Are you preparing to buy an electric car yet?
With the proposed phasing out of fossil fuel powered transport, how much thought have you put into what you will be driving in the run up to the phasing out?
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ArishMell · 70-79, M
I was discussing these things with some friends today.
I am afraid I cannot cite his source or verify this but one quoted a recent experiment to compare the economy of two return trips from Tiverton (Devon) to Bristol; one by Diesel the other by electric, cars of approximate equivalence.
From my Road Atlas, Tiverton to Almonsbury Interchange just beyond Bristol give roughly 150 miles round-trip, mainly cruising on a motorway with few hills. The cost difference was enormous. He claimed to have spent about £45 for the Diesel fuel (somewhere around 25 litres), but £80 for the electricity (whose costs apparently vary by supplier, time of day, place...).
Also of course a full tank of Diesel should complete that trip comfortably; whereas the battery car needed some "topping up" charge at the start and at the driver's Bristol destination, that taking appreciably longer than any liquid fuelling!
Now, I know perfectly well that my quoting verbatim a quote of one informal experiment I cannot cite, is very poor and I do not normally stoop to that sort of "soshul-meejuh" level, which is by no means science or statistics. Nevertheless it does suggest a point needing investigating properly.
Also his claim of £45 seems on the high side as that would give around 32mpg - I don't know what he was driving but any decent, modern, ordinary Diesel car should use much less than £45 worth for 150 miles. They are nearer 45-55mpg, some better. 32mpg would be on the low side even for the petrol equivalent! So it's possibly what the driver [i]bought[/i], not [i]used[/i], which would be far harder to determine, short of fitting a consumption-meter. (UK gallon, not US Gallon; but fuels are sold by the litre while cars are rated by miles per gallon.)
.
Or if you like:
[i]If I was just about rich enough to buy an electric car:
[/i]Am I still rich enough to pay for its electricity and its very rapid depreciation (set by battery life and cost); and I can cope with potentially significant but very unpredictable journey time increases?
Especially once electricity sold as vehicle "fuel" becomes subject to tax if it is not already, always at % rates, as inevitably it will have to be.
I am afraid I cannot cite his source or verify this but one quoted a recent experiment to compare the economy of two return trips from Tiverton (Devon) to Bristol; one by Diesel the other by electric, cars of approximate equivalence.
From my Road Atlas, Tiverton to Almonsbury Interchange just beyond Bristol give roughly 150 miles round-trip, mainly cruising on a motorway with few hills. The cost difference was enormous. He claimed to have spent about £45 for the Diesel fuel (somewhere around 25 litres), but £80 for the electricity (whose costs apparently vary by supplier, time of day, place...).
Also of course a full tank of Diesel should complete that trip comfortably; whereas the battery car needed some "topping up" charge at the start and at the driver's Bristol destination, that taking appreciably longer than any liquid fuelling!
Now, I know perfectly well that my quoting verbatim a quote of one informal experiment I cannot cite, is very poor and I do not normally stoop to that sort of "soshul-meejuh" level, which is by no means science or statistics. Nevertheless it does suggest a point needing investigating properly.
Also his claim of £45 seems on the high side as that would give around 32mpg - I don't know what he was driving but any decent, modern, ordinary Diesel car should use much less than £45 worth for 150 miles. They are nearer 45-55mpg, some better. 32mpg would be on the low side even for the petrol equivalent! So it's possibly what the driver [i]bought[/i], not [i]used[/i], which would be far harder to determine, short of fitting a consumption-meter. (UK gallon, not US Gallon; but fuels are sold by the litre while cars are rated by miles per gallon.)
.
Or if you like:
[i]If I was just about rich enough to buy an electric car:
[/i]Am I still rich enough to pay for its electricity and its very rapid depreciation (set by battery life and cost); and I can cope with potentially significant but very unpredictable journey time increases?
Especially once electricity sold as vehicle "fuel" becomes subject to tax if it is not already, always at % rates, as inevitably it will have to be.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@Scarfface Indeed - such a one-off test really only raises the question, not answers it properly. I would imagine his driving style is the same in both cars, so being heavy-footed would not make much difference.
The same friend who told of this has previously remarked on the economy of his car, a medium-sized saloon. Diesel, it returns around 50mpg or better, and he admits he does drive it quite hard. I obtain only about 40mpg I think, from my petrol car of roughly similar size.
Even his large work van returns more than 30mpg with its Diesel engine and 6-speed manual transmission; certainly more economical than the previous one.
When I started driving, in the early 1970s, we thought it good if the average family saloon or estate car offered even 30mpg! By comparison, another friend's petrol-fuelled Series Two LandRover with free-wheel hubs gave about 25mpg in 2-wheel drive.
Engine designs have advanced considerably over the last few decades and the modern Diesel (always better than petrol) engine is far more efficient and cleaner than its predecessors were, or than the anti-Diesel campaigners want us to think.
(I suspect many of the campaigners have no clue what "Ad-blue" is for, and I am not even sure how many know the relationships between fuel, energy and power!)
...
What of course our descendants will have to face is that even if we choose to abandon coal, natural-gas and petroleum, those will run out. Either way will have to replace what those give [i]apart[/i] from fuels, and to find sustainable replacements whose manufacture and use do not bring serious environmental problems of their own.
All the focus is on limiting emitting carbon-dioxide ([i]not[/i] "carbon"!) and generating [i]electricity[/i] (not "energy" although electricity is [i]a[/i] form of energy). Nothing about materials.
The same friend who told of this has previously remarked on the economy of his car, a medium-sized saloon. Diesel, it returns around 50mpg or better, and he admits he does drive it quite hard. I obtain only about 40mpg I think, from my petrol car of roughly similar size.
Even his large work van returns more than 30mpg with its Diesel engine and 6-speed manual transmission; certainly more economical than the previous one.
When I started driving, in the early 1970s, we thought it good if the average family saloon or estate car offered even 30mpg! By comparison, another friend's petrol-fuelled Series Two LandRover with free-wheel hubs gave about 25mpg in 2-wheel drive.
Engine designs have advanced considerably over the last few decades and the modern Diesel (always better than petrol) engine is far more efficient and cleaner than its predecessors were, or than the anti-Diesel campaigners want us to think.
(I suspect many of the campaigners have no clue what "Ad-blue" is for, and I am not even sure how many know the relationships between fuel, energy and power!)
...
What of course our descendants will have to face is that even if we choose to abandon coal, natural-gas and petroleum, those will run out. Either way will have to replace what those give [i]apart[/i] from fuels, and to find sustainable replacements whose manufacture and use do not bring serious environmental problems of their own.
All the focus is on limiting emitting carbon-dioxide ([i]not[/i] "carbon"!) and generating [i]electricity[/i] (not "energy" although electricity is [i]a[/i] form of energy). Nothing about materials.