The Slow Death of the Internal Combustion Engine

[ptjones]

I also agree with the OP, the ICE is going to be around for ever as long as Ethanol is being made.

Paul

[freebeard]

Last time I checked in it was Helium-3 vs geothermal. ???

Originally Posted by Phoenix'97

Excuse me if it offends you that I find it humorous that the average consumer will take the time to make sure their EV is fully charged and pre-heated before a trip in the cold during winter time. An EV is more of a California car in my honest to God opinion! It's not a matter of not ....! God forbid....! Ooopsie! ....!

Never apologize to someone else taking offense! Never. It's a trap you need to recognize.

...and hopefully if I can get a GM belted alternator starter system added to the engine to enable start-stop.

Greetings fellow mild-hybrid aspirant. I want to put an eAssist altermotor in my 1979 VW (longitudinal slant-four) Dasher diesel. Eventually it will become a road trip vehicle along with an Arcimoto FUV. I could trigger my reservation number and get the Evergreen Edition by June, but they're following the Tesla strategy of shipping optioned out cars vehicles first, with the $12K models later (if ever).

[redpoint5]

ICE will be around forever regardless, just as there are still horses, just as there are still typewriters, etc.

Corn ethanol isn't a solution to dwindling petroleum resources. Perhaps it's economical from cane sugar, but not without subsidy from corn.

Originally Posted by freebeard

Never apologize to someone else taking offense! Never. It's a trap you need to recognize.

Not to mention fake apologies are insulting. Somehow it has become popular to say "I'm sorry but...". If the words "I'm sorry but" are uttered, there's a 99% chance that the apology is disingenuous. A true apology is "I was wrong, and I'm not going to do that again". There is no "but" in an apology.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Each panel being on its own inverter seems to be the more costly of setups.
One big inverter running 2 or 3 inputs at 200v to 575v DC to 240v AC output is the cheaper way to go. That gets you down to around 10 to 15 cents per watt. A bunch of little inverters usually runs at least double that.

It is more expensive. ($1027 more than a single inverter for the 17 panel array I had quoted) However, that extra cost has benefits. With micro inverters each panel is basically it's own system. If one panel is shaded it doesn't effect the output of the entire array. Likewise if one panel fails or one inverter fails the rest of the system continues to work. You also get performance data from every panel so you can see if one is underperforming or failing.

From a maintenance side most people can more easily afford to replace a $200 microinverter. They can also take the time to replace it because the rest of the array still works. If a string inverter fails the homeowner needs to come up with $4000 + labor or the whole array is out of commission.

With a single string inverter the output of the entire array is only as good as the weakest panel.

[oil pan 4]

I thought about doing it that way but decided I wanted lower costs, higher efficiency.
Plus if I'm running 575 volts or so and a panel burns out I just bypass that panel and run 490 or so volts.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I thought about doing it that way but decided I wanted lower costs, higher efficiency.
Plus if I'm running 575 volts or so and a panel burns out I just bypass that panel and run 490 or so volts.

That works too. I would also guess that you don't have to worry about your neighbor's trees shading your solar panels. My neighbor has some 100+ foot pines that will shade the west side of my solar panels in the evening. With a string inverter that would basically shut down the system.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Taylor95

What do you mean by that? We have frequent outages where I live (at least a couple times a year). A higher demand for power will only increase the frequency.

That assumes power demands increase too fast for the grid to keep up or your utility simply decides to neglect the capital investment required to increase reliability.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by triangles

... Now that I have had a taste of not dealing with constant time consuming maintenance I am hooked.

Same with me. Often people don't realize the amount of time things take until they no longer have to do it.

Originally Posted by triangles

Still the range limit is a deal breaker for many and this type of EV is really only practical for a commuter and grocery getter which is about 90+% of most peoples driving. This makes EV's not really practical since you would need another vehicle or the expense of renting one for the other 10% of your mobility needs.

For a single person - yes. For a married couple an EV paired with an ICE car works great. How many times are most couples 100 miles away from home, at the same time, but not together?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by JSH

Same with me. Often people don't realize the amount of time things take until they no longer have to do it.



For a single person - yes. For a married couple an EV paired with an ICE car works great. How many times are most couples 100 miles away from home, at the same time, but not together?

...and without friends or family.

EVs will get to the price point where having it as a 2nd vehicle will make sense for many people in fuel savings alone.

Regarding maintenance/fixing things, I love to do it, but I don't have time. Working on the constant issues with my truck is a love/hate relationship, but mostly hate because things like blower motor resistors should just never have problems. A resistor is the simplest electronic component you can make. Not having AC is uncomfortable when you're working hard on a humid summers day. Speedo/odometer/cruise not functioning are other annoyances.

[oil pan 4]

I own just about 20 acres. Any roof top panels would be free and clear.
Ground mounts would probably go on about 2kw strings, 3 strings of panels going on 3 inputs on a 7kw inverter.