Fear Mongering About Range Anxiety Has To Stop — CT Governor Calls Out EV Opponents::Several state governors are fighting fear mongering as they attempt to reduce transportation emissions in their states.

    • randon31415@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What if the generator was inside the front of the car - and only turned on when the battery was low? Wait, I’ve just re-invented the hybrid.

        • BeautifulMind ♾️@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          almost nobody is making Plug-in Hybrids and they cost an absolute fuck ton of money.

          The 2024 Prius prime starts at $33k, is a PHEV https://www.kbb.com/phev/best-phev-cars/2024/

          BMW, Volvo, Mercedes are also making PHEVs for 2024 model year So are Chrysler, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, Land Rover https://www.autoweek.com/rankings/g45455983/best-plug-in-hybrids/

          There are some really expensive ones on that list, but a half-dozen under $45k

          Look at the new “Ram Charger” that works like you describe

          Yeah a lot of the hybrid offerings in the truck market are really not targeting the budget market at all- some of them seem to reflect automaker bets that truck buyers want more power and don’t want to compromise on towing or range. Other hybrid trucks (looking at you, Toyota) aren’t using their hybrid systems to improve fuel economy, they’re using them to juice performance.

    • hakobo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      An average EV consumes .32 kilowatt hours of electricity per mile. If you are driving 60 miles per hour, that means you are spending 19.2 kilowatt hours of electricity every hour. So you need a generator that’s at least 19.2 kilowatt. Tack on some more because you are now towing the extra weight of a generator and because you are probably wanting to go 70mph and let’s just say you need 25 kilowatts. This is what a towable 25kw generator looks like. It costs $22k. I’m sure cheaper ones could be made, but even at $10k, is it worth it? Just buy some plane tickets or rent a gas car for a week or take a train.

      https://herogenerators.com/products/25-kw-caterpillar-towable-diesel-generator

      • _Analog_@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Buy? No thanks I don’t even have a good place to store it, never mind maintenance.

        But I’d rent it.

        Only wrinkle: backing up. I’ve owned/used trailers many times so I have no problem with backing up, but many would. Can’t think of a way around this that would be even “almost” idiot proof.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Could use a trailer that stays directly behind the car. Like instead of just a ball hitch, have several mount points on the rear of the car, then it won’t swing freely. Maybe rig it to only use one wheel when the vehicle turns (otherwise I think it would cause a bit of understeer).

          Though people do learn how to use trailers. Some truck drivers even know the black magic of backing up with multiple trailers.

    • Duallight@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      I think it’s because someone who takes enough Road trips to use something like that would properly just get a regular plug in hybrid. That being said, this might be coming soon for ev trucks actually. The dodge ram ev is going to have a gas powered range extender, and I believe ford has patented a bed mounted version for its ev truck.

      • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Safety as well. Generators are not built for all the regulations the DOT has. It’s a different thing to transport a generator and then actually having it fixed to a vehicle as a usable entity.

    • vxx@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s a massive waste of energy. What does a good diesel generator have, like 20% energy efficiency? Not taking into account that you’re wasting a lot energy for towing it.

      It would also have to be massive.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Serious Question: Why can’t we just have towable generators so EVs can go from an electric car to a Plugin Hybrid for road trips?

      Lets work through some back-of-the-napkin math here.

      Lets say the average speed you’re looking to take on your road trip is 50MPH. For that discharge rate you’d need to be able to charge at 50MPH to keep up. That would put you at a charging requirement of 50kw.

      Here is a picture of a 50kw towable generator:

      This isn’t even any of the additional gear needed for DC rectification and power management needed to interface with NACS or CCS.

      and seems like a very easy solution to range anxiety.

      You can see why this idea doesn’t really work then.

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Also one is a force while the other is a speed. You’d need a lot of assumptions to go from one number to another single number.

        • Lazz45@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Googling a rough average returned 0.346 kwh/mile for electric cars between 2000 and 2022 (wide range, im aware). Traveling at 50MPH, you go 50 miles in 1 hour (assume you’re already going 50, and stay at that speed). So you’d use [0.346KWh/mile] *[50 miles/hour] = [17.3 KW] per hour @ 50 MPH

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            One of the problems is that air resistance increases at a squared rate vs velocity, so that average is only really accurate at one specific speed (which tbf might actually be 50mph). But this is a lot more accurate than just replacing “mph” with “kw” lol.

            My biggest red flag was the picture of a commercial-grade-looking generator when plug in hybrids can fit the generator plus electric motor, battery, AC, and all the other stuff needed under the hood.