In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
" Another note- this applies to Lithium Ion cells, but not so much for Lithium Iron Phosphates. LiFEPO4 big selling point- and why China went with them over Lithium Ion- is because they take temperature and voltage variations MUCH better in exchange for lower cell density; they can handle temps as low as -40F and I think their high point is nearly 200F before they have problems. "
The biggest advantage to LIFEPO4 is safety. I was at the 2019 Battery Show and one of the biggest product offerings was separator grids that prevented one lithium-ion cell from igniting adjacent cells. Our vans used LIFEPO4 and never had an issue.
In reply to Tom1200 :
" I've made mention that for autocross if my F500 could be electric I'd be totally OK with that, assuming the performance is the same of course. The current issue (besides classing) is that doing this cheaply on a grassroots level isn't possible. "
I looked at that - working for an EV company influenced that - but the cost to convert was prohibitive. Interesting technology though, if you do it use lithium titanate batteries, very fast charge, very high discharge rates and light weight. Downside, low energy density... you don't go very far. Great for autocross.
If you could do a electric a F500 conversion for autocross for 2K I'd be all in but we know that isn't happening.
frenchyd said:
In reply to Nitroracer (Forum Supporter) :
Well said and laid out. Logic dictates that the future will reward people who follow your plans.
Solar while great is limited to daylight hours. That shortage can be offset with wind. Modern rare earth magnet wind generators operate in a much slower breeze than typical gear driven wind generators. The surplus energy can be sold to neighbors without the foresight to invest using the existing power grid.
My state like many states pays the generator last years rate and sells the power at current rates. The income while slight is pure profit.
Also because of that diverse generational capacity. Very resilient. Power outage over there does not mean total power loss. further since power is used by your neighbors there is very little transmission loss whereas power generated at a distant plant will have very high loss.
Having grown up around Offy powered sprint cars in my youth my fall back won't be gas powered but rather alcohol. Since Methanol is so toxic I prefer my alternative in the form of E85 using ethanol.
The problem with wind is that it is hard to predict and intermittent. So you need either huge overcapacity of turbines to make up for the times that the wind drops, or battery storage, or baseload plants to make up the difference. Realistically, you need all three.
Anyway, the technology exists to make all of this work on the grid today. It's just a matter of money and aligning incentives, something that in the US we are not likely to do anytime soon!
Pretty sure i saw the EVSR do a demonstration at lime rock during one of the major race weekends a year or two ago. There were two totally silent cars... It was unusual and surprising
In reply to mikeatrpi :
EVSR has a lot of Lime Rock time, dating back to 2014.
Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:
frenchyd said:
In reply to Nitroracer (Forum Supporter) :
Well said and laid out. Logic dictates that the future will reward people who follow your plans.
Solar while great is limited to daylight hours. That shortage can be offset with wind. Modern rare earth magnet wind generators operate in a much slower breeze than typical gear driven wind generators. The surplus energy can be sold to neighbors without the foresight to invest using the existing power grid.
My state like many states pays the generator last years rate and sells the power at current rates. The income while slight is pure profit.
Also because of that diverse generational capacity. Very resilient. Power outage over there does not mean total power loss. further since power is used by your neighbors there is very little transmission loss whereas power generated at a distant plant will have very high loss.
Having grown up around Offy powered sprint cars in my youth my fall back won't be gas powered but rather alcohol. Since Methanol is so toxic I prefer my alternative in the form of E85 using ethanol.
The problem with wind is that it is hard to predict and intermittent. So you need either huge overcapacity of turbines to make up for the times that the wind drops, or battery storage, or baseload plants to make up the difference. Realistically, you need all three.
Anyway, the technology exists to make all of this work on the grid today. It's just a matter of money and aligning incentives, something that in the US we are not likely to do anytime soon!
Actually the US weather service does a really good job of wind prediction and they have localized maps going back way more than your lifetime.
Solar too has the same sort of difficulty. While the sun is going to come up every day what is not predictable is cloud cover. That determines daily output. But one nice thing happens when you combine the two, solar and wind. When it's cloudy it tends to be windier and when it's not, it tends to be sunnier. Plus wind tends to blow morning and evening and often through the night.
How hard at a specific time is the unknown. With the grid distributing power. The surplus is not wasted nor is the owner left without power when it's both dark and still.
Storage is only required when someone chooses to isolate himself. Or when the cost of connecting to the grid is prohibitive.
svxsti said:
The same way factories replaced saddle makers, self driving trucks will replace truckers, look at the big picture people and get ready for the drama.
I doubt it. There will be a phase out period where back up drivers will be mandated. We're likely talking decades. Just like the railroads created feather bedding jobs riding the caboose as senior railroad workers worked towards retirement.
The role of flight engineer existed long after there was anything for one to do.
triumph7 said:
I looked at that - working for an EV company influenced that - but the cost to convert was prohibitive. Interesting technology though, if you do it use lithium titanate batteries, very fast charge, very high discharge rates and light weight. Downside, low energy density... you don't go very far. Great for autocross.
LTO also has some CRAZY lifespan to it- up to over 20,000+ cycles, better than lead acids. Only problem is, it's also comparable to lead-acids in how much power it contains. Still, it could be a phenomenal replacement for stock car batteries with massive lifespans and far less weight in comparison, assuming it works in similar temperatures.
I've been doing little research on VAWTs, or Vertical-axis wind Turbines as a better residential option as apart of a larger renewable network for homeowners- funny story, I do political canvassing and in rural county a small hamlet had a ~20 foot turbine about 50 feet above for someone's personal grid that I was super interested in, but the neighbors put the kibosh on me getting one because in high winds it vibrates the air so badly it shakes the windows in their frames of their house (!). Plus, as many here have mentioned, they kill birds and bats because they just don't see the blades. VAWTs on the other hand, are far easier to see to wildlife because the blades are far closer together and their location on a central axis means they don't vibrate near to the same level; Some research is being done though it should be mentioned that VAWTs are easily half as efficient as standard bladed turbines. Still tho, they are also far easier to service and repair so perhaps it's not odd to say they might be a common sight soon.
Cool ideas for lamp-turbines, too.
In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
Birds fly into many things. Sides of barns , tree branches, windows of houses, cars, trucks, and way down on the list is windmills.
Top of the list of bird Killers? Cats, I like cats but they are responsible for over 2 billion bird deaths a years. Domestic and feral cats kill more than 2 billion birds. Domestic about 850 million and Feral around 1.2 billion.
What they have recently found out is that if the blades aren't painted white or bright colors bird strike fall to 15% of previous.
Good Wind generators vertical or horizontal have leading edges that are like wing surfaces. Rounded on the leading edge. In order to gain the most power from the wind.
In addition most Wind generators have relatively slow moving blades in the sort of wind birds fly at. High winds birds stay home in their nests.
In addition only a few birds tend to fly at the level most Commercial Wind generators operate at 100-165 feet. That's not to stop some DIY guy from putting a fan blade on an alternator and getting some electricity
But the ones who will sell commercial wind generators won't put one up less than100 feet in the air. Payback occurs on the more expensive commercial variety and the payback on a Million dollar installation may occur in a year or so while the payback on smaller commercial ones will occur after 9-10-12 years.
I thought the biggest problem with respect to birds was the type of mount they are on. Lattice style structures like high tension wires get strung on have lots of places for birds to nest, so they are flying in the blades all the time.
All of the wind turbines I see are on a single pole, and there are no fat possums living under them so the birds must not be getting hit 
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
That's been my experience as well. Customers with wind turbines on poles had few if any bird strikes. One customer told me about a pair of bald eagles who used to fly around their generator like they were studying it for about a month and then just seemed to ignore it.
None of our wind generators had guy wires which to me seems like a warning of shaky construction.
but we did have one 85 ft model with a lattice frame that only had a payback ( of 18 years) in one zone in the state. It only came in 240three phase so really only viable in a very limited area.
in Comparison the big million dollar ( almost) wind generator in that same area had a 14 month payback.
I've been looking at a used leaf to replace the Taxi in a couple years. The biggest issue in Winston-Salem is charging stations since I'm currently in a apartment. However, been ready for electric cars for awhile now.
Tk8398
Reader
9/28/20 10:12 p.m.
If the range, lifespan and price are similar, with widely available places to charge them, I am not particularly bothered. Definitely not in favor of a ban of existing cars, and I think at least hybrids need to stick around until the range and charging infrastructure catch up.
