Why electric vehicles aren't the answer

[BMWST?]

as mentioned, battery swap's for your refueling question.

and as for strain on the power grid, how about if every roof top in NZ had a percentage of it's area covered in solar panels, and they are all wired into the national grid? Surley that'd work?

not much solar energy at night

[george formby]

I think electric & hybrid vehicles are nothing more than a convenient marketing stop gap. They have no benefit over a modern diesel on the road, in production costs or recycling all those rare metals in them.

As already stated the biggest hindrance to alternative power for road vehicles is infrastructure. No body will invest until their is a standard & we are still a long way from that. It needs to be future proof too, to cope with development.

I have recently read about two very interesting methods of safely storing hydrogen, one in an ammonia lattice & the other in a nano thread lattice. Both have potential. And we have lots & lots of hydrogen.

Slightly off topic but, if the gummint allow private ownership of all the power companies in years to come we will all be screwed. Our demands are increasing across the board, use of electric vehicles of many types will grow massively but we will be screwed on the price of power. F&*^%d either way.

I'm getting a horse.

[Big Dave]

You'll probably pull into a 'battery station' and change the power pack. Same as filling up with fuel now.

Wait till you ride one. They will be great - mega torque.

[FJRider]

We're dealing with a 100 year old problem that man hasn't been cracked, but in the interim we've landed on the moon, split atoms, genetically engineered food and animals, cured diseases etc.

Must be a tricky one.

It's not really that problem, thats at stake ... many countries economy is based (read DEPENDS) on petroleum products/sales ...

[george formby]

as mentioned, battery swap's for your refueling question.

and as for strain on the power grid, how about if every roof top in NZ had a percentage of it's area covered in solar panels, and they are all wired into the national grid? Surley that'd work?

I've been banging on about this for years. Potentially a home grown industry creating jobs & knowledge to sell. At the very least if every household generated a small percentage of it's own power it would add up to a significant weight off the grid.
Again, it needs to be looked at long term for all it's benefits, not just it's cost v profit outcome.

[george formby]

You'll probably pull into a 'battery station' and change the power pack. Same as filling up with fuel now.

Wait till you ride one. They will be great - mega torque.

I think the future of "toys" is looking bright.

[bogan]

I've been banging on about this for years. Potentially a home grown industry creating jobs & knowledge to sell. At the very least if every household generated a small percentage of it's own power it would add up to a significant weight off the grid.
Again, it needs to be looked at long term for all it's benefits, not just it's cost v profit outcome.

Probably better to have a the solar panels in one sunny place, than dispersed around a city. Save a bit on the inverters and maximum power point trackers etc. Easier to put in reflectors and panels that track the sun too. Have you done any numbers on it? I wouldn't be surprised if a $500 solar panel took 5-10 years to pay itself off.

[240]

I have posted my thoughts on electric a while ago and stand by them.
You will essentially be sitting a a hulking great electro magnetic fucken field frying your gonads when you sling your leg over an electric motor.
Some electric vehicles actually carry warnings for pregnant females not to travel in them.
It is an issue.
To me hydrogen will be the answer.

[Big Dave]

I think the future of "toys" is looking bright.

But they probably won't be able to go over 20mph in case they suck all the air out of your lungs!

[Matt Bleck]

not much solar energy at night

true, what about an international grid?

[BMWST?]

the real answer is nuclear power whereby the byproduct is hydrgen.IS it fission or Fusion.Whatever it is it is the type of nuclear reactor we dont have at the moment.

[george formby]

We need to invest in Geothermal too.

[Motu]

You'll probably pull into a 'battery station' and change the power pack. Same as filling up with fuel now.

Wait till you ride one. They will be great - mega torque.

There will need to be a standard,world wide at least...and at the moment one isn't even considered. We had the Mitsubishi MiEV in at work a couple of months ago - it used 3/4 of a tank going from Pukekohe to Huntly,and so couldn't get back again without a recharge...and we had to fit a plug to do that. It needs a hoist and a forklift to change the battery pack,although it doesn't take very long to do it.But yeah,mega torque - it will leave the petrol version iCAR for dead.

I got a 2nd hand electric mower last week - 1800w and 18in cut,it goes through stuff that has my 5hp B&S struggling. This is my 3rd electric mower,I'm not going back to petrol.

[george formby]

I have posted my thoughts on electric a while ago and stand by them.
You will essentially be sitting a a hulking great electro magnetic fucken field frying your gonads when you sling your leg over an electric motor.
Some electric vehicles actually carry warnings for pregnant females not to travel in them.
It is an issue.
To me hydrogen will be the answer.

Pertinent point, particularly with mobiles under the spot light again. Car manufacturers are talking about a charging system which does not require a plug, same principle as charging your electric toothbrush.

Ultimately if health risks are confirmed the technology won't be binned, new technologies will be developed to protect us. Spacesuits will be really fashionable.

[Usarka]

Run them on chicken shit.