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"I bet they're going to talk about the total amount of energy in a gallon of gas, without mentioning anything about how that's translated to electrity, and how

by jbooth 15y ago

"I bet they're going to talk about the total amount of energy in a gallon of gas, without mentioning anything about how that's translated to electrity, and how much of the energy is lost in the process" click "Yup."

Tichy 15y ago
Well how much energy is lost? 50%? 80%? Assuming it is 50%, then the answer would be you could charge the iPhone for 10 years instead of 20 years. Still interesting.
- jbooth 15y ago
  Overwhelmingly most of it. Most generators run on diesel and not gasoline, and I gave up trying to figure gallons per KwH after a few minutes of googling. But you're talking about converting heat to mechanical energy with a ton of lossage, and then mechanical to electricity with a ton more lossage. The original article isn't interesting. You may as well say that your mouse has enough energy to recharge your iphone for 10 years, provided we found a way to convert the mass into energy.
  - Tichy 15y ago
    But the way to turn fuel into energy already exists, even if it is inefficient. OK, you could also burn my mouse, but it would probably be even less efficient... I still think it makes a strong point for telecommuting.
nilsbunger 15y ago
What do you expect? The author wrote the study for Exxon Mobil. As others pointed out, you have to divide by about 5 to 7 to account for the losses in going from gas to available power at the wheels. Even then, gas wins against batteries by about a factor of two. And batteries are only getting better very slowly. On the other hand, the cost per mile for an electric car is less than half the cost per mile for a gas powered vehicle. And the car is actually simpler. The economics will favor electric cars soon because of this. The car won't be able to go 300 miles in one trip though. But If we have charging infrastructure in enough places, almost all trips can be satisfied with 100 mile range or less. For a big road trip, you'll just rent a gas car, similar to how today you rent a U-Haul truck for that odd occasion where you have to move a huge pile of stuff.

by jbooth 15y ago

Tichy 15y ago

Well how much energy is lost? 50%? 80%? Assuming it is 50%, then the answer would be you could charge the iPhone for 10 years instead of 20 years. Still interesting.

jbooth 15y ago
Overwhelmingly most of it. Most generators run on diesel and not gasoline, and I gave up trying to figure gallons per KwH after a few minutes of googling. But you're talking about converting heat to mechanical energy with a ton of lossage, and then mechanical to electricity with a ton more lossage. The original article isn't interesting. You may as well say that your mouse has enough energy to recharge your iphone for 10 years, provided we found a way to convert the mass into energy.
- Tichy 15y ago
  But the way to turn fuel into energy already exists, even if it is inefficient. OK, you could also burn my mouse, but it would probably be even less efficient... I still think it makes a strong point for telecommuting.

nilsbunger 15y ago

What do you expect? The author wrote the study for Exxon Mobil. As others pointed out, you have to divide by about 5 to 7 to account for the losses in going from gas to available power at the wheels. Even then, gas wins against batteries by about a factor of two. And batteries are only getting better very slowly. On the other hand, the cost per mile for an electric car is less than half the cost per mile for a gas powered vehicle. And the car is actually simpler. The economics will favor electric cars soon because of this. The car won't be able to go 300 miles in one trip though. But If we have charging infrastructure in enough places, almost all trips can be satisfied with 100 mile range or less. For a big road trip, you'll just rent a gas car, similar to how today you rent a U-Haul truck for that odd occasion where you have to move a huge pile of stuff.