Quote:
Originally Posted by IamBatman
not 10 times, but 2x...
Internal combustion engines in cars are very inefficent because they have to work though a big RPM range. Power Plants that burn hydrocarbons runs at the RPM of Peak efficiency: Electric motors are also more efficient though out a big range of RPMs. Also, the power plant & transmission line argument goes away when people convert to point of us Solar/wind power generation.
Processing EVs & Power Plants: 39% (Electricity Generation) | ICE & Fuel Refining92% (Fuel Refining)
Transmission Lines: EVs & Power Plants 95% | ICE & Fuel Refining-N/A
Charging EVs & Power Plants 88%| ICE & Fuel Refining-N/A
Vehicle Efficiency: EVs & Power Plants 88% | ICE & Fuel Refining 15%
Overall Efficiency: EVs & Power Plants 28% | ICE & Fuel Refining 14%
this is only comparing EVs to ICEs, because the calculation for a hybrid/plug-in hybrid is much more complicated.
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Care to show where you got your figures? They don't jive with those from the mechanical engineering publication or other sources I've seen. For that matter, it would be nice to see where they got their figures - for instance, US DoE shows power plants as 33% efficient and transmission as 90.5% efficient (
GridWorks: Overview of the Electric Grid). Showing the assumptions they used and their work would be nice as well.
With respect to converting to home solar and wind, those will need to be much more efficient and less costly for those to even be considered - I'd have to cover my entire roof in solar panels just to meet my day-to-day needs (not including an EV) and at a considerable cost. Also, last I checked, the sun's only out about half the day assuming no clouds (the half-day you'd be at work, which means you'll have to have a means of storage) and the wind doesn't blow 24/7. As it is, people who have put wind turbines on their properties have pissed off their neighbors with the noise turbines make and there are possible health concerns (
http://www.viewsofscotland.org/libra...sehealth-1.pdf) - that last thing may be a bit of a stretch IMO, but it's not without at least some merit and I don't know about you but my nearest neighbor is much closer to being within 2m then they are the mandatory 2km recommended by that study.