Cars, it's electric! Do Do Do

I did mention reliability and repairs but maint costs are a factor too. It is not unreasonable for me to expect this car to cost much less in maint and repairs than my previous ICE vehicles over the average of 10 years I keep vehicles. My EV experience is +1 along with others.
 
did you read the paper from volvo posted earlier in this thread? in order for an ev to generate the same amount of carbon emissions than a comparable ice powered vehicle it needs to be owned/driven something like 92k miles and it doesnt account for battery replacement in that window (im not sure if it includes the disposal portion of the lifecycle either) How many people do you know that keep a car that long (im sure many of us in this thread keep ya longer than that, but that is definitely NOT the norm.
How are those 92k miles powered in the study? I'd imagine there would be a difference between the car charging from renewables vs nonrenewable. Obviously not everyone is charging their cars at home off their solar system, but a lot are. Does their carbon footprint equal out at 40k miles? 80k miles? What ice car are they comparing it to?
 
How are those 92k miles powered in the study? I'd imagine there would be a difference between the car charging from renewables vs nonrenewable. Obviously not everyone is charging their cars at home off their solar system, but a lot are. Does their carbon footprint equal out at 40k miles? 80k miles? What ice car are they comparing it to?

it brakes it down by 3 different power mixes, global avg, eruo avg and fully renewable, the 92k miles is either global avg or eruo avg (which if you charge from the grid in the US the milage would actually be more, bc europe has more renewable electricity stations) Most people dont have solar at their home at this point in time, so the majority of users dont fall into that category, but yes that would equate to a lower mileage for the break even point.

and if you want to get real granular solar isnt carbon 0 either, there is carbon emitting in mfg and disposal (be it recycling or destruction) of the panels every 15 years or so.
 
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yes thats my point, i was taking his own argument to an extreme to make it.


mechanical parts probably (the engine/transmission do make up the bulk of parts on a traiditional vehicle) but evs have more computers and software to have issues with. But the engine/transmission problems are pretty rare on modern cars anyway(especially below 100k miles)



did you read the paper from volvo posted earlier in this thread? in order for an ev to generate the same amount of carbon emissions than a comparable ice powered vehicle it needs to be owned/driven something like 92k miles and it doesnt account for battery replacement in that window (im not sure if it includes the disposal portion of the lifecycle either) How many people do you know that keep a car that long (im sure many of us in this thread keep ya longer than that, but that is definitely NOT the norm.

also what actually happens to the old batteries? i cant find any companies that actually disassemble them and resuse the materials, im guessing they all get shipped to a landfill in china . . . .
I thought li-cycle is a company recycled the EV batteries and reuse the materials
 
it brakes it down by 3 different power mixes, global avg, eruo avg and fully renewable, the 92k miles is either global avg or eruo avg (which if you charge from the grid in the US the milage would actually be more, bc europe has more renewable electricity stations) Most people dont have solar at their home at this point in time, so the majority of users dont fall into that category, but yes that would equate to a lower mileage for the break even point.

and if you want to get real granular solar isnt carbon 0 either, there is carbon emitting in mfg and disposal (be it recycling or destruction) of the panels every 15 years or so.
I just read this on the internets:

"The Volvo analysis also shows a break-even point, at which the advantages of the "use phase" outweigh the extra footprint of manufacturing vs. gasoline. For the C40 Recharge, it's seen at about 48,000 miles with the current EU power mix-or just 30,000 miles if it were charged with wind energy."

Where's the actual study? Haven't been able to find it myself.
 
I just read this on the internets:

"The Volvo analysis also shows a break-even point, at which the advantages of the "use phase" outweigh the extra footprint of manufacturing vs. gasoline. For the C40 Recharge, it's seen at about 48,000 miles with the current EU power mix-or just 30,000 miles if it were charged with wind energy."

Where's the actual study? Haven't been able to find it myself.
Think I found it
Screenshot_20221203-115805.png
Wouldn't this mean it's break even for global mix at 68k miles?
 
Also found:

"The European results are also a bit skewed, as they include some countries, like Greece, Poland, and Estonia, that emit a lot more from their power-generation mix due to coal and/or petroleum use.
In the U.S. there's been rapid progress and the advantages for EVs are more pronounced. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 97% of Americans now live where driving an EV produces fewer emissions than driving a 50-mpg gasoline vehicle; just nine years ago, fewer than half of Americans lived where that could be claimed"
 
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this is the one i saw (i saw several white papers in my search, this is the one that compares the ice to the electric of the same vehicle, which seems to be the most appropriate)


it shows a 4 ton of carbon difference between the xc40 and the 40recharge over the lifetime used in the study (200k kms)

and a break even of ~91k miles. . . .
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Ok, I see, you're using the older study. The one I found is the more recent one with updated numbers.

Edit: I'd imagine the numbers will only get better with time
 
maybe, when i saw it originally there was only one version of it . . . . (i also dont see a publication date in your pdf, just a reference that production starts autumn 2021, meaning it is likely published no later than the 1st half of 2021) It also looks like the c40 design was updated for this study, it doesnt specify if the xc40 (ice version) was updated to match or still using the old data. (unless i missed it somewhere) edit here: it wasnt, the c40 is a streamlined variant designed specifically for bev with different aerodynamic shape. Im not sure if that is as accurate a comparison as the initial release.

the numbers SHOULD get better with time i agree, but i have read that the EU carbon/kwh went UP in 2021 instead of down. (tho a ~30% increase in just a year or two seems like a way bigger improvement than is reasonable, i kind of think that they changed something in their math if thats what they are publishing now)

also remember the us emits more carbon per kw/h than the EU does at this point (~372g/kwh vs 255g/kwh for EU as of 2019).




all that said, i have no clue what the answer is, but with all the heavy metals used in batteries, current battery technology is not the long term answer, it is a bandaid at best, and a kind of flimsy one for BEV without improvements in both generation and supply grid.
 
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That's interesting, as I was thinking that the evolution of long recharging times would have been replacing the entire battery in a swift move instead of plugging and wait for the recharge to complete. The batteries could then be recharged offline. That would require a standard form factor(s) for batteries.
That seemed to be the thought a few years ago but quickly became an impossibility. For packaging, different manufacturers, etc battery packs won't be easily swapped. Plus for now it's not a huge issue as most trips are short so you're starting off with a full charge. In a Tesla the supercharging stations don't take *that* long to charge. And if you're really doing trips that would require multiple charges, you probably have a gas car anyway for now.

My $18K Hyundai didn't have panel gaps, so I don't see how it is okay for anything other than a Yugo. I tolerate it on the Model 3, but hope they get that figured out. Tesla seems to sort out a lot of things as they go forward and don't update bodies as often as other cars.
I think Tesla sunroofs were stopped 5 years ago. I was never a fan of sunroofs or T tops on any cars, with T tops being the worst.

The lack of changes is something I was reading about recently being an issue for Tesla. People LOVE new models. If you look at sales of most cars they're high at the beginning of a model and then drop off until they come out with a refresh or new model.

Tesla seems to make mini-changes as they go along, some of it really hard to figure out if you're not a Tesla nerd. It works for Tesla as they have a ton of control over their cars and don't have a lot of 3rd party parts.

The panel gaps is really just a great point at how Tesla is new to the car game. Old car manufacturers were figuring out a ton of things decades ago when people were still making clay molds and drawing by hand. Tesla had to start fresh but do seem to be making a lot of improvements quickly. And without relying on outsourcing like some companies.
yes thats my point, i was taking his own argument to an extreme to make it.


mechanical parts probably (the engine/transmission do make up the bulk of parts on a traiditional vehicle) but evs have more computers and software to have issues with. But the engine/transmission problems are pretty rare on modern cars anyway(especially below 100k miles)



did you read the paper from volvo posted earlier in this thread? in order for an ev to generate the same amount of carbon emissions than a comparable ice powered vehicle it needs to be owned/driven something like 92k miles and it doesnt account for battery replacement in that window (im not sure if it includes the disposal portion of the lifecycle either) How many people do you know that keep a car that long (im sure many of us in this thread keep ya longer than that, but that is definitely NOT the norm.

also what actually happens to the old batteries? i cant find any companies that actually disassemble them and resuse the materials, im guessing they all get shipped to a landfill in china . . . .
Please tell me how an EV has more computers than an ICE engine that needs a computer that properly runs an engine including the spark and the timing of it to the cycle along with the valve timed to the cycle, speed and load and regulating emissions. Plus taking into multiple sensors and dealing with those sensors that wouldn't exist on an electric car.

-Coolant sensor (Can exist on many EVs, probably anything but a Nissan)
-Crank/camshaft positioning sensor
-O2 Sensor fore and aft of the cat.
-Engine Temp Sensor
-Oil level sensor
-MAF sensor
-Oil pressure sensor
-Intake Air temp
-Knock sensor (Typically on turbo cars which is everything now it seems)
-Throttle position sensor
-MAP sensor
-Fuel pressure sensor
-Coolant LEVEL sensor (wouldn't be surprised if liquid cooled batteries had this)

Wheel speed on an EV uses the same ring as ABS which every car now has. Outside of the electronics for the inverter, what does an EV really need?
 
sensors arent computers . . . . . . . but . . . . i would say that internally (passenger cabin related, hvac infotainment ect) the computer count would be the same. drivetrain wise a traditional car would have what? 2 computers? pcm and tcm (tho many are combined into one these days. an ev would have several including charge controller and motor controller, i dont see how they could have fewer computers on board.

“The average electric vehicle has about 2,000 chips, roughly double the average number of chips in a non-electric car,” Raimondo said in prepared remarks to the Detroit Economic Club, a nonprofit business group located in Michigan’s automotive hub.

 
yes thats my point, i was taking his own argument to an extreme to make it.


mechanical parts probably (the engine/transmission do make up the bulk of parts on a traiditional vehicle) but evs have more computers and software to have issues with. But the engine/transmission problems are pretty rare on modern cars anyway(especially below 100k miles)



did you read the paper from volvo posted earlier in this thread? in order for an ev to generate the same amount of carbon emissions than a comparable ice powered vehicle it needs to be owned/driven something like 92k miles and it doesnt account for battery replacement in that window (im not sure if it includes the disposal portion of the lifecycle either) How many people do you know that keep a car that long (im sure many of us in this thread keep ya longer than that, but that is definitely NOT the norm.

also what actually happens to the old batteries? i cant find any companies that actually disassemble them and resuse the materials, im guessing they all get shipped to a landfill in china . . . .

 
sensors arent computers . . . . . . . but . . . . i would say that internally (passenger cabin related, hvac infotainment ect) the computer count would be the same. drivetrain wise a traditional car would have what? 2 computers? pcm and tcm (tho many are combined into one these days. an ev would have several including charge controller and motor controller, i dont see how they could have fewer computers on board.



Point is, the systems for an ICE are more complex, and would/can use more computers. The "oh my, there's more computers, I'd rather have an engine that spins over a thousand times a minute while running the entire lifespan" argument is rather silly. Just the complexity on an automatic transmission nowadays is insane.

Yes an average EV has more chips, but an average EV (think Tesla who has the main market) has an insane amount of chips not relating to the fact that it's an EV but a luxury car.
 
the mechanical systems for an ice are more complex sure(not that electric motors are simple), im not so sure about the software (im sure a software engineer would have a more valid opinion on that than you or i). both options have a level of complexity that is well above your average person. But the traditional cars have the benefit of familiarity at this point.


regardless, until batteries and specifically charge time improve significantly(say <10 min for 300 - 400 miles) i dont expect mass adoption of the technology.
 
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I imagine this has been seen and I dont follow this thread a lot but this kind of thing gives me pause aside from the other factors.

I don't know the answers on carbon footprint and break even on ICE vs EV but when when a fire team has to dump 12K gallons of water to put out the fire that keeps relighting until there is crust and dust I wonder how that factors in to things. I don't imagine the carbon footprint of that fire team and equipment helps the environment and I have no idea what runs off from that lithium burn and water fest.
 
What percentage of users are actually buying an EV to reduce their carbon footprint? Bet you the number is smaller than you think. I reckon most are buying based on perceived dollar savings, convenience, and “cool” factor. As someone mentioned, the prices for most of these things make them luxury items. Pretty sure most of these same people aren’t scaling back on vacations, cruises, etc. things that blow their per capita carbon uses past the average citizen.
 
the mechanical systems for an ice are more complex sure(not that electric motors are simple), im not so sure about the software (im sure a software engineer would have a more valid opinion on that than you or i). both options have a level of complexity that is well above your average person. But the traditional cars have the benefit of familiarity at this point.


regardless, until batteries and specifically charge time improve significantly(say <10 min for 300 - 400 miles) i dont expect mass adoption of the technology.
Having written code to control electrical motors and actuators (mechanical, electrical and pneumatic) for most of my productive career and later serviced all sort of controllers and electric motor drivers (which is what brought me to the US in the first place) I was impressed by the reliability to be achieved for such components to be used in an industry such as the automotive one as main mean of propulsion.

I am not familiar with the components of those systems (and confess that I would love to be more into that business) but it's my understanding that some mechanical components are still present...is that correct?

The complexity depends greatly by the type of components (i.e. electrical motors being brushed or brushless, one motor for each wheel or one for the front and one for the rear etc.), but complexity would be something to be taken care during the design, what would concern me more is consistency and dependability in the long term. In addition to other things such as the charge time, which I believe is the biggest problem that needs to be addressed (along with the source of electricity to perform such charge and the source of the material necessary to store said charge).
 
What percentage of users are actually buying an EV to reduce their carbon footprint? Bet you the number is smaller than you think. I reckon most are buying based on perceived dollar savings, convenience, and “cool” factor. As someone mentioned, the prices for most of these things make them luxury items. Pretty sure most of these same people aren’t scaling back on vacations, cruises, etc. things that blow their per capita carbon uses past the average citizen.
I agree and think another factor was that during Covid Tesla was able to deliver cars while others could not. That pushed people into the EV market as well. We took our Model 3 in February of last year and were offered more for our 7 year old 50K Acura RDX than the Acura dealer (which had no replacement in stock) or Carvana.
 

I imagine this has been seen and I dont follow this thread a lot but this kind of thing gives me pause aside from the other factors.

I don't know the answers on carbon footprint and break even on ICE vs EV but when when a fire team has to dump 12K gallons of water to put out the fire that keeps relighting until there is crust and dust I wonder how that factors in to things. I don't imagine the carbon footprint of that fire team and equipment helps the environment and I have no idea what runs off from that lithium burn and water fest.

ICE cars catch fire 60 times more often than EVs

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a38225037/how-much-you-should-worry-about-ev-fires/
 
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