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January 2010 Posts
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[54:18] Join Bo and Ryan for some EV predictions for 2010, a "how to" on throwing an EV house party, the week's stories, and some feedback.
In This Episode:
Don't just listen to the EVcast -- experience and be a part of it! Join us at 1:00pm Eastern, M-F, in our live video broadcast and chat along with us!
Next time you speak of AeroVironment is should be in the hushed tones appropriate for the Gods, not the puzzled tone of who the heck are these guys.
AeroVironment was founded by Paul MacCready to developed human powered flight and won a long standing prize for achieving certain goals in human flight and his plane flew over the English channel.
AeroVironment also developed the GM Impact which was the prototype for the GM EV1.
They also are the only people to demonstrate a 10 minute quick charge for a real EV using a 250 KW charger and altairnano batteries.
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Hi Bo and Ryan,I am one of the few that has a Triac!!!!!!!!!!!I love mine mainly because it is in the here and now. the range is very good. I find I can get 100 miles per charge at 45MPH, and a little les at 60MPH. it is truly a joy to not have the range anxiety I had with my ZENN (25 miles). My commute is about 45 miles round trip with a mix of 45 & 60 MPH and a lot of hills. With the heater and lights on I get about 90 miles per charge. I never have to plug in anywhere but at home, and it only takes about 4-5 hours to charge. It is a stick shift which is so different. You don’t hear the motor like in a gas car so you do not know it is time to shift as easily. I go by the speedometer to know when to shift. I have forgotten a couple of times, and found myself in 3rd gear going 55MPH when normally I would have been in 5th. The stick shift takes a while to get used to, but not long.I am anxious to see the Nisan Leaf, and what the terms are for the lease of the batteries. I would hate to have signed a 5 or 10 year lease for batteries, and have a better battery come out in a year or two without an option to upgrade if it meant better range.I love your show, and keep up the good workRandy Bopp ( the Boppster )
Boppster,
I am so jealous that you have a Triac. Sounds like you have had a good experience so far. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it.
ThanksJohn C. Briggs
The Boppster's blog is below.
http://mytriacrocks.blogspot.com/
8 minute video about the Nissan Leaf. Still a lot of unanswered questions about the sales model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndNeupaY6Sc
Hi Bo & Ryan,Great show! for Ryan: Instead of matter cannot be created nor destroyed, I think it is " energy can neither be created nor destroyed", which is from the law of conservation of energy.
I remember the first time I saw that Microsoft house party video I thought it was poorly done with the massive oversight of the non-linear oven clock in the background.
Then I realised that it's Microsoft we're talking about. Everything in that video would have been intentional and cleverly designed to help the video "go viral". It worked. Microsoft are good at marketing. Now, if only they could get a decent operating system rolling they'd be completely unstoppable.
Actually Ryan, I think you are correct. The Conservation of Mass was appropriate for the chemical reactions that you were discussing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_mass
Energy is also conserved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy
The tricky point is the old E=mc² idea. Mass can actually be converted to energy. But this is in a nuclear reaction.
Join Musk Talk See Comment #21
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/01/13/caption-contest-what-the-heck-are-bob-lutz-and-elon-musk-talkin/2#c24681256
Fred
Fred, Very nice, but learn to spell Lutz.John
Air Powered cars are back. Apparently KLM has taken delivery of a couple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXv5O7l7N6s&feature=fvw
Good show guys! Though, you may need to go to Party Primer School;-)
I do not know much about Methane or Natural gas, but if I rember rightly, it is a whole lot cleaner than Coal or Oil- though not completely 'clean.' Though you brought a good point about the source of the gas. For example, if you are burning Methane that is getting released into the atmosphere already, that may be considered clean. I remember an excellent piece done about a dairy farm that installed the equipment to extract methane from the tons of cow manure they had- they were able to power their farm, and it left he manure as a clean and clean-smelling, fertilizer. This is one PDF link that talks abou it:
http://www.chpcentermw.org/rac_profiles/Midwest/HunterHaven.pdf
Even better, here is a Youtube video of the Invention Nation segment about the Methane Gas from Cow Manure to Electricity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytU8AJwHKO0&feature=PlayList&p=58A4FF4A90D32677&index=12
The Airpod is another Air Car from MDI, the French company that has been working on bringing an Air Car to market for a few years now- and this one is 2 years from production one article said
The MDI site is here, with a longer video of the Airpod running around the city:
http://www.mdi.lu/english/
You can see their other (potential) products here:
http://www.mdi.lu/english/produits.php
Their other models are the air version of a Serial Hybrid, like the Volt- you will travel some amount of km on air, then a whole bunch on liquid fuel. I remember watching a video on them a couple of years ago or so- their air engine seemed very complicated- as much so as an ICE. I always thought a more elegant design was from a company in Australia, but nothing has come of thier Air Rotary Engine as yet:
http://www.engineair.com.au/
Paul, I think what I found most interesting about the AirPod is that some have actually shipped to KLM.http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/12/klm-mdi-20091213.html
Prior to this, I thought the technology could not be made to work. Now I think there is a chance. I am still deeply concerned about the energy efficiency of this approach. However, there is a CAES (compressed air energy storage) power plant in the USA. The efficiency is very close to the best combined cycle NG power plants, which is not saying too much compared to battery efficiency. At least, it does show that real systems can be built and supply some benefit.
Anyway, the airpod is looking less like vaporware.
John C. Briggs
Hi John!
I was sure it would work- they have had prototypes in various styles for a few years now- the question is how well will it work and how well is it built. I am especially interested in seeing one of their other projected hybrid cars get built and see how well they stand up. The Airpod, being an NEV, will just be niche car.
And you are right- they are probably not as efficient as a BEV, but, if the MDI projections are correct, their Air Car Hybrids will be significantly cheaper however, with long-lasting airtanks (I think they project on them lasting 30 years). But, even if it all works, I am mostly concerned by the Air Engine's complexity with as many moving parts as an ICE- this is where an Electric Motor is better as well.
