Since the majority of Americans drive fewer than 50 miles a day some people think we can dramatically change our transportation.

They think you can have a bunch of electric vehicles connected to a smart grid that gets a lot of its energy from renewable sources.

These cars would be plugged in and the grid would be able to pull power from the cars (and pay you for it) during times of low-energy production(because renewable output fluctuates so much).

They think that you could also program what time you needed your car charged and the majority of people will have them charged while sleeping during low power usage.

I am also confused by your comment that other forms of power use more energy than gas. The internal combustion engine is very inefficient compared to electric vehicles.

 

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This is an hysterically incorrect statement.

Rho

 

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http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml

"Energy efficient. Electric motors convert 75% of the chemical energy from the batteries to power the wheels—internal combustion engines (ICEs) only convert 20% of the energy stored in gasoline."

 

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What you have failed to factor in to your comparison is the loss from generation and transmission of the electricity used to charge the car's batteries.

Rho

 

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Just curious if you have calculated the energy costs of development of gas fields, of production, refinement, transportation, distribution, who knows what else. Or are you just looking at the end product for gas and comparing it to the whole picture for something else...

 

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OK, now factor in the cost of producing oil to refine into gasoline, and the costs associated with intervention in the middle east to keep the supply line moving.

Then remember we can produce electricity from domestic sources of energy, and in fact, almost all electricity generated in the US is produced via domestically produced energy sources.

Tada! Oil costs more than electricity. A LOT more.

Taking the same number of BTU's of fuel into your tank vs. into the power plant generating the electricity (both would contain the cost of getting the fuel in the first place), the gas engine in your tank wins the efficiency battle walking away.

Rho

 

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lol. Must be the special republican science of misinformation.

 

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I believe that the best current alternative to gasoline-fueled automobiles are natural gas or propane-fueled ones. Domestic production is skyrocketing, regional distribution is already in place. Conversion of the engine technology is minimal and all that remains is a reasonable retail sales presence.

A significant percentage of these alternate fuel vehicles will drop the demand for gasoline even more which will subsequently make it less expensive.

Rho

 

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What if you have some solar panels on your roof and produce the electricity yourself? What if you pay extra to buy "green energy" from the power plant? What if you live in a place that gets all their energy from hydro?

Seems like you are picking a hypothetical that is a little dishonest to make a point.

 

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