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Alternator versus plug-in 12v battery charging
A useful quote from an industry white paper entitled "Improving Alternator Efficiency Measurably Reduces Fuel Costs" by Mike Bradfield, p.3:
"With a typical engine efficiency of 40%, a belt efficiency of 98% and an alternator efficiency of 55%, this leads to an overall energy conversion efficiency of only 21%. Assuming a fuel cost of $4.00/gal, this leads to an on-board electrical power cost of $0.51/kWh, or roughly 4 times a typical household utility rate."
Four bucks a gallon is obviously a little too high, even here in Cali, in current market conditions. But the nice round number he uses creates easy spit-balling estimates... $4/gal is 4x as high as "typical" grid costs.
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See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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