Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pkang0202]

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/10/plug-ins-arent.html

I read the article, and I don't see how these environmentalists think plug-ins are better for the environment. Sure, your car will run mostly on Electricity. The electricity is coming mostly from Coal power plants.

Also, I would imagine if you plug your car in to charge every night, your electricity bill is going to skyrocket.

Many major metropolitan cities struggle over the summer when every household has their AC cranked up. How the hell are they going to handle the power when people starting plugging their cars into the grid.

[peppermint]

[saw6436]

Pardon my ignorance, but why should it be necessary to plug in your car at all? Seems to me that there could be an on board generator that could recharge your battery. Perhaps something utilizing the rotation of the tires? I don't know, not an engineer.

[I_Am_The_Kiwi]

if your pwoer is coming from a renewable resource..
.i.e wind, solar, hydro


then its not a problem.....

[IncognitoHFX]

[Rusty Shackleford]

[Underwaterbob]

[Rusty Shackleford]

[IlIlNine]

It's not that complicated:

Power plants, even coal, are far more efficient at generating energy than a gasoline IC engine. If it weren't, then we'd have gasoline power plants. The advantages of gasoline are in distribution and storage.

Plug-in hybrids make the distribution path of electricity much more efficient. Advanced battery technology improves the storage aspect. Add a small gasoline generator to increase your range, and you're looking at a pretty efficient vehicle!

[pokesplort]

ok its been awhile since i've seen it, but the movie "who killed the electric car" is fantastic for anyone interested in how and why electric cars would be better. it also really pisses you off when you realize that we dont have them because basically oil companies would make no money then. there were electric cars, i think it was the 90's, but the company that made them recalled them and destroyed them even though the people who had leased them still wanted them, protested, etc etc. like i said, its been a little while since i've seen it but its really really good. i would totally get an all electric car. and it would be nice to know an estimate on how much your house electric bill would cost if you plugged it in. still i feel like it would not be as much as most people pay for gas. frack gas. i also read this neat article on cnn about people converting their hybrids to all electric.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/30/hybrid.electric.conversion/index.html?iref=newssearch

[pkang0202]

Does anyone know how much you average electric bill woudl go up if you got a plugin hybrid?

I'm pretty sure you gotta plug that sucker in every night.

If I run my AC, the electric bill goes up a lot. I can't imagine how high that bill would go if I'm plugging a car in to charge every night.

Also, lets say plugin cars are the new rage and everyone goes out and buys one. Can power grids handle that?

It seems like the automakers are pushing ahead "plug-in" hybrid technology without considering the power companies. Think about it, people buy plug-in/electric vehicles left and right. Someone says, "Hey, we can raise the price of electricity by XX cents per kilowatt, justify it as trying to meet excessive demand, and we could make a fortune, JUST LIKE THE OIL COMPANIES.


It'll happen. Just wait. Its called Profit Maximization.

What makes it worse is that you can't just switch power companies. At least with gas, you have ways to get discounts (membership card, points, credit card, going to the cheaper gas station further away).

[shapeshifter]

[OneWayTraffic]

[OneWayTraffic]

[mindmetoo]

Some people argue the grid can handle it if we all plug in over night. Hrm. But I'm not sure if people really will all work that way. If we do need more juice, people won`t much tolerate the government firing up coal plants. But then many won't want new nuclear plants. Consumers are going to have to get their head screwed on right.