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Originally Posted by MyFutureSelfnMe
The mainframe doesn't seem like a perfect analogy because it disregards the significantly greater energy consumption of PCs vs. terminals. PCs are rather inefficient beasts.
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The analogy is the functional output of the system - we demand power in computing, which PCs now deliver; the equivalent metric in power generation is efficiency - which distributed power systems are only now able to achieve.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyd
I don't understand why there is even any debate about which energy to use.
Solar energy is completely FREE, Completely clean, inexhaustible, easily collected, easily stored, requires no raw materials.
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Easily collected - well not so much yet...
Easily stored - no. In fact storage of electricity is one of the biggest challenges the wind/wave/solar generation systems face. Storage at any reasonable useful scale is extremely expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tko211
I am so over the TESLA. It's a great project that has it's place in terms of trail blazing new technology but... Seems like an early adopter sport car thing. Reminds me of Lazer discs, Really large and very expensive microwaves of the early 80's. Wait a few years and get something that is lots cheaper, works as good or even better.
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And this is why we have cheap CD/DVD players and cheap microwaves today - someone was willing to adopt the initial high cost/modest performance versions thus providing some cashflow and enabling the development of lower cost mass produced versions
Quote:
Originally Posted by IamBatman
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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%
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The 14% for ICE vehicles seems too low to me
- modern ICE vehicles are more like 25% efficient with an overall efficiency of ~20%
Quote:
Originally Posted by IamBatman
CNG burns much cleaner and more efficient then gasoline. There also aren't not that many CNG cars on the road, so I'm not sure why they used that as an example... keep in mind that interest in developing hybrid,battery,solar and other green technologies have only started the last 5-10 years, so to dismiss it before it even started or to compare it to a well established technology is a little premature
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They seemed to use CNG as a base for that study but left out petrol
In terms of development of green technologies despite them not being in actual production yet modelling can be done to show what they are theoretically capable of by taking best case developments of future technology. One of these studies demonstrated that the most theoretically efficient hydrogen fuel cell hybrid will not reach the same well to wheels efficiency a current generation Prius!