While they're at it, they should install solar cells on the roof. Why plug it in when you can just park it in a sunny spot?

The battery component of Hybrid technologies offer what Hydrogen cannot: home-based energy. Exxon and company would rather control hydrogen supply, too impractical to generate at household levels. A set of batteries can be recharged via rooftop solar and electric utility grid.

Question: Which technology is more energy efficient:
A Photovoltiac charged battery pack?
Or, the same Photovoltiac electricity supply for electrolysis to isolate, compress and store hydrogen?

Follow-up question: Which technology is more practical and more reliable?

Car manufacturers will not publicly admit that we drive too much, too far, for too many purposes, at too high cost and impact. No. They will only plan for and promise more of the same dependency.

The limited driving range of Plug-in Hybrids offer an economic incentive to build and support local economies; with services, occupations, institutions and amenities, etc, accessable without having to drive. Driving can and should become a travel option alongside walking, bicycling and mass transit.

A 300-400 pound battery pack, located low on a vehicle frame, lowers center-of-gravity; making such Hybrids perfect for SUVs prone to accidental rollover. However, fewer accidents translates into reduced profits from the sale of replacement autos.

Photovoltaics on the roof and hood of an electric vehicle are quite expensive, and ultimately not really that useful. With the average car's surface area they could kick out a constant 12V at up to 10 amps or so on a sunny day, meaning at best 960 watt-hours during the average useful 8 hour sunny timeframe of the day, so almost one kWh. (We're talking best case scenario here...) And one kWh will take you about 4 miles. So if you're commuting only that distance in a day, perfect. Otherwise it's not enough power. And the cost of the cells would be at least a quarter of the total vehicle price!

Photovoltaics will eventually be quite useful, but probably only in large fixed installations on building rooftops or where you want shade. Another cool trick is you can concentrate the amount of light using mirrors or fresnel lenses, effectively getting more bang for the buck. But that kind of tracking system is really only feasible if you have a good amount of room to work with, such as a building rooftop.

For the question about which is more efficient: charging a battery or pulling hydrogen out of water, charging a battery would be more efficient at the moment, but studies are investigating the potential to use the same system found in plants that splits water to hydrogen in order to arrive upon a more efficient source. Once discovered, that will definitely revolutionize things!

Now if we can just keep the mentality of big oil out of the scene, we'd be set. Not gonna happen with the current US administration.

-Lorin

Lorin:

I wonder about putting solar panels on UPS/FedEx/USPS trucks. They don't drive many miles per day, and have large flat roofs.

These trucks really seem like a perfect application for hybrid technology.
* They are running on idle/park often, and an engine shutoff would save energy.
* They are in stop and go traffic all day, so regenerative braking might help quite a bit.
* They don't need to accellerate very quickly, since many never see a highway.
* Their large flat roofs would be perfect for solar.

Those who complain about the drawbacks of battery power are sorely ignorant of their many, even phenomenal benefits.

Hybrid batteries can form the basis of home-power electricity storage, highly desireable in the event of electricity shortages and price gouging. In this way, they advance the rooftop photovoltiac industry. The battery pack, mounted low on the frame, lowers the vehicle center-of-gravity, improving handling and stability, a major safety factor, perfect for roll-prone vehicles like the SUV. This homepower, zero-emission, battery-only operation effectively reduces fuel costs, a conflict of interest that Big Oil and automakers are actively working to protect by defaming the Hybrid. Some who condemn hybrids are suspect.

Those who tout diesel and bio-diesel fuels do not understand how Hybrids perfect the combustion, emission reduction and economy of these and all other fuels, including hydrogen.

The diesel engine is least efficient during varied accelleration and decelleration. When paired with the Hybrid electric motor drive, the diesel engine rpm range and load are strictly regulated, allowing the electric motor to perform propulsion where the diesel engine fares poorly. This increases diesel fuel mileage, reduces emissions, extends engine life and reduces maintenance.

During the Clinton era, Ford and GM produced Hybrid prototypes, (Ford Prodigy and GM Precept), 4-door sedans similar to the Prius that achieved 70-80 mpg, both employing turbo-diesel engines. Neither incorporated a larger battery pack, as does the next generation Plug-in Hybrid, which can extend zero-emission driving to achieve 500+ mpg.

Hybrids lead to less driving...
Posted by: Wells on May 25, 2005 12:39 PM

Earlier, I wrote insisting that Hybrids have phenomenal advantages and should be considered the pinnacle of vehicular technology that will not be surpassed by hydrogen fuel cell.

The larger battery packs of the next generation "Plug-in" Hybrid offer major vehicular safety factors, homepower via rooftop photovoltiac and zero-emission fuel economy potential exceeding 500 mpg.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the homepower battery pack is an economic incentive to drive less. A battery pack has a limited driving range 30-80 miles, (more miles are possible, but not without some costs/drawbacks/limitations). Because the economic incentive of solar power limits driving, short-distance destinations (occupations, institutions, general goods retail outlets, entertainments, amenities, etc) are eventually constructed nearby, locally, and become accessable without always having to drive. Thus, Hybrids leads city and suburban development toward more walking, bicycling and mass transit, (highly desireable for a number of reasons and more economical than driving).

For the non-hobbyist, plain-old consumer here what is commercially available now and what will be commercially available during 2006 as far as trying to purchase a Plug-In enhanced Toyota Prius?

How quickly are these innovations getting noticed by Toyota and does anyone have any data or information on when a Plug-In Toyota Prius could be purchased (or ordered) and Toyota's reaction to all of this?

Obviously it is in Toyota's own interest to produce & sell a 80 mpg Prius configuration on the market - so what does a regular ol' consumer like me do in the next year to try and get one?

Reply to: [email protected]

The reason all automakers wanted to stay away from plug-in hybrids is that too many Americans might get the idea that a pure EV would work well for commuting. Its the "100 monkey" thing, where a new idea often won't "gel" until some number of a population considers it to be good. Once out to the bottle, EV's would have a huge affect on automaker and oil company profits. To the oil companies, they are trying to "manage" the transition away from oil to maximize profit on what remains. To automakers, aftermarket parts sale would take a significant hit with EV's - they're too simple, and last too long.