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Looking at what it takes to replace a gas fueled generator with solar, it's easy to overlook how much power is in gas. The one upside to permanent solar is that

Looking at what it takes to replace a gas fueled generator with solar, it's easy to overlook how much power is in gas. The one upside to permanent solar is that it's always producing when there's enough sun...unlike a generator that needs to be using fuel to make power.

dahfizz 5y ago
Yeah, gasoline is incredibly energy dense. Unfortunately, internal combustion engines are also really inefficient. The Tesla battery pack weighs over 1000lbs, but only carries the same energy as 3 gallons of gas.
- CyanLite2 5y ago
  You're probably off by an order of magnitude. But your point is valid nonetheless. Average Tesla can do nearly 300 miles per charge. A gallon of gas can do about 30 miles per gallon in a similar sedan.
  - svnt 5y ago
    If you did some more math instead of assuming you were right you would see that their numbers are actually right, and so are yours.
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    He is right. Electromotors are way more efficient than ICEs. That is why many of the world's railways run on electricity, at least on the main lines: it costs something to set up all the catenary wires etc., but the operational savings are huge.
  - dahfizz 5y ago
    What am I wrong about? A Tesla gets ~130 mpg equivalent [1]. This means that if you put a gallon of gas worth of electricity into a tesla, the Tesla can go 130 miles. On that same page you can see the Tesla is rated for ~350 miles of range. So the Tesla battery pack carries less energy than 3 gallons of gas. Let's phrase it this way: if you had a 100% efficient generator, you would need less than 3 gallons of gas to fully charge a 1000lb Tesla battery pack. The Tesla could then travel 350 miles with that energy. [1] https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43401 https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43401
    - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
      I think it's easier to say: A Tesla long range battery is 82 kWh. A gallon of gas is ~33.7 kWh. So even in a Tesla, 1 mile of driving = 1 hour of gaming = it's not worth talking about gaming as a cause of global warming.
- ianai 5y ago
  and of course ICE doesn't come close to efficiently converting the energy in burning fuel to kinetic motion.

dahfizz 5y ago

Yeah, gasoline is incredibly energy dense. Unfortunately, internal combustion engines are also really inefficient. The Tesla battery pack weighs over 1000lbs, but only carries the same energy as 3 gallons of gas.

CyanLite2 5y ago
You're probably off by an order of magnitude. But your point is valid nonetheless. Average Tesla can do nearly 300 miles per charge. A gallon of gas can do about 30 miles per gallon in a similar sedan.
- svnt 5y ago
  If you did some more math instead of assuming you were right you would see that their numbers are actually right, and so are yours.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  He is right. Electromotors are way more efficient than ICEs. That is why many of the world's railways run on electricity, at least on the main lines: it costs something to set up all the catenary wires etc., but the operational savings are huge.
- dahfizz 5y ago
  What am I wrong about? A Tesla gets ~130 mpg equivalent [1]. This means that if you put a gallon of gas worth of electricity into a tesla, the Tesla can go 130 miles. On that same page you can see the Tesla is rated for ~350 miles of range. So the Tesla battery pack carries less energy than 3 gallons of gas. Let's phrase it this way: if you had a 100% efficient generator, you would need less than 3 gallons of gas to fully charge a 1000lb Tesla battery pack. The Tesla could then travel 350 miles with that energy. [1] https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43401 https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=43401
  - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
    I think it's easier to say: A Tesla long range battery is 82 kWh. A gallon of gas is ~33.7 kWh. So even in a Tesla, 1 mile of driving = 1 hour of gaming = it's not worth talking about gaming as a cause of global warming.
ianai 5y ago
and of course ICE doesn't come close to efficiently converting the energy in burning fuel to kinetic motion.