Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
But about 70% (taking an average of the US grid) of the electricity that charges the EV is produced by fossil-fuel burning heat engines, so what matters is (efficiency of large power plant * electric transmission & charging loss factor) vs (lower efficiency of small IC engine * cost of transporting gasoline).
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True Coal and natural gas make up 70% of US consumption in electricity. It also makes up 70% of the power used to refine gasoline.
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mine-coal-transport-plant-well-transport-refinery-transport-pump-ICE.
Yes of course some of the transport in coal to the power plant requires gasoline, but in freight trains its miniscule. They can haul 960,000 cubic feet of coal for 6 gallons a mile. oil transport is only close to that efficient in boats, but it has to travel across a pipeline and then an ocean before it gets to the US. diesel-truck tankers are far less efficient than freight train and coal doesn't have to get shipped first and then transported.
Like I said, if you want to toss in the fuel delivery systems for each, gasoline is going to start at the percentage efficiency EV ends at and then start shaving off lots of %'s.
small gas itself is currently more efficient than anything else, i.e. the Insight running steady state and not engaging the electric IMA.
If you want to build your own by ripping prius batteries out and popping the drive train out of an insight and making it all EV it might be more weight efficient than the hybrid but I can't say.