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A single truck requires more energy to operate in a year than 70k homes do!? I find this extremely difficult to believe. As far as I can tell, the EIA [1] sugg

by _2d30 2y ago

A single truck requires more energy to operate in a year than 70k homes do!? I find this extremely difficult to believe. As far as I can tell, the EIA [1] suggests the average home uses 10,791 kWh a year. A gallon of gasoline contains ~33.7 kWh of energy per the EPA/Wikipedia [2]. This would mean that a single truck would be burning 70,000 * 10,791 / 33.7 = 22,414,540 gallons of gasoline a year or 61,409 gallons a day. Seems like wild bullshit to me. [1] https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent#:~:text=The%20ratings%20are%20based%20on,tests%20simulating%20varying%20driving%20conditions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent#:~:....

throwaway2037 2y ago
This has got to be one of the greatest retorts I have ever read on HN. Hat tip to you.
CRConrad 2y ago
Most trucks -- at least of the kind used for transporting trash to a landfill -- don't burn any gasoline at all. They run on diesel fuel. (But yeah, the original claim still seems orders-of-magnitude off; clearly BS.)
weaksauce 2y ago
you should note that a gas engine does not convert all that 33kWh of energy into mechanical energy. a gasoline engine has about a 25% conversion into mechanical energy. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml . diesel might be a bit better than a car but it's city driving by nature. just heat alone is the largest waste product in a car or truck
- selimthegrim 2y ago
  Only Soviets kept using gas engined trucks and buses past the 50s
  - mrguyorama 2y ago
    And, for some insane reason, the average American commuter.
- 8note 2y ago
  A tank of gas is still a tank of gas, regardless of what it gets used for. Energy in = energy out + waste + energy stored The truck is barely storing anything on average, so what you've described is energy out and waste, but the calculations to compare the truck to the landfill was done on Energy in - the amount of gas that it needs to be filled with. For the same total job, you could raise or lower how quickly the truck goes through a tank of gas, but that variance has already been averaged out
- _2d30 2y ago
  That's not relevant to the comparison in any way.
  - weaksauce 2y ago
    fair enough. misread your comment

by _2d30 2y ago

throwaway2037 2y ago

This has got to be one of the greatest retorts I have ever read on HN. Hat tip to you.

CRConrad 2y ago

Most trucks -- at least of the kind used for transporting trash to a landfill -- don't burn any gasoline at all. They run on diesel fuel. (But yeah, the original claim still seems orders-of-magnitude off; clearly BS.)

weaksauce 2y ago

you should note that a gas engine does not convert all that 33kWh of energy into mechanical energy. a gasoline engine has about a 25% conversion into mechanical energy. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml . diesel might be a bit better than a car but it's city driving by nature. just heat alone is the largest waste product in a car or truck

selimthegrim 2y ago
Only Soviets kept using gas engined trucks and buses past the 50s
- mrguyorama 2y ago
  And, for some insane reason, the average American commuter.
8note 2y ago
A tank of gas is still a tank of gas, regardless of what it gets used for. Energy in = energy out + waste + energy stored The truck is barely storing anything on average, so what you've described is energy out and waste, but the calculations to compare the truck to the landfill was done on Energy in - the amount of gas that it needs to be filled with. For the same total job, you could raise or lower how quickly the truck goes through a tank of gas, but that variance has already been averaged out
_2d30 2y ago
That's not relevant to the comparison in any way.
- weaksauce 2y ago
  fair enough. misread your comment