Comments for The Rise of the REEV at http://ecogeek.org , comment 1 to 15 out of 15 comments http://ecogeek.org Sat, 25 May 2013 06:31:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-43957 The unsprung weight of such motors is also a consideration? - Lawrence Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:51:39 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-40677 elictric motors run at many differnet speeds and have almost full torque from the start.....a standard industrial electric motor runs 1750 RPMs but a simple household reostat??? can control its speed....I think direct wheel mount drive motors are being used by some designers - bill Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:12:18 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-38680 Responding to Kballs. I would also like to see electric motors driving each wheel but you cannot hook the motor to the wheel directly because the optimal operating range for an electric motor is 7000 to 10000 Rpms which is obviously to fast for a wheel so gears would have to be used to control the power to each wheel. The gear changes would have to be coordinated so the gear changes at each wheel would occur at the same time. You would also have to adjust the power and speed to compensate for curves since the outer wheel has to travel further than the inner wheel. I think a motor, a small transmission and a differential in both the front and in the rear would be an easier system to design and maintain. I'm interested in an extended range vehicle because it would be efficient, quite and less messy. I just don't like the sound of traffic on the highways. I prefer a quite car so I can hear the stereo better. Also I think a car like this would be cheaper to maintain and operate. The Co2 is not an issue that I care about. The Co2 levels in the atmosphere need to go to 1000 ppm for optimal plant growth. Plants suffer when Co2 levels go below 300ppm and trees would die if Co2 drops below 200ppm. The current atmospheric levels of Co2 380 ppm is not much above the level where plants start feeling stress. I love beautiful green forests and grasslands and I want a much greener world. Right now the forests in my Smokey Mountains are under a lot of stress and I am seeing a lot of disease in the trees. A higher level of Co2 would help them heal. Trees and plants need Co2 to breath like we need oxygen. When people get sick we give oxygen. When plants get sick they need more Co2. From ice cores we find the earth's atmosphere used to have hundreds of times more Co2 than today's atmosphere but most of that co2 is now locked up in limestone, plant material and coal. If you research the Co2 cycle you will find that Co2 dissolves in the soil and in ocean water and combines with calcium to form Calcium carbonate (limestone). This is also the stuff that clams and choral use for their shells. I used to be concerned(worried) with our burning fuels until I did a ton of research. Under Boyles law we will run out of fuel to burn long before the atmospheric co2 levels reach 1000ppm. The portion of Co2 we contribute is small compared to natural sources such as volcanos and termites. Instead of worrying about having too much co2 we need to worry about having to little Co2. Compared with Co2 levels a few million years ago the levels now are very close to the danger level because the plants and the oceans are too good at processing the Co2. We are beginning to run out of fossil fuels so the increase in co2 will end and our forests and plants could be in trouble in a couple hundred years. - Daniel Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:06:06 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-21882 REEV and series hybrid vehicles are not the same, though they are very close siblings. A REEV vehicle is designed to operate as a 100% electric vehicle until the battery charge falls below a certain level. After that threshold is met, it operates as a series hybrid. This has a number of advantages... Statistically speaking, most people make lots of short trips. IIRC, a REEV with a full electric range of about 60 miles will mean that 80% of the trips in the United States will not involve an ICE at all. A normal series hybrid will still burn fuel in an ICE during these trips. When the ICE does kick in, the fuel efficiency is still as high as a series hybrid. Grid power, while usually not carbon free, is much more energy efficient than an ICE. This is not due to policies or nefarious plans by fuel makesrs or auto companies, but a basic consequence of the laws of thermodynamics. So the impact of that first 60 miles or so is far less than that of a series hybrid. REEVs can easily be set up to charge overnight, when the power off the grid is likely cheapest and cleanest. REEVs don't require much specialized infrastructure, and can be charged from a standard household outlet. REEVs can be somewhat lighter, since they don't need as much battery capacity as a practical electric only vehicle. Operators are more likely to choose a REEV over an electric only vehicle, since they have less likelihood of getting stranded without charge. - Mike Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:00:00 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-14661 The parallel hybrids such as the Prius are not the way of the future, the series hybrid (now REEV) is much simpler and potentially much cheaper and reliable, the components will be commoditized in a modular design. It gets around the problem of range, batteries have always been the problem with EV's, the technology today is ready for REEV's and the battery cost and weight is reduced by using smaller packs and an IC engine and generator. - brian blum Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:13:28 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9126 REEV and PHEV does actually mean the same but REEV is mostly associated with the backup generator kind. a distancing from the Prius bastard - Dan Frederiksen Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:59:21 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9124 REEV is a battery electric vehicle with a backup generator for when the batteries are flat so you can always go any distance. the advantage is removing the range handicap and less battery cost because the max battery range is less important - Dan Frederiksen Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:54:00 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9096 I thought it was called a plug-in hybrid? - stands2reason Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:03:47 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9039 Unfortunately, a plug-in car is not an option for me or many people who live in cities or who have street parking (I'm in a development of "ungaraged" townhouses where park is catch as catch can). I wonder how that impacts the ability to sell these cars in some of the most densely populated areas. Now, when the day comes when there are distribution centers that can "fast charge" cars, cars that can use that charge over days, not hours, then we can access these critical populations. - Anonymous Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:02:46 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9023 Electric vehicles were not only economically viable, they were in production and on the market. That is, until somebody squashed the project and destroyed all of the vehicles. - Anonymous Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:58:41 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9015 James, at least in the case of most near-future REEVs (read: non-hydrogen-fuel-cell), they will still have an internal combustion engine in the genset... though it will make it simpler because it won't have to run and produce power and manage emissions at a wide range of revs, and they should run longer between major repairs and maintenance since most typical daily driving will be all-electric (mostly running the ICE on long weekend road trips). What I do look forward to is having independent electric motors connected to each wheel (whether in the hub or inboard connected with CV shafts so the motor mass isn't unsprung). This eliminates transmissions and differentials, in turn eliminating need for gear oil and complex limited-slip/torsen/locker systems (since every wheel has power regardless of whether the others are slipping), and thus improving driveability (on and off-road) and improving efficiency by eliminating lots of friction and rotating mass. However I do see that most of the REEV systems in this article still use at least one differential (I think I remember one of them using a single electric motor to power all 4 wheels through a more traditional differential system), a shame. I understand there are cost issues having individual motors for each wheel, but when you split 1 motor into 2 you cut it's power requirement in half (and eliminating the differential means more effective power because of less friction and rotating mass), lessening the cost of the individual motors to almost (but not quite) as low as 1/2 the cost of the 1 big motor (so total cost should only go up a little if not down, especially after eliminating the cost of a differential). - kballs Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:51:21 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9013 I've been following the evolution of the electric car, and one issue I haven't seen explored much is the relative simplicity of the electric motor/drivetrain to the internal combustion engine. With the high reliability of the electric motor, the many parts from internal combustion engines made obsolescent, I wonder what kind of impact this will really have on the auto makers, who definitely make a load of money off after market parts and repairs. Is this a BIG reason for their foot dragging? I'd love to see an article that explores and analyzes this aspect in depth. - James Staunton Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:16:58 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9011 150 mpg sounds impressive, but the energy still has to come from somewhere. In this case, it is whatever the local utility uses to genrerate electricity--coal, gas, etc. So while these vehicles may reduce gaoline dependence, what is the net carbon footprint of running on electricity? Ideally, one could purchase solar panels to offset the electrical use. I would be interested to see the math for that. This is the 'ol energy conundrum--oil dependence vs. carbon foot print vs cost of alternatives. It depends on what one values as to what one will choose. - Greg Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:06:56 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9002 So PHEV is now, well, so passe? Thought it was serial plug-in hybrid or parallel? Guess this didn't work for the industry? And, the EFS Trinity doesn't count in the equation? - ASiegel1 Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:32 +0100 http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1298#comment-9001 Yes you are totally right. Electric vehicles are very good to be excited about. They are more convenient and very efficient. They are more secure to drive, because they are making driving less complicated and more controlled than the cars of the past. So I am looking forward to switch to an electric car in the near future. - Ammy Short Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:43:49 +0100