All electric motorhomes.... Possible or not?

[colinm]

For battery swaps China have already doing it.
Power Shift: battery-swapping our way across China | Top Gear

As for Ambulances, looking at the daily mileages even for the east which covers more widely spread population, there should be no problems for most of them, esp. if you know the amount of time they spend parked up at A&E waiting to off load. where it will be a problem is the privately owned ambulances which drive down from west midlands to hertfordshire every day, but then you might ask the question as to why the hell they do that.

 

[davef]

I suspect the banning of petrol and diesel engines is to price many people off the road. It certainly isn't to save the planet - the mining of the rare earths and lithium will be far more damaging. If you haven't already seen this its a must watch if you think its all about the environment -

 

[jagmanx]

Yes the cure is worse than the illness....Dicuss !

 

[trevskoda]

Check out this speed on my MacBook with WiFi 6 at home:

View attachment 89295

We will get there some day.

 

[trevskoda]

When cold fusion safe nuclear power ever becomes available then a small power unit the size of a tea flask could power your car house etc for a lifetime.

 

[Bouydog]

I was in Millbrook proving grounds this week for work, must have seen 30+ electric MAN vans lined up presumably being tested.

 

[PopesOnTour]

Will van/MH battery banks compared to combustion engines reduce payloads ?

In a word, No. It is a myth that electric vehicles are heavier because of the batteries. Have a look at electric production cars and compare them to the ICE equivalent. Once you remove the engine, gearbox, fuel system, sensors, controls etc. the electric vehicles are virtually the same weight. The whole mechanical system is greatly simplified.

Add to this the progress in batteries, the new Tesla battery has up to 54% greater range for the same weight, tabless design means they don't generate very much heat, so the thermal management system has been removed and they can now be incorporated as a structural part of the car. The model 3 with the new batteries has over 300 fewer components.

 

[mark61]

In a word, No. It is a myth that electric vehicles are heavier because of the batteries. Have a look at electric production cars and compare them to the ICE equivalent. Once you remove the engine, gearbox, fuel system, sensors, controls etc. the electric vehicles are virtually the same weight. The whole mechanical system is greatly simplified.

Add to this the progress in batteries, the new Tesla battery has up to 54% greater range for the same weight, tabless design means they don't generate very much heat, so the thermal management system has been removed and they can now be incorporated as a structural part of the car. The model 3 with the new batteries has over 300 fewer components.

It may be a myth that electric vehicles are heavier because of the batteries, but they are heavier, by a good few hundred KG, depending on vehicle. If my math is correct.
All weights and specs are on manufactures websites.

 

[jagmanx]

If you have a horse-drawn cart or the like...
Do the manufactures include the weight of the power unit (horse or donkeys) ?

 

[colinm]

Yes the cure is worse than the illness....Dicuss !

Torry Canyon, Exon Valdes, New Horizons, and countless others, then we get to the environmental cost of oil extraction.

 

[jagmanx]

Cherbobyl !! It will happen again !!!!
Other nuclear "ills"
Just offering the view point that Lithium has issues
Some say that windfarms cause headaches to those nearby
There are probably minor issues with Solar panels. In particular huge tracts of farmland are being lost !
burning wood to heat houses
Coal mines caused devastation Miners dead and Aberfan
NO EASY ANSWERS and too many questions

 

[PopesOnTour]

It may be a myth that electric vehicles are heavier because of the batteries, but they are heavier, by a good few hundred KG, depending on vehicle. If my math is correct.
All weights and specs are on manufactures websites.

Kia Niro ICE 1930kg + fuel EV 2080kg
Hyundai Ionic ICE 1469kg + fuel EV 1527kg
VW Golf ICE 1624kg + fuel EV 1540kg (but lower range)

 

[Makzine]

You can graze sheep under the solar panels so that the land is not lost totally.

 

[Robmac]

You can graze sheep under the solar panels so that the land is not lost totally.

Yes, there is a lot of moss on my van roof!

 

[Martin P]

You can graze sheep under the solar panels so that the land is not lost totally.

I mentioned that to my sheep farming friend but he pointed out that grass does not grow under solar panels because it doesn't get any( or very little) rain

 

[Makzine]

I mentioned that to my sheep farming friend but he pointed out that grass does not grow under solar panels because it doesn't get any( or very little) rain

Maybe but there is plenty between the panels.

 

[Martin P]

He thought on balance it wouldn't be worthwhile

 

[colinm]

A quick google of 'sheep grazing under solar' will get you plenty of images.

 

[Deleted member 45410]

The UK government is seemingly bringing forward to 2030 their ban of petrol or deisel engines in new vehicles.
As far as I'm aware there's been no reporting of how this new greener world will be achievable with the types of vehicles we drive and the distances we cover.
Or are only cars involved in this changeover with commercial vehicles continuing as now with, mainly, deisel engines.
Does anyone know?

 

[colinm]

Or are only cars involved in this changeover with commercial vehicles continuing as now with, mainly, deisel engines.
Does anyone know?

At the moment it is only cars and light commercials, HGV's haven't as yet had any cutoff date.

We will reduce emissions from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and road freight by:
15. Introducing a new voluntary industry-supported commitment to reduce HGV greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2025, from 2015 levels.
16. Launching a joint research project with Highways England to identify and assess zero emission technologies suitable for HGV traffic on the UK road network.
17. Working with industry to develop an ultra low emission standard for trucks.
18. Undertaking further emissions testing of the latest natural gas HGVs to gather evidence that will inform decisions on future government policy and support for natural gas as a potential near-term, lower emission fuel for HGVs.