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Old 01-24-2021, 08:06 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Trout View Post
The only thing in that article that helps the environment is the fact electric vehicles do not need oil changes. Regenitive brake captures energy that has all been expended instead of wasting it to heat (brakes) but this comes at a cost of efficiency. The truth is most of our electric energy comes from fossil fuels. There are many losses get the energy to your home. Also batteries are only about 85% efficient. I am not sure of the exact numbers but the fact this is never mentioned tells me it may not be worth it at this time except if alternate energy is being used.
The batteries are actually about 92% efficient.

True, a lot of electricity does come from fossil fuel. But the turbines at the station are way more efficient than having your own power plant under your hood. So even with efficiency loss at the power plant, transmission losses to your home and charging losses it's still more efficient than a private power plant under each hood.

But not all electricity does come from fossil fuel. And some fossil fuels are cleaner burning than others.

And the electric power plants can burn cleaner.

So overall it's a win and should get better over time.

The biggest problem with EV is battery lifetime. The lifetime of an average ICE car might be say 20 years. Where today, it might be more like 10-12 years for an EV battery. It's not cost effective to replace the battery. And building a car (EV or ICE) has impact to the environment.

Tesla is working hard (as well as many companies) are trying hard to fix that. The "Million mile battery". Tesla has some things in the pipe that might double or triple the battery lifetime. Probably in 1-2 years. But you need to start somewhere and what is produced now, might be arguably be worth it (barely, wallet wise and environment wise). But it's the right direction in my opinion. Damn I sure wish I bought Tesla stock.

They are also working hard to come up with chemistry that uses less and less of the rare metals. This video, now 2 years old explains some of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGFiaWvD-KI&t=22s

The way I look at it, the more we diversify our energy production and use the better. To much of ANY one form is bad. But good batteries are a win because they can be charged with many types of fuel. I charge mine with the sun But I know, that has waste too when solar panels need replacing.

Note that electricity is pretty expensive in NewEngland compared to many parts of the country. So the cost savings are not that great. Unless you bought into Solar. Which helps a ton. I also wouldn't want to own a Tesla without a Garage. Excess heat from an ICE is a good thing when your car is a frozen igloo. It's a real hassle (and expensive) with an EV.
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