Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, CO

I wonder if this can be validated? Never hear this side of the story…


The following is about the economy of electric cars, but the findings also apply to windmills and solar panels which cost benefits do not include the new t***smission lines, energy storage facilities, and the government costs for subsidies.


At a neighborhood bbq I was talking to a neighbor, a BC Hydro executive. I asked him how that renewable thing was doing. He laughed, then got serious. If you really intend to adopt electric vehicles, he pointed out, you had to face certain realities. For example, a home charging system for a Tesla requires 75 amp service.

The average house is equipped with 100 amp service. On our small street (approximately 25 homes), the electrical infrastructure would be unable to carry more than 3 houses with a single Tesla, each. For even half the homes to have electric vehicles, the system would be wildly over-loaded.

This is the elephant in the room with electric vehicles ... Our residential infrastructure cannot bear the load. So as our genius elected officials promote this nonsense, not only are we being urged to buy the damn things and replace our reliable, cheap generating systems with expensive, new windmills and solar cells, but we will also have to renovate our entire delivery system! This latter "investment" will not be revealed until we're so far down this dead end road that it will be presented with an oops and a shrug.

If you want to argue with a green person over cars that are eco-friendly, just read the following:

Note: If you ARE a green person, read it anyway. Enlightening.

Eric test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors...and he writes...For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine. Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh battery is approximately 270 miles.

It will take you 4 1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.

According to General Motors, the Volt battery holds 16 kwh of electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery. The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity. I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16 per kwh. 16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery. $18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery. Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine that gets only 32 mpg. $3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile.

The gasoline powered car costs about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000........So the American Government wants loyal Americans not to do the math, but simply pay 3 times as much for a car, that costs more than 7 times as much to run, and takes 3 times longer to drive across the country.....

Unintended Consequences

Sounds to me like we should stick with the hybrids. My Prius gets 52-54 mpg on the highway and 48-52 in city driving. It charges every time you hit the brakes and is still running great at 170000 miles.

robmull Loc: florida

Shhhhhhhhhhh, Jake; you're blowing the whole "lefty" conservation plan, and making it seem like all the rest of the crap "lefty" tries to pawn-off on America - and the world!!! Shhhhhhhhh. Hummmmmmmmmm. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRESIDENT "45" {BORN AGAIN} TRUMP (R); JUST LIKE THE WEATHER!!!

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Jake,

Interesting article, but is it dated?

I have heard similar complaints about the Volt in the past.. Some were to be improved...

Other points to give a thought to, but this is an exaggeration, even if some points are valid. Overall this article is doubtful.

But the biggest question is--- where in the heck do you (or the writer) live that you pay $1.16/kwh???? I recently had a rate increase and whined about it..

I now pay 12.5 cent per kwh and about 6 cents per kwh for hot water..

guitarman Loc: University Park, Florida

Prius is a very ugly looking car. however I am glad some of you are buying them, because it will leave more gas for me to run my cars.

badbobby Loc: texas

methinks that battery operated cars have a very long way to go
to start to take the place of gasoline engines
but when the first auto was produced
people scoffed and said
"that will never replace my old reliable horse and buggy"
they are improving batteries every day
who is to say they can't one day make one to take you a thousand miles without recharging
meanwhile
I shall drive my 4 banger-28 in town 39 on the road

archie bunker Loc: Texas

How many bales of hay can you stack in a Prius? Just curious because I'm a tightwad, and all about saving money.

Unintended Consequences

Will someone tell me when our pussy grabbing president was born again.

sisboombaa

Does anyone know how often and at what expense the battery(s) needs to be replaced?

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

sis, OPPS, was aiming at someone else.. But,

If we are to compare gas to electric cars we should consider the latest advance in both..

The newest electric cars are so much better then most currently on the market it would be like comparing todays gas car to the Model T of olden days..

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, CO

Agreed! Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds. However until the miles per charge increases significantly I too shall stick to my 4 banger.

thinksense

Something people don’t even think about is the effect upon a person’s health with regard to electric pollution.

We are all aware that cell phones are found harmful to our health, right? Same applies to other electrical pollution, such as “Smart Meters. Well think about the electric field you are sitting in when you are in an electric car.

My sister-in law has a Prius and since I am a doctor trained in applied Kinesiology I decided to test her both in and out of her Prius. This involved testing 2 muscles for relative strength and function, repeated every 3 minutes, while she was exposed to the radiation in the car.

There was an approximate drop of 50% in muscular function when she was in the car and it was turned on. Her body did adapt a bit after sitting in the car for 15 minutes, but she still had close to a 30% strength loss at that point. Never improved beyond that during a further 15 minute testing period.

I would not ever buy an electric car unless the passenger compartment was totally shielded.

EN Submarine Qualified Loc: Wisconsin East coast

Some day maybe even the public schools might even teach t***h. Don't however hold your breath, it could be fatal.
I think there are a couple 'gimmies' that should also be taught. If it was someone Obama either hired or appointed, it would not bode well for the USA. By the same token, if it is something the 'greenies' have sworn by you will be swearing at.

T***h escapes these people.

EN Submarine Qualified Loc: Wisconsin East coast

Yep, 10 to 12 cents/kwh locally (WI) certainly not 1.16