Quote:
Originally Posted by Icedog_16
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. |
Electro Automotive: FAQ on Electric Car Efficiency & Pollution
also in the GridWorks link you posted, the 33% efficiency refers to large plants. later on in the next paragraph it mentions distributed energy facilities having the efficiency of 65-90% (as of 2001). you are also assuming all of the power generated by power plants use fossil fuels, there was a chart posted earlier that shows a large percentage of CA electricity is generated with renewable resources.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icedog_16
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. |
old school wind turbines make a lot of noise, and is actually dangerous in the colder areas because they throw ice as they spin. Then new generation of helical windmills don't have the noise issue, it maxes out at a moderate RPM, doesn't care which direction the wind blows, and looks pretty cool.
Helix Wind
as far as efficiency, both solar and wind power is ready now. As I mentioned earlier, if a guy in foggy SF can make his old panel work, then it should work in a majority of the places. All it takes is to get the cost down and incentive for adoption.