Clive Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 7 hours ago, NonMember said: The 80% claim for electric motors is a bit "ideal world" and not really representative, while modern diesel or GDI petrol engines can achieve rather more than 35%. Also, the electric system suffers much poorer transmission efficiency at medium load. The real benefit is in traffic, where internal combustion engines drop to their worst economy zone, while electric cars are at their peak. Which is exactly why hybrids are the obvious choice for the future.... I really don't see the infrastructure being in place for all-electric within 50 years, let alone 22. Unless we have our cars removed from us, rely on Uber and car-clubs to rent. Pigs will fly before that happens, at least in my lifetime. (actually, my lifetime is likely to be only 40 years, maybe not even my kids lifetimes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 I believe that lampposts are being installed with charging points and I’ve also seen things where private individuals and presumably companies can list their charging point for others to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 18 hours ago, rlubikey said: Of course, we've all adjusted our life styles to take advantage of the motor car. Well, if the car as we know it is being phased out, maybe we will have to change our life styles back to something more "local", like it used to be in the horse and cart or Shanks' pony days? Maybe we'd all be much happier then? No? Oh well. Not just our lifestyles but our entire economy. The entire ethos of our current industry is 'make, sell and dispose' - look at how many heavily subsidised car-making plants we have in Britain, owned by other countries who are making a fortune from UK government grants and incentives to keep people in work, no matter what. The work of course is churning out new cars, which people no longer buy - they 'rent'. Deposit of £4995, 48 monthly payments of £189, and an 'optional' final payment of £10,000 (Nissan Quashqai ad) or else return the vehicle. I just wish they'd make vehicles more like houses - you buy one for a long period and maintain it, and when you can afford it, move up. If the fuel issue does start to cause problems then we'll see an end to the policy of centralisation and a return to regional offices and local branches, with a lot more people working near where they live and less commuting vast distances, and becoming more self-reliant on local agents and services. My village doesn't even have a shop, nearest one being three miles away. I can walk down and have coffee in the visitor's centre, but no paper to read... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 Where is the electricity coming from, when was the last power station built in this country?. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 we will all have a wind farm in the back garden . more beans !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 We have the Rampion wind farm off our beach. 1.3 billion o build, 400MW capacity (when he wind is right) The big missed opportunity is tidal power utilising lagoons, simple technology and totally predictable/reliable. No idea why we don't have them all round the coast. Anyway, the big problem with lamp post charging etc is the sheer size of cables required. At the moment if we all put our kettles on we overstress the electrical infrastructure. What happens when everybody plugs in a 50amp charger at 6pm? then goes and pops the cooker on, and jumps in the electric shower. All the roads will need digging up to put larger cabling in. Many of the houses I have visited for work only have a 63A main fuse....so all the houses may need upgrading. Really, street car charging in terraced housing areas hasn't got a hope.....especially when the houses have all been converted into flats, and parking is difficult even with a permit.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 We have GunfleetbSands off Clacton and Scrobie Sands up near Gt Yarmouth, both of which are tiny compared to what is coming soon of the coast at Felixstowe. When announced it was to be the worlds largest wind farm. Approaching 1GW I think. which is great if you have a way of transporting the power to the Grid. They will soon, anyone who lives near Ipswich will have seen the massive trench that has been dug in a loop round the north to join the 400kv lines from sizewell. The problem of needing all the charging points is something that is keeping all the DNOs occupied I am sure. someone has to Pay for the infrastructure, but regularly those that want it do not want to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 On 7/14/2018 at 9:30 AM, Anglefire said: I believe that lampposts are being installed with charging points That should be an interesting experience for dogs, then.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said: That should be an interesting experience for dogs, then.... Charge up your Rover. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Woof!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 On 7/14/2018 at 12:57 PM, clive said: All the roads will need digging up to put larger cabling in. Many of the houses I have visited for work only have a 63A main fuse....so all the houses may need upgrading. Actually a mate of mine is doing a new road and industrial estate near Lincoln and another builder is doing some houses and they are having to install new mains cables back to the sub to support the chargers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 That's discrimination. They didn't require older homes to have a petrol pump and a lift / pit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 To be fair Colin, having a charger on the wall is probably not going to go boom - a tank of petrol on the side of the house probably will ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpbarrett Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 watched some of the Goodwood live stream yesterday, faster cars up the hill were 2 electric sports cars... Impressive speed but missed the sound of a full bore V8! mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 So when the sights and sounds have been dipatched to the happy hunting ground Whats to watch No Vaa room, no smiles , we all turn into morribund clones of the past live in hope the Merlin raises a cheer , steam locos are all restored , the Ic engine will become a tourist attraction Still in dinosuar mode Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 14 hours ago, Anglefire said: To be fair Colin, having a charger on the wall is probably not going to go boom - a tank of petrol on the side of the house probably will ? Not sure about that. Heard of a school recently who's solar roof panels caught fire and took the roof with them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Ah, well, there is always a potential issue if they are not installed correctly as I can't think of any other reason that they would do the big firework! Cable too small for the installed conditions could cause meltdown and potentially a fire if the roof was say felt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Looks like it was slate with roofing felt underneath... nuf said. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Was speaking with my sister in law's husband at the weekend - he's a research professor in energy. Apparently the car manufacturers and official testers have woken up to the fact that hybrid vehicles only offer environmental benefits in very narrow circumstances - most of the time they're no better than the underlying petrol or diesel vehicle. At least one manufacturer has currently paused production for this reason. Supposedly, all-electric is the only way forward, but nobody has an answer as to who will pay for the infrastructure, how damaging to the environment producing all those batteries will be, whether any common standard is emerging for batteries and (the big question) where all the electricity is going to come from if we don't surround the country with windmills and cover all our green spaces with solar PVs. Gully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 I could make my BMW more "efficient" if I didn't have the stop start system turned off (automagically) - The reason it's off is two fold. 1) I'm not convinced that repeatedly stopping and starting the engine is actually that good for it. 2) In an automatic, it stops as soon as the car does - so makes parking/pulling out of junctions a hair raising experience. However, if you have a hybrid, the batteries can get you restarted and the engine can cut in at its leasure. Though it doesn't eliminate the fear of engine failure, it should reduce the number of times it is started and stopped so lengthen the time before it does - hopefully after you've sold it to some other smuck. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Anglefire said: hopefully after you've sold it to some other smuck. ? Now THAT is another entire kettle of worms... it used to be you checked if a timing belt had been replaced before you bought a second-hand car; now you'll have to have the batteries replaced or at least tested. I suppose as long as they last the standard three years of a lease agreement at 0% APR they'll do the job well enough for the manufacturer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Two main questions Where does the electricity come from.. Where do the used batteries go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Actually the used batteries when no longer good for cars can and are used for static storage before being dismantled and recycled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludwig113 Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 if they offered very good terms on new electric car hire, more people might give it a try. but until you can get in an electric car and guarantee to be able to charge it no matter where in the country you are, it wont really take off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 1 hour ago, ludwig113 said: if they offered very good terms on new electric car hire, more people might give it a try. but until you can get in an electric car and guarantee to be able to charge it no matter where in the country you are, it wont really take off. And if you don't mind touring in twenty-mile segments... We could have a new electric Triumph - the ST60.... ST stands for short trip and 60 refers to the number of batteries you need... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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