General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAutomobile enthusiasts: Do EVs recharge their batteries at all...
any percentage of charge, when running as gasoline-powered autos do?
Ptah
(32,983 posts)Zeitghost
(3,796 posts)Use regenerative braking to charge the battery.
DanieRains
(4,619 posts)My Volt goes 5 miles before the engine comes on. Mostly downhill, but the regeneration works. On a Tesla it really works.
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. Regen braking converts the energy of a moving vehicle back into electricity as it slows it down. A gasoline powered engine converts chemical energy, contained in the bonds between atoms, into mechanical power that turns the alternator to produce electricity (and recharge the battery). An electric vehicle has energy stored in batteries and releases that energy to power everything. You could have a EV spin an alternator, but it would just put a portion of the electricity back into the battery. Lets for the sake of example say that it takes 10 Amps to spin alternator. One amp lost for for friction and heat losses, so the alternator would only put back 9 amps into the battery.
brush
(53,475 posts)since it would do this over and over during a drive?
NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)It's a net loss. Even regen braking is still a loss. You might have used say 800 watts to get going at speed, but the regen only captures a fraction of that back. The rest is lost to air resistance, rolling friction, and mechanical/thermal losses (no component is 100% efficient).
Regen braking makes sense because otherwise all the energy of a moving vehicle is converted to friction heat between pads and rotor. At least something is captured back.
brush
(53,475 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,178 posts)For long distance, either rapid recharge stations or hybrids that could run off renewable fuels like biodiesel or ethanol should be considered. You could start a trip on electric and then run on chemical energy (fuel) until you could recharge again. In some design, such as the Chevrolet Volt, the internal combustion engine was just a generator to recharge the battery and didnt actually connect to the wheels mechanically with a transmission.
ProfessorGAC
(64,425 posts)...seems ideal, to me.
Still can be charged by plug in, most of the time, but range extending by carrying a generator on board.
Could keep weight down too, by having a thermal shut off, and not a full coolant system.
That's why I thought the Volt was such a good idea.
The advantages of a Prius type hybrid, with the mechanical simplicity of electric drive.
Too bad Chevy couldn't sustain it.
BSdetect
(8,989 posts)brush
(53,475 posts)Last edited Fri Mar 18, 2022, 01:09 AM - Edit history (2)
Sound like it could an ugly car.
But manufacturers could build well designed cars with panels on the roof, hood and trunk maybe.
Efilroft Sul
(3,573 posts)brush
(53,475 posts)Disaffected
(4,508 posts)as the extra range gained is small (not much space on the top of a car to add panels).
genxlib
(5,507 posts)Can EVs be charged while you drive?
I have been wondering if you could get a trailer hitch mounted generator to supply continual power for a long haul trip? A jury rigged version comes to mind but it seems like something a more sophisticate aftermarket supplier could provide.
It seems like this could be an option to alleviate concerns about the fact that EVs are not really great for road trips beyond their range. The idea of sitting at a rest stop for hours waiting for a charge is a big turnoff.
Even if the unit was a supplemental battery back rather than a generator, it could go a long way to extending the range for rare trips.
Never mind, answered my own question https://gajitz.com/little-generator-trailer-lets-electric-cars-go-the-distance/
madinmaryland
(64,920 posts)there are a lot of hybrids on the road now, though most of them have the ICE as the primary and the battery as the back up.
genxlib
(5,507 posts)Which was an EV that carried a motor to recharge itself as needed.
The main difference is that this would only be used when needed. You wouldn't drag it around all the time when the EV range was acceptable.
kysrsoze
(6,010 posts)It's really not that big of a deal. People typically will stop every 3 hours for food, restrooms, etc., and Tesla puts their chargers near food stops and sometimes interesting distractions while charging. Other companies are not quite that far, but as time goes on the overall electric car charging network will follow suit, and fast-charging architecture is already expanding a lot. Key is next-gen batteries which will charge even faster, will be lighter in weight and hold more energy for longer drives between stops.
tinrobot
(10,848 posts)Not very practical from an efficiency standpoint.
Maybe, instead of finding ways to keep burning gas, we should put our efforts into faster charging and more range.
former9thward
(31,805 posts)Some can use braking for some charging if they are in the city.
Regenerative Braking
Its true that many electric and hybrid cars have clever and innovative systems that can recoup energy as youre driving along. Its an ingenious system that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy which is transferred and stored in the cars battery. It works by the driver pressing on the brake pedal, which prompts the electric motor to instantly switch to generator mode. Once in this mode, the wheels transfer energy via the drivetrain to the generator through their rotation. Some of this kinetic energy is captured and stored.
The operative word with regenerative braking is some of the energy is captured, not all. It is a great way to keep your car going, especially when driving in the city where you use your brakes a lot. Its not yet, however, a viable technology to allow the car to fully recharge.
https://www.homechargingstations.com/electric-cars-self-charging/
https://www.businessinsider.com/charge-electric-car-while-driving-technology-cornell-2021-5
genxlib
(5,507 posts)Some of the energy is used to propel the car. The regenerative breaking can recapture some of that as it converts the forward momentum back into power. But there will always be some losses along the way. At most, you will recapture some fraction of what you use to accelerate. The rest is lost to wind and road friction.
Ron Green
(9,821 posts)Green public ground transportation ought to come to America.
brush
(53,475 posts)After more than a century of private cars, I don't see people giving that up.
Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)But I don't know anyone who even has a landline phone.
brush
(53,475 posts)Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)You know, I have an EV that seats two people.
The last time I took a long trip, I used the money that I don't spend on gas to rent a large vehicle in which I transported a bunch of people, including one of my adult children and her partner in relative comfort.
I would never have a need for a vehicle that large and certainly wouldn't want to drive it on short trips around town.
But, quite frankly, I have organized my life around not really needing to drive a whole lot in the first place.
This idea of "how am I going to go on a long road trip" is silly, given how frequently it is an issue for most people.
You do not have to OWN a private car in order to USE a private car.
Getting away from "I need a vehicle that does everything" to "I need a vehicle for the things I need, and can rent one tailored to some other purpose when I need it" ends up being a lot better.
If I need to haul shit, I rent a pickup truck. Heck, Home Depot rents them for 20 bucks an hour.
That makes a boatload more sense than "I should get a pickup truck because I need one a couple of times a year."
brush
(53,475 posts)Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)How bizarre. You ask me what I would do, and then you say others are different.
If you didnt want to know my approach to transportation, they why TF did you ask?
Dont ask if you dont want to know.
brush
(53,475 posts)that you do what you do, but remember others do what they do.
What's there to complain about?
NickB79
(19,114 posts)Turbines and solar panels don't appear out of thin air.
And to convert our society to 100% renewable energy without reducing demand, we'd have to build out much more infrastructure than is possible before catastrophic climate change sets in. We really don't have any more time to lose.
The more we reduce demand, the faster we can wean off fossil fuels.
brush
(53,475 posts)transportation is developed, private cars, green ones, will survive.
Ron Green
(9,821 posts)poor people around the world, wasted land use, the environment, and so on, thats created the unsustainable world were now facing. And as your reply shows, many people want to continue this demand, still offloading the cost to some future payer.
brush
(53,475 posts)poor people will have green cars too. Come on, changing to green cars is huge, a big leap from fossil fuel burners.
Changing human nature from wanting convenience though...that won't happen. We have to just keep developing and improving alternate energy use, our products and our systems.
Effete Snob
(8,387 posts)MissB
(15,800 posts)When you drive a go cart, its usually one pedal. Same with my EV- there is a one pedal drive mode where the gas pedal works as both the gas and the brake. Taking my foot off the gas translates some of the braking energy to battery power.
For freeway driving, its better for battery power to *not* be in one pedal mode.
Takket
(21,425 posts)Ford Motor Co. is working with Israeli startup Electreon to construct a mile-long road near Detroits Michigan Central Terminal that will charge electric vehicles as they travel on it.
The pilot program will deploy an inductive in-road charging system in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
As we aim to lead the future of mobility and electrification by boosting electric vehicle production and lowering consumer costs, a wireless in-road charging system is the next piece to the puzzle for sustainability, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.
Also supporting the project, which is expected to be operational in 2023, are Next Energy and the Jacobs Engineering Group. Ford purchased the long-abandoned train station and is converting it to be the hub of what it calls its mobility innovation district, where software developers and others will focus on making electrified and autonomous transportation more practical.
brush
(53,475 posts)MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)brush
(53,475 posts)cally
(21,589 posts)And for most of my daily activity, I use the electric power. I only end up using Gasoline power for long trips. I was actually surprised when I first got it and realized how few miles I drive each day. I had elderly parents when I bought it and needed the ability to drive the long distance to see them otherwise I would be happy with electric car and recharging every night. I can use our second car for longer trips but I also envision maybe renting a car for longer trips.
brush
(53,475 posts)I'm asking as my next car will most likely be an EV or hybrid.
Shellback Squid
(8,909 posts)braking recoups some charge