Electric cars: what would be the real cost?

[Soup DeVille]

I never said it would create energy. What is being discussed is that energy stored in the battery could be fed back into the net during peak use so that utilities need not fire up back up resources like natrual gas feed turbines as often.

Well, that's just plain stupid. Whoever's talking about doing that should stop.

[CALL_911]

An electric motor is not a heat engine as regarded thermodynamically, so that comparison is moot, even if your thinking is right.

I guess so. Point is, good luck finding a 100% efficient engine.

[GoCougs]

Electric motors are very efficient - as high as 90%. However, there are lots of things that are sources of inefficiency to get that power into the motor - from the process of charging the batteries, to the transistors to pump current into the windings, to every single piece of wire in the whole of the circuit.

[MrH]

Electric motors are very efficient - as high as 90%. However, there are lots of things that are sources of inefficiency to get that power into the motor - from the process of charging the batteries, to the transistors to pump current into the windings, to every single piece of wire in the whole of the circuit.

There's also the problem of creating the electricity to begin with, which is mostly done through burning fossil fuels at this point.

[ChrisV]

There's also the problem of creating the electricity to begin with, which is mostly done through burning fossil fuels at this point.

Which is actually highly efficient and even in the case of coal, 90% cleaner than burning gasoline in your car. It's easier to regulate and control emissions at a large single point source than millions of tiny individual mobile point sources.

Simply put, even accounting for where teh electricity COMES fropm, electric cars are vastly more efficient and less pollutiing than gasoline engine cars.

And oil IS going to be running out, so how efficient you can make a gas engine will become a moot point,. We're already on the downward side of oil production and what's left out there to get is getting harder and more expensive to find and extract.

Its high time we realize that a completely different mode of transportation energy is what we need to be embracing, rather than fighting. Especially for the mainstream, so us enthusiasts will have more oil left for our fun cars!

[r0tor]

ok the facts are...

a) Electric motors are about 90% efficient in most cases
b) Most real power plants (not strategically placed aero-derivative gas turbines) are in the 40-50% efficient range
c) You car is around 30% efficient

d) this is where the future of electric cars and the electricity grid is going in the US http://www.magicconsortium.org/

[GoCougs]

There's also the problem of creating the electricity to begin with, which is mostly done through burning fossil fuels at this point.

True, but that's always been the case. Electric cars are utterly DOA, however. Batteries and the necessary upgrades to grids will forever make that impossible. The private sector will never fund that, and if tasked with spending that kind of money, the government certainly isn't going to do it to keep people in cars. It'll spend that money on mass transit and otherwise engineer through law and taxation sprawling urbia.

[2o6]

Quick question, how much power does an EV use to charge? I'm under the impression that it wouldn't tax the grid anymore than an extra appliance.

[Laconian]

Quick question, how much power does an EV use to charge? I'm under the impression that it wouldn't tax the grid anymore than an extra appliance.

It depends, power is inversely proportional to charging time.