Is it the death knell for the combustion engine?

[Jayg]

We built our house in 2011.
Cost around £100000
We installed 3.75 kw of solar panels.
Our export electricity meter shows over the year the same as the import electric meter.
All heating, hot water and cooking electric.
The house faces south, earth sheltered with a envelope of 300mm insulation.
It’s internal dimensions are 21 meters long by 6 meters deep.
The conservatory on the front is 21 meters long by 3 meters deep.
This house was the easiest I have ever constructed.
No windows on the three sides just plain concrete Blocks.
The walls are 440mm concrete blocks 300mm floor, 300mm roof.
Double glazed to the conservatory.
Double glazed to the exterior from the conservatory.
Air change system.
Heating cycle of four months of the year at £100 per month inclusive.
This method has been around for decades.
It’s just we don’t look.
And we are in Scotland.

 

[mark61]

Rich Rebuilds has learnt a thing or two about fixing Tesla's. Blooming amazing really.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfV0_wbjG8KJADuZT2ct4SA

 

[in h]

COPIED FROM ANOTHER SITE.

Electric cars? I have been following developments closely. A few pointers:
1) Get the name right. They’re not electric cars, they are coal-powered cars. Some might be nuclear, eventually all might be. The electricity has to come from somewhere.

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ gives the facts. Coal powers less than 3% of UK power. We went more than a month this year without using ANY coal power at all. Wind and solar and nuclear provide a fair amount, and most of the rest comes from gas.

2) They cost the planet an arm and a leg to make. They use rare earth elements in their batteries. We have only 50 years worth left of lithium on current production. Worrying for people with bi-polar disorder who need it for medication.

Just as untrue.

3) We don’t know how to fix them. Really! The highest qualification in the UK only touches briefly on hybrid vehicles. Unbelievably, there is no current qualification available for pure electric vehicles on any City and Guilds course in the UK!

There is no shortage of electric car technicians. Because they are simpler and more reliable, they need less maintenance. The most reliable car on the road is the Nissan Leaf.

4) We can’t train the new generation of ‘technicians’ (new-speak for ‘mechanics’), as the handful of manufacturers developing coal-powered cars jealously guard their secrets and each are developing slightly different systems. So if you are one of the few apprentices lucky enough to be trained by a manufacturer, your skills are not transferable to other makes.

More untruth.

5) This marks the end for the bloke on the corner who fixes everyone’s vehicles. Cos hey, we want to regulate everything right? And drive motorists into the greedy arms of the dealerships who currently seem to charge more on ‘trad’ vehicles. God help us all when they find they have no competition. Prices will soar.

That's true. It happened decades ago.

6) We are not training youngsters to work on these new coal-powered vehicles in academic establishments. We are not future-proofing these kids careers. They are even now still being trained to work on petrol and diesel vehicles. One college was given an electric car by the manufacturer, but without the repair manual, (due to the desire to protect industrial secrets). As these cars can kill unskilled ‘tinkerers’ the staff, understandably, did not allow the students to work upon the vehicle. It has sat there untouched for a number of years.

I don't believe that either.

7) Manufacturer assume that with only around 22 parts in the drive train, (compared to a few thou in the ‘trad’ vehicle), their coal powered cars are less likely to break down. But what about the ‘Friday cars?’ We have all heard of them, thrown together at the end of a long week that carry ‘teething troubles’ from day one of their miserable lives. What if you get saddled with one of them?

They are made by robots, with quality systems using SPC.

8) If we’re not gearing up to repair them now, what will happen when we all have them - how long will we have to wait in a very long queue for repairs?

Until cars go wrong, what will this army of repairers do?

9) How do we safely break them up at end of life if they are so dangerous to work on?

Nobody said they are dangerous to work on.

10) Cars are made, they get refueled and driven, they get repaired, they are broken up and recycled. If we haven’t got the most basic infrastructure worked out for the latter stages, we are mindlessly swapping one headache for another.
I’m not encouraging people to drive anything. I’m trying to get them to think about the bigger picture. As a country we are not prepared - or even preparing - for an electric vehicle revolution. It’s just the government paying lip service to environmental concerns. If they really meant it then the announcement would have been accompanied by solid investment in the infrastructure. But it didn’t. I’m just saying ‘Look! The emperor has no clothes...!’

I'm not sure what other site published this sort of outdated, ill-informed guff, but you really should start reading better sources of information.
The reality is that the infrastructure is not yet in place to support a widespread change to electric cars. They do nothing for traffic congestion, they make tyre dust pollution worse, they lack catalysts and filters that clean up other vehicles' exhaust.
But the main objection is that any sort of private car is a daft idea. They undermine the viability of public transport, they have to be parked most of the time and they clog up our lives. We really do deserve better.

 

[campervanannie]

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ gives the facts. Coal powers less than 3% of UK power. We went more than a month this year without using ANY coal power at all. Wind and solar and nuclear provide a fair amount, and most of the rest comes from gas.


Just as untrue.
There is no shortage of electric car technicians. Because they are simpler and more reliable, they need less maintenance. The most reliable car on the road is the Nissan Leaf.
More untruth.

That's true. It happened decades ago.
I don't believe that either.They are made by robots, with quality systems using SPC. Until cars go wrong, what will this army of repairers do?Nobody said they are dangerous to work on.

I'm not sure what other site published this sort of outdated, ill-informed guff, but you really should start reading better sources of information.
The reality is that the infrastructure is not yet in place to support a widespread change to electric cars. They do nothing for traffic congestion, they make tyre dust pollution worse, they lack catalysts and filters that clean up other vehicles' exhaust.
But the main objection is that any sort of private car is a daft idea. They undermine the viability of public transport, they have to be parked most of the time and they clog up our lives. We really do deserve better.

Well I’ll go stand In the naughty corner for posting outdated ill-informed guff but to be fair I never said it was fact I just said I copied it from another forum, but there again how do I know your comments aren’t guff.

 

[landoboguy]

Semi | Tesla United Kingdom

Tesla Semi is a fully electric semi truck with active safety features, massive range and a spacious interior designed for maximum visibility.

www.tesla.com

oh yeah, look good wi Stobarts on the side

 

[in h]

Well I’ll go stand In the naughty corner for posting outdated ill-informed guff but to be fair I never said it was fact I just said I copied it from another forum, but there again how do I know your comments aren’t guff.

You don't!

 

[Fisherman]

When the first horseless carriage took the road in Stuttgart in 1886 we were told that they would never take off, and the horse was king. The luddites lined up to vilify what we all now drive.
Now we have reached a time when changes that should have taken place decades ago are just around the corner. Changes that were held back because of the oil lobbies from the multi national oil companies.
And within 10 years you will not only start to see more and more electric cars, cars that will be better than what is available today, you will see a massive growth in infrastructure.
You will also start to see driverless cars on our roads.

And what is driving this not only global warming, and pollution but evolution.

Anyone who thinks that the internal combustion engine will be around forever would have betted the horse would win in 1886.

I got my first mobile phone in 1993 all I heard was what do you need one of them for. Now 95% of us use mobile phones.
Remember the first microwaves that apparently caused cancer, and never took of.


All of the arguments put up against EVCS, all of the arguments over infrastructure will disappear, and possibly someone will take a look at this thread and other threads on other forums and wonder, what was all the fuss about.

 

[Fazerloz]

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ gives the facts. Coal powers less than 3% of UK power. We went more than a month this year without using ANY coal power at all. Wind and solar and nuclear provide a fair amount, and most of the rest comes from gas.

Dont forget the power we import from abroad as well.
I took Annies reference to coal more as a generic term for shall i say as something some see as not exactly green or renewable. Yet if we choose to look at our nice green renewables no one ever seems to mention BIO MASS that is shipped across the wold at great cost to be burnt in converted coal fired power stations producing 8% more CO2. than coal.
Simply because it ticks a box.
This might open some eyes but there again there are non so blind as those that don't want to see. One Power Station DRAX. Read this its just pure lunacy, Especially for those that seem so concerned about CO2

'Renewable' biomass energy accused of causing deforestation in the US

The UK biomass energy industry faces criticism over its dependency on stripping US forests to seek out its supply of wood pellets

inews.co.uk

 

[in h]

Dont forget the power we import from abroad as well.
I took Annies reference to coal more as a generic term for shall i say as something some see as not exactly green or renewable. Yet if we choose to look at our nice green renewables no one ever seems to mention BIO MASS that is shipped across the wold at great cost to be burnt in converted coal fired power stations producing 8% more CO2. than coal.
Simply because it ticks a box.
This might open some eyes but there again there are non so blind as those that don't want to see. One Power Station DRAX. Read this its just pure lunacy, Especially for those that seem so concerned about CO2

'Renewable' biomass energy accused of causing deforestation in the US

The UK biomass energy industry faces criticism over its dependency on stripping US forests to seek out its supply of wood pellets

inews.co.uk

ALL the inputs are shown on the Gridwatch page, including power imported and power from burning wood pellets at Drax. Updated 24/7

 

[runnach]

Thr guardian show Drax in a different light, an interesting read https://www.theguardian.com/busines...r-plans-worlds-first-carbon-negative-business

 

[in h]

Thr guardian show Drax in a different light, an interesting read https://www.theguardian.com/busines...r-plans-worlds-first-carbon-negative-business

I'm not sure that the carbon capture really worked. The while thing is a way to get renewables subsidy for burning wood pellets imported from overseas.
I have a feeling that the EU refuses to consider the Drax biomass plant as green and/or renewable, but that is just a vague recollection.

 

[Mikebike]

"New petrol and diesel cars banned from 2035. A ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars will be brought forward by five years to improve air quality, the prime minister will announce today. Boris Johnson will say that the sale of new combustion engine cars and vans will end in 2035 rather than 2040."

Don't panic, don't panic, no mention of MH's or vans or lorries.

That's alright then?

Could they produce enough electricity to keep all the vehicles charged?

 

[Fisherman]

Could they produce enough electricity to keep all the vehicles charged?

Yes, this has been looked at and by the 2030s renewables will have twice the capacity it currently has. The largest hurdles are, providing better infra structure, and improving battery technology. It’s not reckoned that EVCS will outnumber petrol and diesel till the 40s. Petrol and diesel will be around till the 60s, but in much reduced numbers.

 

[ricc]

Yes, this has been looked at and by the 2030s renewables will have twice the capacity it currently has. The largest hurdles are, providing better infra structure, and improving battery technology. It’s not reckoned that EVCS will outnumber petrol and diesel till the 40s. Petrol and diesel will be around till the 60s, but in much reduced numbers.

if renewables have got the whole leccy car thing in hand why is there a new nucleur plant being built on the somerset coast?

 

[Fisherman]

if renewables have got the whole leccy car thing in hand why is there a new nucleur plant being built on the somerset coast?

Sorry where did I say that renewables have anything in hand.
Currently unless we build new nuclear power stations in the next few years with or without EVS the lights may go out. We have decommissioned many coal fired stations and have not replaced their output. The building of a nuclear power station in Somerset would go ahead if we continued the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles or not.

 

[in h]

I'm not convinced that everyone will switch to electtrric vehicles. Hydrogen or LPG powered engines aren't being banned.
The trouble with EVs is the small amount of energy they store.
An electric car will probably have a battery capacity of 65kWh. You get that much stored energy in less than 4.75Kg of LPG, or about six litres of diesel. Should you buy a vehicle with a fuel tank that small?

 

[Asterix]

I'm not convinced that everyone will switch to electtrric vehicles. Hydrogen or LPG powered engines aren't being banned.
The trouble with EVs is the small amount of energy they store.
An electric car will probably have a battery capacity of 65kWh. You get that much stored energy in less than 4.75Kg of LPG, or about six litres of diesel. Should you buy a vehicle with a fuel tank that small?

For most people a full charge would last a week for commuting, shops,school run etc,it may not make sense if you're a travelling salesman,but I'd think most people would rather have lower fuel and maintenance costs. It can't be forgotten that battery tech is getting incrementally better all the time,Tesla have once again upped their range,now well in excess of 300 miles on some models.

Tesla Model 3 gets 350 miles in new 'long-range mode' test

CEO Elon Musk congratulated the Tesla team after the Model 3 got 350 miles of range on a single charge...

electrek.co

 

[Fisherman]

I'm not convinced that everyone will switch to electtrric vehicles. Hydrogen or LPG powered engines aren't being banned.
The trouble with EVs is the small amount of energy they store.
An electric car will probably have a battery capacity of 65kWh. You get that much stored energy in less than 4.75Kg of LPG, or about six litres of diesel. Should you buy a vehicle with a fuel tank that small?

Of course not everyone will switch.
We have to stop discussing this as if in 2035 suddenly we will all be driving Teslas, and there will be no improvements to infrastructure and battery and engine technology. By that time there will be a lot more of them on the roads and the infrastructure will be much better than it is today. Also as Asterix points out battery technology will be much better.
By 2035 possibly one third of the cars on the roads will be electric, and gradually over the following couple of decades, battery and engine technology will further improve and so will infrastructure, leading to the vast majority of cars being electric. Most of us sadly won’t see this, and to a great extent these changes will never affect us.

 

[Fazerloz]

For most people a full charge would last a week for commuting, shops,school run etc,it may not make sense if you're a travelling salesman,but I'd think most people would rather have lower fuel and maintenance costs. It can't be forgotten that battery tech is getting incrementally better all the time,Tesla have once again upped their range,now well in excess of 300 miles on some models.

Tesla Model 3 gets 350 miles in new 'long-range mode' test

CEO Elon Musk congratulated the Tesla team after the Model 3 got 350 miles of range on a single charge...

electrek.co

I bet most people would be very happy if they could even afford a Tesla at nearly £40,000. Maybe the Government should buy us all one. Job done then. It would be cheaper than what has already been spent on Crossrail which will benefit relatively few people in this country. But then it is for London so price seems to be no object.

 

[Tonybvi]

Although I have a Tesla Model X and love it we have to be a little bit aware of the stated range. My car has an EPA range of 327 miles (rumoured to be increased to 351 miles via a software update?!) and a WLTP (UK Standard) of 314 miles. However this is in absolutely ideal conditions. To play safe I use max 300 miles for summer use and 250 miles in winter. On top of this it is not recommended to charge regularly above about 90% unless you intend to drive immediately. Then I feel pretty uncomfortable if the battery starts heading below 10%. So effectively in winter I really only have 80% of 250 miles - 200 miles. Still plenty good enough for me but the EV quoted ranges are no better than an ICE vehicle mpg figures!!