[ausev] NEVs for local transport (was: Speed limits...)

[Sarah & Erik]

I've got several thousand miles on a bike, and like EVs, I think they
are an excellent transportation solution, a great way to stay fit at
the same time and agree with every "Share the Road" bumper sticker I
see. I've had a few close calls as well with drivers doing 40 mph
faster than me and it isn't fun, so I'm with you for all of that.

I have to disagree with the energy efficiency of EVs though. As you
mention Hydrogen fuels are an energy abomination. The rule of thumb I
remember is that EVs use between 1/2 and 1/3 of the energy of a
comparable car. From the Tesla website
http://www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/energy_efficiency.php
the well-to-wheel efficiency (this is the efficiency of the entire
energy process starting from the source in the ground and accounting
for all inefficiencies all the way until the rubber meets the road) of
the Tesla is about twice that of the Prius. Granted, not quite an
apples to apples comparison. The Tesla is a sporty 2 seater to a 5
passenger Prius, but that is comparing the Tesla to one of the most
efficient cars on the road. I couldn't find it this morning but
Tesla's website has the energy breakdown for their well-to-wheels
analysis and it's actually pretty conservative. If you're comparing a
car less efficient than the Prius the difference becomes more
striking. Any way you cut it, EVs are more efficient vehicles.

One of the really great things about EVs is they are much more
efficient than gas engines across a wide power band AND don't need to
warm up for several miles before they don't stink and get their rated
energy efficiency. If an EV has the power to get on the highway, it
will still use very little energy relatively going 20 mph. Using
energy half as fast will drastically change the demand and supply.

Erik

All that said, I'd love to see more EVs AND bikes on the road.

On 3/14/07, MLAB <mlibrik at earthlink.net> wrote:
> gary wrote:
> > Of course we don't want 25 mph NEV's on the highway, but perhaps
> > changes can be made to increase or improve the routes for NEV commuting.
> That "we" certainly isn't all-inclusive. I am often a 10-15 mph bicycle
> (5-10 on climbs) on the highway, and I am typically in full possession
> of a lane (width allowing). And God bless Texas for having the wisdom to
> allow that under the law. At a 50 mph speed difference, you don't want
> them passing too close -- I've been there and wouldn't let it happen
> again. I'd be greatly in favor of more 25 mph grannies altering the flow
> of any roadway, just as I'd be delighted to see more 15 mph Segways out
> in the lane with me downtown (and not on the sidewalk).
>
> It brings up an important matter underlying much of the talk about EVs
> vs. gas powered cars. We may crow about how we are the solution for when
> the gas runs out, but it is the rate at which we use energy that has
> forced that gas-crunch problem on us. If we switch to EVs with the same
> performance characteristics (i.e. power requirements) as regular cars,
> we will still be depleting resources at as fast a rate, if not a faster
> rate (since it takes more power to charge a battery, or produce hydrogen
> or bio-fuel, than one can take out of it). The short term problem of
> where to get the power may be helped by EVs, but not the big problem of
> our rate of consumption.
>
> I'll grant that it is easier to suggest that a person drive slower than
> it is to actually do it. Perhaps we can agree that driving any kind of
> vehicle at 25 mph instead of 65 mph would not only save a whopping load
> of fuel, but it would also increase the range of an EV considerably. But
> this hits the non-technical and very human problem that sitting in a
> little box, holding down a throttle at 25 mph is boring, boring, boring.
> It may be exciting to do 25 on a bicycle, but the sensory experience of
> driving a car is such that one needs the landscape to whiz up at you
> just to stay amused, and that amusement is a more pressing motivator,
> moment by moment, than global energy depletion.
>
> --
> Mike Librik, LCI #929
> Easy Street Recumbents
> (512) 453-0438
> 45th and Red River Streets, thereabouts
> Central Austin
> info at easystreetrecumbents.com
> www.easystreetrecumbents.com
> www.urbancycling.com
>
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