Leccy cars, are they really cheaper?

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Kevj said:
Tremendous if the costs to run one were 60% less.
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Over time electrics will become cheaper. We're just at the first generation of electric cars and as the technology improves along with a more expansive renewable infrastructure, the costs should come down
The unit price of fossil fuels will only increase as extracting them becomes harder
 


citybythesea said:
Over time electrics will become cheaper. We're just at the first generation of electric cars and as the technology improves along with a more expansive renewable infrastructure, the costs should come down
The unit price of fossil fuels will only increase as extracting them becomes harder
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Meanwhile the cost of electric will continue to rise.
 
lenshack said:
Meanwhile the cost of electric will continue to rise.
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There's a very good synergy between solar panels and electric cars. Might take a long time to come to fruition though.

One very tangible benefit of electric cars though, is the lack of emissions in towns and cities. Even if we're burning coal, its being done well away from where it causes health issues - so that's a massive tick in the "pro" column.
 
PTR said:
There's a very good synergy between solar panels and electric cars. Might take a long time to come to fruition though.

One very tangible benefit of electric cars though, is the lack of emissions in towns and cities. Even if we're burning coal, its being done well away from where it causes health issues - so that's a massive tick in the "pro" column.
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Emissions from coal can cause problems hundreds of miles away.

I recall the outrage in Scandinavia a few years back regarding the negative effect of emissions from the U.K.
 
lenshack said:
Emissions from coal can cause problems hundreds of miles away.

I recall the outrage in Scandinavia a few years back regarding the negative effect of emissions from the U.K.
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Sure, they can. But far less than having them pumping out of a traffic jam in a city centre.
 
PTR said:
Sure, they can. But far less than having them pumping out of a traffic jam in a city centre.
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Looking at it that way, then it’s less of a problem killing trees and wildlife, than killing people.
 
I think it will be a good few years before I look at getting one.

We have a couple of cars. The wifes car is a 8 year old Focus that never goes more than 30 miles, usually around 5 per trip. It can often go a week without being used but the times when it does come in useful it is worth the few hundred quid to get it serviced and taxed. It is the ideal scenario to move to electric, but given the cost and the lack of models on the second hand market, it is not worth the few k it would cost to replace.

My car is a Galaxy, and I love the size of it. We do camping & kayaking trips, which means carrying a lot of stuff. With a couple of kids and a dog, the space is brilliant. My sister and niece came to visit, we just flipped up an extra row of seats and still did days out in one car. Similar story with trips to the tip. Clearing out my mams loft, we did it in one trip where most cars would take 2. There is not currently an electric vehicle close to the size of a galaxy. Certainly not a big one that can do the range up to my parents (330 miles) without a long break. It will come, but it is just not there yet.

As for charging, the roof space of service stations, supermarkets, industrial estates etc should be covered in solar panels. You could even consider covered bays in large car parks to deliver the power as close to source as possible. We should be doing that anyway. It annoys me to see us looking at converting countryside into large solar farms while we have all these built up areas uncovered. Imagine the amount of power that falls onto the Metrocentre, Ikea et al., none of which is being used.
 
Slightly off-topic but has anyone considered the adverse effects of electric vehicles on pedestrians?

In a similar way that road accident fatalities increased during the wartime blackout because drivers and pedestrians couldn't see each other (no hi-viz outerwear in those days), would there not be an issue with pedestrians stepping in front of virtually silent cars because they simply aren't aware they're there?

It's already a problem with numpties on phones and with earphones in. Will this make non-technology-distracted people equally as vulnerable?
 
Jap Stammer said:
Slightly off-topic but has anyone considered the adverse effects of electric vehicles on pedestrians?

In a similar way that road accident fatalities increased during the wartime blackout because drivers and pedestrians couldn't see each other (no hi-viz outerwear in those days), would there not be an issue with pedestrians stepping in front of virtually silent cars because they simply aren't aware they're there?

It's already a problem with numpties on phones and with earphones in. Will this make non-technology-distracted people equally as vulnerable?
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Any electric vehicle travelling under 15mph needs to be fitted with something that emits a sound so that peds and people on bikes can hear them.

The more concerning issue is how much space these charging points take up on the pavement. It's infrastructure for motor vehicles, put it in the bloody carriageway alongside car parking, not on the pavement narrowing it even further, its a nightmare for people in wheelchairs or with buggies.
 
James said:
Any electric vehicle travelling under 15mph needs to be fitted with something that emits a sound so that peds and people on bikes can hear them.
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It's the ones travelling quicker than that that would be the problem.

It effectively reduces the effectiveness of one of humanity's built-in sensory warning systems.

James said:
The more concerning issue is how much space these charging points take up on the pavement. It's infrastructure for motor vehicles, put it in the bloody carriageway alongside car parking, not on the pavement narrowing it even further, its a nightmare for people in wheelchairs or with buggies.
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Agreed.
 
Jap Stammer said:
It's the ones travelling quicker than that that would be the problem.

It effectively reduces the effectiveness of one of humanity's built-in sensory warning systems.
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Over that speed I don't think they're that much different to normal cars. It's the friction of the tyre on the road you mostly hear at speeds over 20mph.
 
anth said:
Do you have solar panels on your roof? It's an investment but if your going to be living in the same house for many years forget the feed in tariff cuts and think of it is the solar panel installation more or less than the cost of fuel for the rest of your life? You may need to factor in a battery since most people are out during the day when the solar panels are generating the majority of their power.



Tesla's will do 300miles. That's a long way for anyone, plan to do a 20-30min stop in the middle where there is a supercharger and you will get an extra 100-150miles of range.
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Not bad for £70,000.
 
James said:
Over that speed I don't think they're that much different to normal cars. It's the friction of the tyre on the road you mostly hear at speeds over 20mph.
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I would agree if the vehicle is travelling at a steady pace but if, for example, one comes around a corner and accelerates up the road towards you, you're more likely to get an audible forewarning from an internal combustion engine than an EV.

Could make the difference between stepping onto the road whilst only half-paying attention, or not.
 
James said:
They still pollute through tyre wear, braking and kicking up road particles into the air. These are all exacerbated by the vehicle weight which is generally about 25% heavier due to the battery. They're not a silver bullet solution even if they are better in some respects.
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Aye then there is the question who do you trust most for the future; the awab oil lords or the Chinese( great set of lads) battery barons. All depends on the kids in the Democratic Congo Republic who dig the cobalt out of the ground, but let's not mention that.
 
Les the Scientist said:
Can't imagine many people in 10 years time wanting to buy a 10 yr old electric car. The battery life by then would surely be dog shit
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I doubt if battery life would even come close to the life of a standard modern day engine.

No doubt there will be a limit to the number of effective recharges and meanwhile the vehicle range will be diminishing.

Also are the batteries affected by extreme temperatures, both in the short term and long term ?
 
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