possible. Many nomads use seasonal jobs to get housing and transportation provided by their employer. Less can be more and living simply out of a back pack is getting easier with today's technology. As far as batteries for large amounts of storage I have often wondered why simple water storage systems that pump water up hill by solar during the day and are used to generate hydro electricity at night have not been developed as well as atomic generation plants improved or moved to space based safe locations.

 

[rruff]

I have often wondered why simple water storage systems that pump water up hill by solar during the day and are used to generate hydro electricity at night have not been developed as well as atomic generation plants improved or moved to space based safe locations.

Economics. Hydro systems are very well developed and are common in some places, but their capitol cost and poor efficiency limit their practical use.

Putting anything in space is horrendously expensive and very difficult to service.

 

[John in Montreal]

As far as batteries for large amounts of storage I have often wondered why simple water storage systems that pump water up hill by solar during the day and are used to generate hydro electricity at night have not been developed

Because we don't need to.

We already have hydro dams that are supplying their customers 24/7.

As those dams are unable to keep up with growing demand the most practical solution is to add some solar to the mix. Then the hydroelectric power can be saved for nighttime use.

The point where hydroelectric dams have to be repurposed as a storage medium is still a long way off.

 

[rruff]

The point where hydroelectric dams have to be repurposed as a storage medium is still a long way off.

Repurposing of existing hydroelectric dams isn't the most economical. Pumped hydro only needs small inflows to account for evaporation, since it's a closed loop. You don't need a big river and lake, but you do need a lot of elevation change over a short distance.

 

[RonDean]

We are only right at the beginning of breaking our dependency to big oil. Some (all?) of the problems thus far cited will soon be solved if they haven't been already. The more we embrace the change, the faster that will happen.

Energy storage when the sun doesn't shine? There are so many ways I am sure someone has written a book about it. We just need to put some small part of the same efforts into that which we currently put into the whole oil industry. -find/ pump/ transport/ refine/ distribute/ sell - did I miss anything? I know I didn't include what hydrocarbons in the air are doing to the planet or to our personal health.

EV is worth doing. The sooner the better.

 

[66788]

A lot can happen in 10 years....and a lot of politicians and law-makers have NO idea how much damage is done to the earth from mining all the chemicals needed for millions of the large lithium batteries used in electric vehicles. Not to mention the added strain on the electrical grid, which is already strained, and all the additional coal we will have to mine, haul, and burn to make all this additional electricity.

Plus, available supplies of everything electronic is going to get tighter as time goes on.

Dont get in a hurry to sell out.

In 10 to 15 years a fair number of members on this forum will be dead, so for them this is a moot question.

I'm not worried about ANYTHING that far out in time.

 

[tx2sturgis]

In 10 to 15 years a fair number of members on this forum will be dead, so for them this is a moot question.

I'm not worried about ANYTHING that far out in time.

Ok, no problem...but in post number ONE the OP was pondering about the future, specifically 10 years into the future., and mentioned the year 2035. If you have an issue with that time frame, why not address your statement to (and quote) the OP? I'm only addressing the topic in the thread as-is.

 

[66788]

Ok, no problem...but in post number ONE the OP was pondering about the future, specifically 10 years into the future., and mentioned the year 2035. If you have an issue with that time frame, why not address your statement to (and quote) the OP? I'm only addressing the topic in the thread as-is.

...because you opened the door to my post by saying in 10 to 15 years a lot can happen.

I just ran with that statement. ¿Comprende?