To Live and To Learn

Its now been 4 months since I started blogging on the subject. A subject that I had researched little into and one with many technical scores. Yet an exciting debate raged and I found myself mindful of the discussion and for ways to improve the efficiency of my own energy consumption. So I picked up on some know-how and with a little bit of common sense went on to start blogging. I also did it to learn about the subject and network with others on it in the hope of picking up some knowledge for myself. And in some ways it has. Well, I was stupid and ignorant enough to sense that shifting into a non-fossil fuel source somehow causes an improvement of resource efficiency. As I saw electric hybrid cars breaking out into the market it gave me the impression that the electric-hybrid version of a car is actually doing more out of the same energy input than its non HEV version. I bought into it. Others did too. Some went out and bought HEVs thinking that. The naked truth is that while there will always be invention and innovation some truths will never change. And one of those truth is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be converted or shifted. If your HEV has a nickel hydrite battery then process and resources were expended to put that equipment into your HEV. Hence, unless all the processes and resources can be quantifyed and put into the equation, only then can you size it up and see if your HEV's car battery is producing any real return in terms of efficiency. Given the law of physics I just mentioned it probably is not. Still, such vehicles will gain popularity. Because they suggest efficiency. They support it. And they bring cause and struggle to the domain. Do they have any real value? I believe they do. They will certainly have value in convenience. Less trips to the gas station. Reduced dependence on gasoline. And perhaps even enhanced performance at the lower $ market levels. And the advent of new ways and technologies that breaks out of the mundane. Still, it is important to keep some sight of the fundamentals and principals and not get totally duped by marketing campaigns.

Some fallacies are beautifully crafted. You almost cannot blame anyone for falling into them. The jolly old joker would even argue that you would want to fall into it. One such farcical drollery that I picked up a long time ago is when car salesmen tell you that you can give up the 'cash back' option on a car's purchase price for the 0% financing. But its not 0%. The cash back that you just gave up is the interest. Its added upfront. But its sooooo good that flocks will fall to it till the end of time. Perhaps the one that bothers me the most is the one that accountants perhpas unwittingly sell all the time. In a pre-dinner discussion at a friend's house in north LA last year I watched in horror as one of the guests pounded on the merits of interest only mortgage loans and their whopping benefit in tax deductions. That as a result he was paying far less taxes and just laughing to the bank. Which bank is that? You couldn't convince him otherwise. Especially now that he had bought the loan. The truth is that the only way you get a tax deduction outside of statutes is through expenditure. For this particularly wise man-of-the-world he was only getting a deduction for what he paid out in interest. Just because you got a bigger refund check means nothing. You paid for that refund. Well over.

Anyways, you get the gist. You wanna be green. Stop the car. And walk..........

Link............

HEV Next Generation Insight ?

Hybrid Electric Vehicles have become a force to be reckoned with. They span a wide variety of cars from the ultra efficient (50mpg+ Prius) to the ulta powerful (300bhp+ Lexus 450GH). Annual sales of HEVs is approaching 500,000 units. People from all walks of life have embraced it from movie stars to ex-truck owners. And now, the next generation of HEVs may well be ready to be launched with some exciting enhancements. Worldcarfans.com claims to have some insight imagery as well as data on the great expectation: the next generation of the dominant HEV, the Toyota Prius. It won't be any news to a car energy follower that Nickel Hydride battery is being replaced with the Ion Lithium technology (the kind used by the all electric Tesla Roadster). The Ion Lithium charge will lead efficiency expected to aim the 80mpg mark. Horsepower should see a lift due to a bigger 1.8L (currently 1.5) engine and the Ion Lithium. Thank God for that. Still, the most exciting feature of this baby would be the Solar panel roof. Solar is probably the most overlooked energy source and I am surprised that I don't come across more discussions on it. Especially in places like California with its sunny (and smoggy) skies and some 20 million cars.

True? Its a 2008 so we shall know later this year.

THE NEXT GEN TOYOTA PRIUS ??

More Than Meets the Eye

I recently posted a question to Yahoo Answers and was quite avowed by the answerer who pointed to a number of obscure companies under the surface that are offering or soon expected to offer EVs (Electric Vehicles). In the hi-exposure world of the Tesla Roadsters and the big car maker hybrids we tend to forget that innovation is most robust with the start-ups and the zeal of the small player looking to make it big. The question is given below and linked to its page. I also took the liberty of posting the links to the LIKEs (LIttle Known Electic-vehicles) below the question:

A 339hp, 26mpg hybrid-electric vehicle! Or a pure electric sports car! Fashion hype or a view to the future ?

Links to LIKEs:

Phoenix Motorcars

The XS2000 by Miles Automotive Group

Squidoo

Zap Cars

The EEStor Bunny

Disrupting has become rather fashionable. To the point that people talk about disrupting the disruptor. A disruptor's success cycle to ubiquity and riches is today faster than ever thanks to the world of venture capitalism that is rapacious in its appetite for the brave and the new. No sooner would a successful disruptor be established and catching breath that new disruptors would appear on its tail. Is that what hydrogen fuel cells may be to electric batteries for cars? Probably not.

One company that is making high claims to disrupt the nascent community of alternative automotive energy is EESTOR, a company based out of Austin, Texas. Characteristically secretive about its technology, it has ironically, perhaps not without intent, gained much attention. Information available on the web reveals that EESTOR is in the business of developing ultracapacitors, a higher form of battery, that will produce electric power. EESTOR's ultracapacitors will produce electric power better and bigger than ever before. An article from Business 2.0 claims that this breaking device is soooo powerful that it can charge up in 5 minutes to provide a 500 mile driving range in a cost which equates to $9 today - and not just to puny 100bhp cars but the kind of power that could carry a large SUV. EESTOR's technology is already scheduled to be incorporated into vehicles manufactured by a Green Canadian company known as Feel Good Cars. On Nov. 15, in a press release by Feel Good Cars the following was revealed:

"On September, 30, 2005, FGC entered into a Technology Agreement with EEStor Inc. located in Austin, Texas, to acquire the exclusive worldwide right to purchase high-power-density ceramic ultra capacitors called Electrical Storage Units (ESU) that are under development by that company. An ESU can store over 10 times the energy of lead-acid batteries and are expected to be available for use in the ZENN and regular electrically powered small cars. FGC's exclusive worldwide right is for all personal transportation uses under 15 KW drive systems (equivalent to 100 peak horse power) and for vehicles with a curb weight of under 1200 kilograms not including batteries."

This is very good news for FGC whose current car brand know as the Zenn leaves much to be desired. I'm sorry but after reading the following advertisement from their website I could not help but laughing. And its not the kind of laugh that people gave to electric cars 10 years ago. But the kind that you get after the release of the Tesla Roadster that accelerates to 60mph in 4 seconds, can reach 130mph and push past 200 miles off one charge..........

ZENN not only looks like a car; it performs like one, too. Equipped with front-wheel drive, brisk acceleration and capable of achieving a regulated maximum speed of 25 mph (40 km/h), it keeps pace with traffic on local streets to get you where you’re going safely and in good time. And ZENN’s battery efficiency gives you the freedom to cover a lot of ground: approximately 35 miles per charge (56 kilometres).

Well, looks like such painful advertising is all about to change for FGC and that they may well end up with the last laugh here. What the relationship between EEstor and FGC is and why EEstor has partnered with a non-conventional car maker remains a mystery too. So, the ultracapacitors aim to accomplish 10 times of what today's batteries can do. That's a significant achievement. EEStor and FGC have certainly attracted not just attention but money from Venture Capital firms to further validate their claim.

This is wonderful news that is set to further the already growing market of hybrid electrics, the expected Plug-in hybrid electrics and pure electric cars. The continuing force of invention and disruption has tremendous potential and some complications too. The complication being that technology getting outdated soon and thus the value of the car. For those of us choosing to invest in a car that employs some form of alternative energy the reasons should be overwhelmingly Green. To be on the safe side, look to depreciate the car over 4 years flat. And don't lease.

In case you are still wondering, why 'EEstor Bunny'? Despite the hallow overtone, the actual reference is to - remember the 'Energizer Bunny' ? The one that kept going, and going, and going........

Click here for source article

PHEVs

I first came across this latest version of the hybrid experiment about a month back and started some research into it. It does well to pull you in with its bright lights banner of 100+ mpg. Gotta admit, it is spectacualr to see that kind of a push of the envelope. What is allowing the gas/electric hybrid combination to to reach such uncharted levels of mpg is a strong leverage towards the electric side of the vehicle with gas playing more of a supporting role and electric taking up the main charge. Ha ha, get it.....main charge. Sorry. Now, if the electric side is going to rein in such prowess it can't do it the way the existing hybrid car models are built. By self-charging. Taking their time. That won't do it - more power is needed. Hence, you must plug these babies in just like an all-electric car. Hence, a PHEV. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

As I wrote in my very first blog entry, I and my Sothern California bretheren went through the trauma of $500 montly electricity bills this summer and the events of 100 power outages related deaths, hundreds of burnt out transformers that So Cal Edison didn't have enough manpower to catch up with, coming with in a hair of rolling blackouts and rotting food in refrigirators. The electric shock bills had become topics of conversation in any form of social gathering anywhere. I recall well the Edison officials on radio pleading that the pace of development in Sothern California has gotta be checked. Apparently, a 3 bedroom 1700 sq ft single family home priced at $600,000 isn't enough to stop it. Anyway, I digress. California's energy crises (thanks in part to the dead and buried firm of Enron) is not the world's.

Though these vehicles are still very much a spectator sport and any marketable entity is still a few years away, I still find the stuff exciting. At least to look at. For now. The experimental cars are small and feeble. Doing 40 miles off one charge. Top speeds of 60mpg. Stuff like that. All of that is going to change. The Tesla Roadster can do a top speed of 130mph and 200 miles off one charge. But its a $100,000 2 seater. I am not as big a fan of plug-in as I am of the self-charging batteries but with a hybrid combination the plug-in can be reduced to perhaps once or twice a week. The trip to the pump once a month. And thats workable. As long as the cars are built for mainstream. That's 200bhp. 3000 lbs+. Full size sedan. More than 50mpg. We don't need 100mpg. That will stay a spectator sport for some time. By the way, a Southern California company called Energy CS has plans to offer converter kits to convert certain existing hybrids into PHEVs for $12,000. If you want to put that into cost/benefit perspective then read my earlier blog titled 'Hybrid Reality Check'. Its an act of sports for now.

Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster is being launched by a group out of Nothern California with every intention of turning heads and plenty of overture on the current energy psychology. Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Paige are reportedly amongst the sponsors. Its all electric and all business. In the energy wars, it seems, that electricity is not to be outdone in any corner by gasoline. Time will tell us more. The price of sticking your tongue out at your neighbour's gasoline-based Porsche 911 while out-accelerating it with 0 - 60mph in 4 secs : $100,000 with a $75,000 reservation deposit. But watchout, your neighbour may get to return the favor later as the Roadster touts a top speed of only 130mph. However, you both may not live to tell the tale. So, certainly a neat trick and you have our attention tesla. Hopefully, it won't remain an electric dream too long for us mere mortals. For now, check out a hybrid or something at your local dealer.

It does make me wonder what will happen to California's electricity crisis if there was an explosion in electric cars. I wasn't happy with my $400/month summer bills and I'd get up at 1am to turn the AC off and let in the cool desert winds. My neighbours were literally crying. I still fare a little better with self-renewing batteries coupled with a small combustion engine. The Hybrid. Oh well.

http://www.teslamotor.com/