Off Topic The Environmental & Pollution Thread

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davecg69 said:
Good call, Stu - yeah, I think hydrogen is an issue, as storing is a massive headache, plus I read that you can only fill up quite a small number of vehicles before the system has to pause due to the extreme cold. I used to think hydrogen was the way, but the more I read about massive advances in battery technology, the more I think it’ll have to be electric (perhaps with the advent of self-driving cars we won’t need to have our “own” car, we’ll be able to car-share basically .....). I’m just torn as to whether to change from my current car to get an EV or to wait a year or so ...... I’m leaning towards waiting a little longer, as, even though the MG EVs are very cheap (compared to other EVs), I think we’ll see prices tumbling in a couple of years ...... but I’d like to think that I’m trying to do something for my granddaughter’s future .......
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I’m still optimistic about Graphene technology being the way forward. Graphene is a type of carbon crystal that can not only store a charge but also be part of a structure. In the not too distant future we could have electric cars where the battery is actually the bodywork.
 
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The other energy source which doesn’t get talked about much is nuclear fusion. That’s got to be the long term way forward, not just for cars, but for domestic electricity too.
 
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So I've bitten the bullet.

I've ordered an Electric Car :) I'm getting a Mini Cooper electric!!!!!

16 week lead time though, but that gives me time to get my Triumph Spitfire on the road and sort out the charging station etc. I think i may miss my current car, but in 4 years I have done 8,000 miles, so I really was paying money to look at it on the drive :)

Quite excited actually.
 
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thereisonlyoneno7 said:
So I've bitten the bullet.

I've ordered an Electric Car :) I'm getting a Mini Cooper electric!!!!!

16 week lead time though, but that gives me time to get my Triumph Spitfire on the road and sort out the charging station etc. I think i may miss my current car, but in 4 years I have done 8,000 miles, so I really was paying money to look at it on the drive :)

Quite excited actually.
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I bought an electric car in January, I'll never go back to petrol or diesel again. Not a lot of range (80 miles) as its only a small battery but it's enough for my purposes.
 
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ChilcoSaint said:
More public charging points would be good. We’re working on a way to get a charging point in our village hall car park.
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Thats good. What are the costs like?

What are the costs to charge?
Will you be able to book a slot?
- I could take the car to a local charger and find it was being used, how would I know when it was going to be free?
- I would then have to walk home and walk back again when it was full. How would I know when that was?

It seems to me you have a lot of different providers, do you have to join them all so you don't end up stranded?
You need a lot of planning for a long trip and if your designated mid trip charger is busy, what then?
What if you plan for a recharge on a super-charger and there's only a standard one available? 4 hour lunch?

I'm full of questions, me :D
 
I would suggest you look at the Fast Charged channel on Youtube hosted by Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf) - lots of info there and a competition to win a lease of a car for a year by just subscribing to the channel.
Not having a driveway to charge at home is an inconvenience - you will miss out on the low electricity rates but in my opinion you shouldn't let you decide to go electric - if you do more than say 100 miles per day and can't wait to charge every day then probably wait.
There are apps for certain charging networks and they can tell you if they are in use or available. - there are some independent apps that try and collate all these stations together, not brilliant but still developing.


The new Hyuandai/KIA if you have access to newer high rated charging station can add charge to give you equivalent 100km range in 5-10 minutes - very similar to a splash and go at a petrol station.
 
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shoot_spiderman said:
Thats good. What are the costs like?

What are the costs to charge?
Will you be able to book a slot?
- I could take the car to a local charger and find it was being used, how would I know when it was going to be free?
- I would then have to walk home and walk back again when it was full. How would I know when that was?

It seems to me you have a lot of different providers, do you have to join them all so you don't end up stranded?
You need a lot of planning for a long trip and if your designated mid trip charger is busy, what then?
What if you plan for a recharge on a super-charger and there's only a standard one available? 4 hour lunch?

I'm full of questions, me :D
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I can easily answer all your questions with one simple reply:

I have absolutely no idea, but anything is possible if people put their minds to it.
 
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ChilcoSaint said:
I can easily answer all your questions with one simple reply:
I have absolutely no idea, but anything is possible if people put their minds to it.
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Sorry, I seem to have mistaken you for an Oracle <laugh>

There are issues of course, we need to stop using so many resources as well as using more renewable resources and the resources required for the kit that uses the renewables aren't renewable, so we need to make them reusable and recyclable

Maybe we should get a guest speaker :emoticon-0126-nerd:
 
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shoot_spiderman said:
Sorry, I seem to have mistaken you for an Oracle <laugh>

There are issues of course, we need to stop using so many resources as well as using more renewable resources and the resources required for the kit that uses the renewables aren't renewable, so we need to make them reusable and recyclable

Maybe we should get a guest speaker :emoticon-0126-nerd:
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I have said many times that I don’t believe lithium is the way forward. If we can find a battery material (graphene looks good) that doesn’t damage the environment, then we have some hope. Otherwise hydrogen is better.
 
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Well my first question is what charging point do I get at home? They all seem much of a muchness (I will go for 7Kw), but being a geek I want a public API so I can interface it with my home automation.

I know they all have apps, but they seem closed source and I can not integrate with my home assistant hub (open source). Basically, I could then have automations used on charge level (an alert through Alexa that the car has enough miles in it, an alert within my home when it is charged, etc) - these can be done with an app, but once it is an 'entity' in my home the possibilities are endless.

My main reason for going EV is that I have had a car on my drive for the last 4 years that has done no mileage but costs me over £400/month to look at. My longest journey is to football and back (if we ever get to go that again) and that is 75 miles, so range isn't an issue. I do on average 2,500 a year at a push. I can half my outgoings whilst hopefully protecting the environment a bit.
 
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saintrichie123 said:
Can’t see the logistics working anytime soon, too many questions.
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With the logistics, I think charge time needs to come down.The petrol station as we know it is a 5 min trip to fill and pay. If you need to wait even 30 mins for a fast charge, then what do you do in that 30 mins? I can see coffee shops maybe opening up etc and a whole new experience of filling up with fuel.
 
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