3 ms·
A car only needs 10kW or so on average to do highway speeds, but you need peak power around 30kW at minimum (or about 70 to satisfy most people's expectations).
by Schroedingersat 4y ago
A car only needs 10kW or so on average to do highway speeds, but you need peak power around 30kW at minimum (or about 70 to satisfy most people's expectations).
You only need the generator to be able to extend the driving time to around 8 hours to cover 99% of use cases, so if your battery can do 2 hours then the generator only needs to produce 3/4 of the energy in the minimal case.
What you are proposing would require the generator to be 3-20x as large as the alternative.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dahfizz 4y agoSorry, maybe I was not clear. Assuming you are correct, I am saying the generator should produce 10kW of power, and OP is suggesting that the generator would generator < 10kW. I'm saying the generator should keep up with the energy demand of cruising on the highway.
- Schroedingersat 4y agoYou can get a range multiplier even below that. A car that uses 10kW average and has a 50km range is usable with a 7.5kW generator and stopping to charge every 200km. Knowing you have the ability to stop and charge or limp at 3/4ths speed to the next charger would allow more confidence pushing the boundaries. A small battery means a 15 minute break to charge every 2 hours is viable and not a deal breaker for someone who only needs range infrequently.