Plug-in Hybrid Drivers are Charged Up
This is a guest post by John Addison, publisher of the Clean Fleet Report.
In 1971, a bright engineer, Dr. Andy Frank, was looking to the future. He knew that oil production had peaked in the U.S. and that cheap oil would later peak globally. He calculated how to get 100 miles per gallon, and then he built a hybrid-electric car.
Andy Frank was all smiles as a crowd of 600 applauded at the Plug-in 2008 Conference in San Jose, California, last week. Many in the crowd now drive plug-in hybrids as part of their fleet demonstration programs. A number in the crowd had converted their personal Toyota Priuses or Ford Escape Hybrids. This was a crowd of plug-in converts.
- » See also: Leo Motors CEO Dr. Robert Kang on the Future of Electric Vehicles
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Some visionary fleet managers have accelerated the development of plug-in hybrids. Rather than wait years for major vehicle manufacturers to offer plug-ins, these fleets have contracted for conversions then used their own maintenance teams to keep the experimental vehicles running. For example, Google is getting 93 miles per gallon (mpg) with its converted plug-in Priuses, over double the 48 mpg of its normal Priuses. Google uses solar power to charge the cars. Google’s RechargeIT.org
You can get over 100 miles per gallon (mpg) by either adding a kit to an existing hybrid, or by waiting until late 2010 to order a new car from the car makers that will be discussed in next week’s article. Due to probable wait lists, it may be three years before individuals can get delivery of plug-ins from car makers. If you are now getting only 20 mpg, getting 100 mpg would cut your gasoline bill 80%. Over the next few years, you will have a growing number of choices of plug-in hybrids.
A123 Hymotion is establishing certified conversion centers throughout the nation so that people can convert their Toyota Priuses to plug-in hybrids for $9,995 per car. The conversion kit includes interfacing to the Prius computer that controls hybrid operation, interfacing with existing Prius NiMH battery, and includes a 5kWh A123 lithium battery.
Even if vehicle lifecycle operating costs are higher with plug-in conversions and warranties limited, these issues have not stopped plug-in hybrid enthusiasts who strongly feel that we cannot wait for the big auto makers. They want rapid adoption of solutions to address global warming and oil addiction to end now. These early drivers of plug-in hybrids are leading the way — at 100 miles per gallon.
We can all be thankful for those who refuse to wait, often concerned with climate and energy security issues. There are over 200 converted plug-in hybrids now on the road. One year from now, there may be over 1,000 plug-in hybrids of all shapes and sizes in use.
Plug-in hybrids will succeed because of Andy Frank and the early leaders who converted their vehicles to use more electricity and less petroleum. We will all benefit from the reduced gasoline use and cleaner air that started with the courageous pioneering of the plug-in converts. Complete Article at Clean Fleet Report.
More Posts on Plug-in Hybrids from Gas 2.0:
- Will Plug-In Hybrids Become the Standard?
- Plug-In Hybrid Bus at Denali NP Uses Up to 70% Less Fuel
- Volkswagen to Produce Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars in 2010
- Startup Converting Ford F-150s Into 41 MPG Plug-in Hybrid Electrics
I see stories like this and some ppl are excited which is cool but when an electric Smart can give you 120 miles to one charge, why do I have to be excited about the volt giving me 40 miles to a charge? It’s just not good enough. DO more. We can’t wait on car companies to design what they think are better cars. Who cares if the industry think it’s cool or exciting..it’s still not helping us the American public when foreign cars are jumping ahead by leaps and bounds.
Except if a vehicle is used frequently for long range travel, there is actually little value in making plug-in-hybrid cars with long ranges. The electrical range should not be much more than the usual trip. The immediate fuel costs must be balanced against the capital cost of the battery.
One major reason why few hybrids and plug in hybrids are on the road is because they are too expensive. This cost can be reduced by having smaller batteries or less expensive ones. Cheap lead acid batteries are well suited for making a short range PHEV cheaply. Because of a lack of competition, even lead batteries suitable for PHEVS are much more expensive than equal capacity RV deep cycle batteries. EFFPOWER has bipolar batteries that might be modified to work.
The capital cost of batteries multiplies the cost of the electricity to the point that one might well just use gasoline or diesel if available.
That said, most personal automobiles are bought with little consideration of economics but as forms of expression art.
All cars should be made so that they can operate on pure methanol. Methanol can be made cheaply from coal or biomass right now.
There are few reasons to have multicylinder engines in plug in hybrids. More than one tiny engine generators can be used in serial hybrids if the use requires more power. The engines only run when full power is needed.
For actual economy, buy a small cheap used car and pay for expensive gasoline. The amount of $60,000 pays for more than 15,000 gallons of gasoline or perhaps 450,000 miles. ..HG..
plug-ins are great. My car sits on the driveway evaporating fuel from the huge tank it came with! If I had a plug-in, most my trips would be electric and I would put very little in the tank, just enough to cover me if I passed my batteries limitations, a sort of safety supply!. We need more solar and wind supplied electricity to the grid, our plug-ins would provide the storage for quiet or cloudy periods and we could charge all night long if the wind blew strong! We need carbon fiber, ultra light technology to reduce the overall weight of plug-ins so that they go farther.I would like to have a two seater tandem ultralight commuter, in electric orange - More fun than a bag of prozac!
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