Hybrid race cars

[JR.]

I thought it was interesting that there were two competitive hybrid race car teams at the recent leMans, Also interesting the winner (Audi) used flywheels to store the recovered energy, and Toyota, used capacitors... neither used batteries... go figure.

JR

[mediatechnology]

Wow, flywheels. Can we use the gyroscopic properties of that flywheel to stablize it?

Toyota, used capacitors... neither used batteries... go figure

Pit stop time?

I bet all those people with electric cars in Maryland and Washington DC (without power) are hitching rides with their neighbors driving so-called internal combustion engine "dinosaurs."

Was there a hand crank on that Audi flywheel?

[JR.]

I first worried about that back in 60's or so when I first read about experimental flywheel power used in city buses in popular science. Every kid who has ever spun up a bicycle wheel to speed while holding it in his hands by the axel and tried to turn it on it's side. The gyroscopic effect seems like it could be useful if oriented properly in the car to keep it flat wrt road surface.
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The IC cars will only enjoy a modest advantage over battery powered cars depending on relative state of charge, or amount of gas in the tank. When there is a complete power outage the gas stations don't pump gas either...While gas stations can certainly power local generators for a while. I recall after Katrina, after a few days even the cell phone towers ran out of emergency power.

Now a power outage like that instantly trashes my preferred approach of wiring up the road surface so electric cars don't need batteries or flywheels, or capacitors. They just pull power from the road surface as needed, and while braking can give some power back (like subways).

The military is experimenting with battery chargers that grab power from the typical solder's movement up and down to recharge their sundry batteries. I wonder if there is some way to capture the energy from cars slowing down at exit ramps from the highway? Perhaps some kind of large motor/generator structure where the car moving through the magnetic field makes current flow....Wouldn't work with fiberglass corvettes...

JR

[mediatechnology]

When there is a complete power outage the gas stations don't pump gas either

True, but so what? A minor inconvenience...

With an ICE I have a lot more energy stored: A 350-400 mile range vs. 40. So I have enough energy stored to drive to Lowes to buy plywood, the store to get pork-n-beans and get to an area that does have power and can pump gas.
If I didn't have the foresight to have gas in the tank I can hitch a ride with a neighbor and bring home 40 miles worth of fuel in less than 1 ft^3.

The Nissan Leaf is going to konk out after 40 miles and be a worthless un-rechargeable brick stranded by the roadside.

Which guy do you want to be John?

[JR.]

Neither, but to look at this practically one should look at the availability of electricity, or more specifically the frequency and duration of widespread power outages. I mentioned Katrina because it was notable for power being out at my house for almost a week. The power company had to drop in a new power pole to replace the one the storm took out, along with my transformer. if course I had advance warning that Katrina was coming so I never ran out of cold beer...

I find it ironic that some states in the northeast have an irrational affection for their old trees (like CT). The recent cycle of hurricanes moving up the east coast instead of into my yard, will likely lead to more multiple day outages for some in the NE with the bad combination of old trees and above ground power lines.

It is not out of the question for many households to have multiple vehicles, so perhaps prudent to have at least one IC vehicle and perhaps some extra fuel.

I have half-ass considered hydrogen/fuel cells as a way to store energy for homes (electrolysis of water to make H2. Fuel cells to convert back to electricity) that could store surplus electricity from solar cells captured during daylight hours. One could arbitrarily store days worth of electricity or more off grid. Another potential storage medium is underground pools of water, while I am unclear how to easily get electrical power from the low head temp differences, could be used pretty effectively for heating/cooling. Heating up the reservoir during summer, recovering that heat in the winter with heat pumps.

Or not... i think about this way too much...

JR

[mediatechnology]

Energy Storage for Electric Trains

http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=246558

[JR.]

Thanks... wasn't aware of the over voltage issue.. I guess load on that system is not very level. Seems there should be a net drain of power from the system due to running losses, so better coordination of when dynamic braking was used could manage that (i.e. make the trains run on time). It sounds a little dicey to only allow braking when some other train is ready to start... might be better to only let a train leave a station when another is starting to brake and needs to dump power into the system.

Or use electronic switching on the motors that can tolerate higher voltage, but that could be even more expensive.

JR

[mediatechnology]

Off-topic, but this is another stability technique that the local distribution utility, Oncor, is using:

http://www.energy.siemens.com/us/en/pow ... escription

Oncor's biggest installation is made by APB.
I've noticed that when we have thunderstorms that there are less line voltage swings and instability.

[JR.]

After Katrina, my local utility added some extra line sensing technology to the substation about a mile from my house. it looks like they are sensing the same lines in both directions leaving the sub station, I don't see much new (large) hardware, so probably just smarter control of old hardware. This same substation suffered a fun event where a voltage bump box (stepped auto-former) was stuck on boost, and I saw my power drop rise to 260-270 one night as people reduced load. If I didn't call the utility company some 25 miles away, and convince them they had a problem they needed to check on, who knows how high it could have gone? I suspect they now have real time telemetry at least on the sub station voltage output, and at least crude load info in different directions.

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I have read reports that TX is worried about power shortages due to inadequate investment since they deregulated power. This does not compute. Shortages are usually the result of government price controls, not deregulation. If energy prices are allowed to increase, the supply will usually follow, that's how free markets work. It seems you can't completely deregulate power due to the need for common infrastructure, it probably doesn't take too much governing to screw the pooch.

JR

[mediatechnology]

I have read reports that TX is worried about power shortages due to inadequate investment since they deregulated power.

I don't think its due to lack of investment.
It doesn't add up to me either.
One problem is the decommissioning of coal-fired sources which supplied peak loads both winter and summer.
And delays in new plant construction due to permitting.

Last year, with record heat and load, combined with low lake levels conspired to raise cooling lake water temperature.
Plant efficiency dropped considerably. Our night time lows then were in the high 80s and low 90's.
We set usage records.
But last year was an exception.

Our peak this year so far has been ~66 megawatts according to press releases.
That doesn't seem that high compared to real-time data I used to see when they posted it on the web.
Two years ago there was never any talk of shortages or rolling blackouts.
Texas was selling power: You could watch the outbound flows.

Then, about 1-1/2 to two years ago, that data became "top secret" based on what ERCOT claimed was a change in legislation.
Now, they claim we're setting usage records and threatening us but not allowing us to see the data.

I don't get it.
I'm only paying about 8.5 cents/kWh including taxes and fees.
If there was that much demand why aren't my rates rising?
Prices are lower now than they were in the late 80s.
And they're lower than they were in 2007.
Seems like deregulation worked for me.

But, based on the lack of new plant construction, putting electric cars on the road seems like insanity.

The top prize for Oncor's "Biggest Saver" was a Chevy Volt: Recharged by natural gas and coal.