Electric Vehicles on the horizon? Do your homework

[Aaron_W]

One of the operators in a heavy oil field needed some steam for their enhanced oil recovery process. The price was kind of high, even for "low quality" steam. "Low quality" means low superheat temperature, and this steam is useless for power generation. It does, however, contain a lot of energy. So, this operator started generating higher quality steam, and ran it through a power plant to generate electricity. The waste heat (lost energy) of such a cycle was low quality steam, which is just what they needed for their oilfield operation. It turned out that the power they generated from the energy released in the transition from high to low quality steam more than paid for the operation, so that's where the greater than 100% number comes from.

Reducing consumption through waste products or local production is often overlooked. I was reading about the use of Sterling engines in Scandinavia. Sterling engines operate off of heat differentials, so in a cold climate the warmth inside a building vs the cold outside can create electricity. Not a stand alone power system, but it creates power and helps to offset the power needed for heating, essentially creating free energy.. Sweden has included Sterling engines on their Gottland class submarines. All the heat generated inside the submarine from the machinery and crew (body heat) inside the sub and the sea water outside powers the Sterling engine which is used to charge the batteries.

There are many sources of waste energy that could be tapped, and every little addition is a little less that needs to come from the grid. This is actually one of my concerns with so many only looking for one solution. The best option will be a variety of power options and creative uses for them. Having every home off the grid with solar or wind is not likely, but if every home generated 500w or 1000w through some means, that is a tremendous amount of power when added up. Power sources could include solar, wind, water, heat exchange (fireplace), exercise machines tied to generate power* etc. Of course some more practical than others.

* I used to work with a girl whose dad was kind of a mad tinkerer and very frugal. He hooked up a generator to an exercise bike. If the kids wanted to watch TV they had to pedal creating the electricity for the TV.

 

[Shotgun]

Lets see, solar panels operate at about 20 watt / square foot. A full sized truck is about 6 feet wide and 20 feet long, 120 square feet, 2.4 kw max. If it takes a 19.2 kw charger all night to bring up a battery you might make it out of the parking lot by the end of a sunny week.

Greg

That was the point in quoting kWH/mile. My current vehicle has an 18gal tank, but I don't have to fill it up every day. And you're 120 square feet is only the area directly over the truck. Car covers tend to be a bit larger than the car they're covering. So, I only get 3kW for 9 hours. That is 27kWh. I'd want something bigger than the sedan, so figure .5kwh/mile. I'd still only be using half the charge from the panels each day.

Anyway, the point was directed at what is going to happen to the grid. The point was that as power generation decentralizes, the grid will be fine. And I'm happy with that. I'd prefer to not be beholden to Dookie Power, PG&E, et. al., any more than I have to. In fact, I'm going to look at what it will take to hook an exercise bike to MY tv. (And won't actually, 'cause I'm lazy, but it would be a cool thing to do).

 

[Shotgun]

I don't know if it is true or not, but I hear that the really big dump trucks that are used in mining to bring rock down from mountains have electric brakes. When they get to the bottom of the hill they drain the batteries and use the energy to power other stuff.

 

[ttabbal]

I don't know if it is true or not, but I hear that the really big dump trucks that are used in mining to bring rock down from mountains have electric brakes. When they get to the bottom of the hill they drain the batteries and use the energy to power other stuff.

It wouldn't surprise me. There are storage ideas proposed using gravity. For example, lift trains up a mountain, let them slowly drop while running a generator. Pumped Hydro, and even cranes piling blocks up and putting them down to generate. The Hydro one is already in use, but it requires somewhat specific conditions. Combined with batteries, those types of setups can make a big difference for renewables. I'm not sure about 100%, but let's push for, say, 50% while we work on it.

 

[Eddyde]

I don't know if it is true or not, but I hear that the really big dump trucks that are used in mining to bring rock down from mountains have electric brakes. When they get to the bottom of the hill they drain the batteries and use the energy to power other stuff.

Most of those trucks are Diesel-Electric, that is, they have a Diesel engine running a generator that powers electric motors to the wheels. So yes such trucks could harness braking power through regeneration. Diesel locomotives work the same way but as far as I know, they use massive resistor networks for braking.

 

[Superburban]

Most of those trucks are Diesel-Electric, that is, they have a Diesel engine running a generator that powers electric motors to the wheels. So yes such trucks could harness braking power through regeneration. Diesel locomotives work the same way but as far as I know, they use massive resistor networks for braking.

Resistors are not regenerative. They would have to have batteries to store the generated power, they are just using the resistors to convert the power to heat, saving on the actual brakes. As far as I know, neither the big trucks, or locomotive have regenerative capability.

 

[kb58]

There's a new electric car company trying to make a name for itself... I'm too lazy to look up their name, but they put solar panels on the hood, roof, and trunk. They advertise that if you live within X miles of work, you never have to plug it in to charge it. It might be true, but only under very specific conditions, like: longest day of the year, and no obstructions to block the sun, and you live on the equator, and you don't use any accessories, including lights, and stay under some speed which isn't specified, and you don't have to stop, and... well, you get the idea.

 

[Shotgun]

There's a new electric car company trying to make a name for itself... I'm too lazy to look up their name, but they put solar panels on the hood, roof, and trunk. They advertise that if you live within X miles of work, you never have to plug it in to charge it. It might be true, but only under very specific conditions, like: longest day of the year, and no obstructions to block the sun, and you live on the equator, and you don't use any accessories, including lights, and stay under some speed which isn't specified, and you don't have to stop, and... well, you get the idea.

They advertise up to 16miles a day or so.

Aptera Motors

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[Eddyde]

Resistors are not regenerative. They would have to have batteries to store the generated power, they are just using the resistors to convert the power to heat, saving on the actual brakes. As far as I know, neither the big trucks, or locomotive have regenerative capability.

Sorry I wasn't clear, I know resistors don't store energy. I was comparing the locomotives, which I'm pretty sure don't have battery storage, to the mining trucks which might.

 

[matthewsx]

Nearly 200 posts, can’t resist any longer



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