Battery Powered Life

Battery powered cars..
The number one thing I feel everyone gets wrong about the aspect of BEV (battery powered electric vehicles) and other forms of electric transportation is that it replaces fossil fuels. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Batteries are NOT an energy source, Fossil Fuels ARE an energy source. In order for batteries to have any purpose they need to be charged by a source of energy.

At this time, sadly, the most common source of energy is to pump oil or dig coal out of the ground, light it on fire, use the heat to boil water into steam, and use the steam to spin large electric turbine generators to create electricity. As the world starts to come out of the stone ages more sources of energy are starting to be harvested such as solar and wind but these still represent a small fraction of energy produced today. But the good news is that these , and other, alternative energy sources are increasing in capabilities and technologies.

There is a huge push back between fuel burning vehicles and electric vehicles. The oil companies want to keep you dependent upon what they sell and are willing to spend tons of money to make sure you remain dependent. You cant make your own gasoline in your back yard so they know you are hooked. However electricity can be generated for almost nothing, and you can make as much as you want. This is not profitable for most companies.

So, why do batteries matter? The key to lowering the consumption of energy is to be as efficient as possible.

In the “conventional” fossil fuel transportation world. Oil is pumped out of the ground. Transported to refineries all over the world using tons of energy to do so. Refined into gasoline, using tons of energy to do so, transported to fuel distribution hubs, then transported again by diesel trucks to gas stations, using tons of energy. The equivalent of 40% of the energy pumped out of the ground is consumed in just these steps. Then after all the logistics, man power, pumping, storing and containing the waste, Only around 15% of the energy in the Gasoline you pump into your car is used to move it down the road. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies. And your only option is to burn fuel every time you drive

In the electrified transportation world. Coal is dug out of the ground. Transported directly to the electrical power plants without any other refining or extra energy consuming steps. The electricity is then efficiently carried all over the US through the electrical grid with little to no extra energy consumed. Then the electrical energy is transferred to motion in an electric car very efficiently. For example a tesla is about 90% efficient in transferring energy to motion. (gas vehicle is 15%). SO, yes an electric car can be considered a fossil fuel burner, but the amount of energy consumed from fossil fuels per mile traveled is roughly 98% more than the energy used that left over after all the steps involved in gasoline powered vehicle. A Tesla that can drive 300 miles on a charge has a battery pack that holds roughly 65kwh of energy, 2 gallons of gasoline is also roughly 65kwh of energy. Therefore you are able to travel 5 times further using the same energy with non of the other benefits being factored in. This doesn’t even take into account the easy and efficient processes to add nuclear, solar and wind generated electricity to the electrical grid to offset some coal.

To sum up my feelings on electric cars. Drive Electric! leave all the fossil fuel burning to the large powerplants that only run at maximum efficiency, and are designed to be as clean as possible. (even though burning anything isn’t clean). Save all the petroleum products for plastics, healthcare products, and new technologies that can benefit from all the energy contained in fossil fuels instead of just burning all of it.

My fear is that one day in the not so distant future oil and gas will be very limited. People will look back in the history books about our generation and say ” Wow! for over a hundred years people took this amazing energy source and just lit it on fire, burned it all!”

The end…. or,, the beginning.

Battery powered homes,
The benefits of battery powered cars are extremely obvious, but most don’t realize the effects of adding batteries to your home also. Here is some simple math to help layout just one of the benefits.
Per google, the average home in FL uses 1,110KWH of electricity every month. And the average home has a 200 Amp main electrical service line coming to your home from the utility provider. This requires #4/0 wire to handle the load (or #2/0 if using copper wire) per leg. That’s two 5/8” diameter wires needed to supply your house with electricity.
Now lets do some math. 1,110 Kilo Watts per Hour is the total used in a month, and there is about 720 Hours in a month. So if you average out the total used, across the total hours in a month you get 1110/720 = 1.54 KWH. And going further 1.54KWH = 1,540 Watt hours, and watts is volts x amps. So at your normal 240 volts coming in this equates to 6.4 amps @ 240V. Amazing, only 6.4 Amps!
6.4 amps, so if this was true you could power your entire house from 2 of the cheapest 110v Walmart extension cords!. But your house needs the 200 amp service because of something called “demand”. If your Air conditioner(s), water heater and microwave all kick on while drying your hair, 200 amps is just enough to keep you going.
But What If….
Your home had a battery pack that took care of all the normal house loads and all you needed from the utility grid was enough power to keep your battery bank charged? Your electric bill would not change at all, and your electrical usage wouldn’t change. But just image if every home on your street only needed a small extension cord to power it, and what if every house in the city did this. Imagine the savings for the utilities!