MellowGuy

Why the Electric Car Mileage Debate Is Meaningless

That ~48% efficiency is a peak fuel efficiency which in a vehicle operating at different speeds and acceleration can be appreciably lowered. I think that plug hybrids should be based on diesel engines but the first one is always a challenge.

Coal, nuclear fuel, and natural gas are priced much lower than diesel fuel which makes a plug hybrid more economical for that first 40 miles or so.

On Aug 13 12:46 PM Gandalph wrote:

> Do the efficiency numbers! The efficiency of a power plant - coal,
> oil, or nuclear is about 40%; the efficiency of the grid is estimated
> at 92%; the efficiency of charging a Li-Ion battery is no more than
> 85% (They get hot!); the efficiency of an electric motor is about
> 85%(They also get hot); call the AC to DC converters 85% (?). Overall:
> 22.5%. Compare with modern clean diesel: ~48%. The electric car
> is a hoax !