What I learnt from charging my Prius
in [Toyota]
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From: Al Falfa on 5 Jan 2010 17:58 "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop(a)nastydesigns.com> wrote in message news:elmop-AE1C6C.17142005012010(a)nothing.attdns.com... > In article <michelle-122339.13494405012010(a)nothing.attdns.com>, > Michelle Steiner <michelle(a)michelle.org> wrote: > >> Therefore, this discussion boils down what is the definition of a "hybrid >> vehicle". You say the Volt is not a hybrid because the gasoline engine >> does not directly power the wheels. The other viewpoint is that it is a >> hybrid vehicle because the gasoline engine charges the batteries that >> power >> the wheels. > > Trains and submarines aren't hybrid vehicles; they call them > diesel-electrics. All of the diesel train engines I've seen dissipate the energy captured during braking in the form of heat because they have no way to store the energy to be used later for propulsion. Perhaps there are some that pull battery cars and I'm not aware of them. I don't know about subs, but a diesel-electric train isn't equivalent to what we have come to know as the hybrid automobile.
From: dr_jeff on 5 Jan 2010 19:40 Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote: > In article <4b43c04a$1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org>, > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote: > >> If I too >> wanted to split hairs, I could argue that a Volt plugged into my house is >> coal fired because most of my electricity comes from coal. > > It's not splitting hairs to say that the Volt when plugged into your > electric grid is NOT a zero emissions vehicle at any time. Carbon > emissions are created in order to insert energy into your Volt. > > Now, if you use strictly a solar panel setup to collect energy and put > it into your Volt, that would make it zero emissions up to the point > where the gasoline engine fired up. Not quite. If the solar panel is hooked up the electric grid, you're still using energy that would have reduced the use of fossil fuels. And, it took energy to make the solar panels. So it still takes fossil fuels to power solar-powered electric cars. > If you ran it strictly under 40 > miles between such solar-based charges, you could legitimately say you > have a zero emissions vehicle. > > But people, who are by and large stupid and don't grasp even the basics > of the world in which we live--and pride themselves on that > ignorance--will insist otherwise, will ignore the Volt's engine running, > and will say they have an all-electric vehicle. Trie.
From: dr_jeff on 5 Jan 2010 20:09 Michelle Steiner wrote: > In article <0didnVV8l6aSQd7WnZ2dnUVZ_jNi4p2d(a)giganews.com>, > dr_jeff <utz(a)msu.edu> wrote: > >>> Now, if you use strictly a solar panel setup to collect energy and put >>> it into your Volt, that would make it zero emissions up to the point >>> where the gasoline engine fired up. >> Not quite. If the solar panel is hooked up the electric grid, you're >> still using energy that would have reduced the use of fossil fuels. And, >> it took energy to make the solar panels. So it still takes fossil fuels >> to power solar-powered electric cars. > > And the tires leave carbon on the pavement, some of which mixes with the > oxygen in the air and becomes C02. > The cars also use oil and grease (for lubrication) as well as other products made with oil, like plastics and rubber tire. And all of these products require energy to make, which involves burning fossil fuels. In other words, using electric cars still involves using fossil fuels, even if the direct source of energy is electricity or even solar power.
From: Al Falfa on 5 Jan 2010 21:13 "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop(a)nastydesigns.com> wrote in message news:elmop-4D7AF7.19300705012010(a)nothing.attdns.com... > In article <4b43c04a$1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org>, > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote: > >> > That the Prius has a system to capture SOME of the kinetic energy >> > available from braking, and expend it later, is irrelevant. The energy >> > it recaptures came from the gasoline itself, and it doesn't come near >> > to >> > recapturing all the energy that the gasoline went INTO the system with. >> >> Trust me when I tell you I understand your reasoning but it's the ability >> to >> capture and store energy that sets the Prius apart from the conventional >> car >> and regardless of the source, wind, braking or coasting, the Prius has >> the >> ability to run on that energy in it's stored electric state. > > That the Prius happens to use electricity and batteries as the method to > store recaptured energy, doesn't make it an electric car. > > And yet, stupid people who want SO hard to believe they have an electric > car, think otherwise. They're ignorant, of course. You have a habit of denigrating others. By doing so, you denigrate yourself. Grow up.
From: Al Falfa on 5 Jan 2010 23:36
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop(a)nastydesigns.com> wrote in message news:elmop-0D92A1.22474405012010(a)nothing.attdns.com... > In article <4b43f1d2$1(a)newsgate.x-privat.org>, > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote: > >> > That the Prius happens to use electricity and batteries as the method >> > to >> > store recaptured energy, doesn't make it an electric car. >> > >> > And yet, stupid people who want SO hard to believe they have an >> > electric >> > car, think otherwise. They're ignorant, of course. >> >> You have a habit of denigrating others. By doing so, you denigrate >> yourself. Grow up. > > Sorry if you don't like hearing reality. Why do you behave like this? Didn't your mother teach you manners? |