Ian Podmore Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I've been doing some lunchtime reading of the spec's of the Vauxhall Ampera out of couriousity.... Headline CO2 figure is 27g/km, in the small print of the brochure it states that every kWh of electricty generated in UK generates average of 545g of CO2. Range on electric only is 25 to 50 miles, and battery is 16kWh. So if my maths are right.... 545 x 16 = 8,720 g CO2 for full charge. Worst case is 25 miles = 40km so 8720/40 = 218g/km of CO2, and best case of 109g/km. Best case is going to be rolling down a long hill (always is for 'best' case) then say 155g/km for a range of 35 miles. It does 56 mpg running on petrol only (1.4 petrol engine generates electric to power motor). 56 mpg is about 130g/km? So basically it appears unless I've messed up that electric car eco warriers have got it all wrong.... There's life in the internal combustion engine yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dommo Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 For the punter I doubt if CO2 is really an issue. I guess it's a car that can do the city commute nice and cheaply but is still able to venture out of town if needed. The way I see it, the first 25-50 miles are uber cheap, then it's comparatively more expensive than other modern cars. And you forked out 30k to start off with. The shopping trolley type cars are best suited for electric IMO. I'd love a Twizy or an electric smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 So, as I thought, if you want an Electric car it's not as clean as we're led to believe. Just like the windmill generators. Huge subsidies (so the price doubled) and they lay idle for probably 25% of the time if not more. Whereas tidal generators that will work for 22 hours out of 24 every day are largely ignored. Also, if you need two cars as the electric one is only for short commute and shopping the cost of making two cars instead of one probably negates any savings for many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 what ever happened to the electric mini? it seemed to be the best on the market a year or so ago. An electric car would be ideal for me at the mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 or the lecky westfield ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The effective capacity of wind turbines is claimed to be 60% of full output. On the range of electric cars, they rarely mention that if you want to use the heater the range is roughly halved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 or the lecky westfield ? When wots his face from the factory came up he told us loads about the leccy westy and what they are up to on the electric front. It was very fascinating. Shame we don't get more info about stuff like this in the Westfield world magazine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The effective capacity of wind turbines is claimed to be 60% of full output. On the range of electric cars, they rarely mention that if you want to use the heater the range is roughly halved. not true - it will drop off by about 10% soon as you switch it on - theres no such thing as a 'green' car - the best one is the one you already have.. the one that doesnt involve... just to make a wheel nut - what EXACTLY would it take you to make one - then mass produce it... forge + leccy + coal + lorries to produce it machinery + leccy + coal + lorries chromed nut? chrome baths - chemicals - where from - transportation to the chrome factory on super tankers - + lorries see what i mean - it costs a LOT of energy and materials just to make the simplest of items in a car - then think how many parts are in a car!! is you saving the planet buying green? the only way that they are better is the cost - you can typically charge a Leaf per year doing 12000 miles for around the £200 - £220 / year - bargain! i use about £70/week in juice alone getting to work. time will improve them - if you really see what goes into them in development you would be amazed - a lot of time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Podmore Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 And the Nissan Leaf... 24kWh battery so 13,080 g of CO2 per charge. 109 miles --> 175km range 75 g/km That's better but hardly a good performance given it's achievable with a normal engine and a much longer range / faster 'refuelling'. Quite surprising, and like wind turbines, WE are all subsidising them / paying for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Podmore Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 The effective capacity of wind turbines is claimed to be 60% of full output. On the range of electric cars, they rarely mention that if you want to use the heater the range is roughly halved. In the Ampera you can set it to heat or cool the car before you get in, it does advise you to do whilst still connected to the mains though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 In the Ampera you can set it to heat or cool the car before you get in, it does advise you to do whilst still connected to the mains though. leaf is the same - with heated streeing wheel option on some countries... its amazing how the car has the most electric gizmos on and its trying to go the furthest... lol you get an app for your i-phone - from your cosy front room - click - turn on heater in car without going out - nice n toasty... the car is quite impressive to drive and really does whip along. performance will come soon - the issue is at what cost. technology is there to go further with the batteries but with everything it has to be made to a profitable cost or no-one will bother 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Podmore Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Performance is fine on them, Ampera does 60 in 9 seconds which is quick enough. One thing this also shows up is how expensive petrol and diesel is compared to electricity. Will try and work out how much 1kWh of petrol costs next.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 lol - you need to get out in the garage and play westies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cast iron Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 the Ampera isnt a pure electric car! The leaf is, and the claim is zero tailpipe emissions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 You have all considered the cost in CO2 terms for charging and making some parts for an electric car, whats even worse is the energy and CO2 cost of producing the batteries. Makes the whole debate of whether electric cars are actually "greener" to make and run over the average lifespan of a single car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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