wouter, just wantedto say 'hello'.i am moving to tampa at summers end,...18 years in caribbean is enough. ii was just getting the inter 17 dialed in pretty good,.....pity...but new competition will be good, regards, bruce, st. croix ps, at least i can drive away from a hurricane now
-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Timbo]
#185146 07/14/0908:42 PM07/14/0908:42 PM
Yea but there are two sides to St Croix. One good, one bad. OH and when I was working there the light bill on the condo for the month was $936. Luckily company paid for it.
Doug
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Karl_Brogger]
#185159 07/15/0905:11 AM07/15/0905:11 AM
Other then that, there are only one way we can generate enough energy for our TRUE needs and that is solar power (which includes wind by the way)
It is just that we simply can't continue at our current level of energy usage. Basically, we used up 300 million years of solar energy stored as oil in 150 years. We simply can not glass over (mirrors) and area large enough or proces enough silicium to install enough solar power in the next 50 years.
But the best point is that we also don't have too !
Pretty large savings can be had by simple modifications in our way of living. Hell, if our grandparents could live of an energy diet that was only 10% of the "bare necessity" today then why can't we make a significant reduction in the same time span of 50 years ?
The biggest problem is that we THINK we need to spend large amounts of energy ... or else the sky will come falling down.
And I'm not only talking about it. I was forced to ditch my car and my energy consumption has now been reduced by just over 10.000 kWh. It was just over 12.500 kWh and now it is 2500 kWh or 20%. And I can't say that my life has changed that much in quality at all. When I transport my boat I lend a car from a friend or my parents; it is only a few times a year at max. For all my other needs I'm well cater for by public transport like trains (another good infratruction in the Netherlands) and bicycles.
Interestingly enough, over the next few year the Dutch will have installed 1000 MW or wind power on the north sea or 10% of the demand for the whole of the Netherlands. With this ratio I'm personally only using 10% the amount of fossile fuel that I was a year ago. We a large section of the populace does this then we have just expanded a 50 year oil span into 500 years; although installing the other 10% or renewables is still the really smart thing to do.
Wouter
Last edited by Wouter; 07/15/0905:31 AM.
Wouter Hijink Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild) The Netherlands
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Wouter]
#185162 07/15/0905:30 AM07/15/0905:30 AM
Well, it was a very well learned lesson hearing the Norwegian story Rolf.
I couldn't believe the amount of energy these guys used up per year. They had lots of installed water power and it was so cheap per kWh that they were using many more times the total amount as other citizens in Europe. I remember you telling me that Norwegian didn't even isolate their houses against the cold and just turned up the heating.
That is what an abundant available and cheap energy source does. It stimulates waste and unreasonable energy usage. And that is exactly what happened with oil.
Cheers mate !
Wouter
Wouter Hijink Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild) The Netherlands
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Wouter]
#185164 07/15/0906:06 AM07/15/0906:06 AM
Although I would have extended the seat by some 350 mm (between rear wheel and driver seat) and thus create a small internal cargo bay behind the rider.
The styling is right however and with a 350 Watt BionX electric assist drive it'll do 30 mph which is enough for commuting. A 15 sq. ft. solar cel array on the roof of your house will be enough to power this thing whole year around if you drive a total 30 miles a day.
This way environmental may even be cool heh guys ?
For kicks, I guarantee you that you'll be looking for the hills to drive downhill from. The speed sensation in such a thing cornering at 90 km/h is something else. Makes the climb up all worth while.
Wouter
Last edited by Wouter; 07/15/0906:17 AM.
Wouter Hijink Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild) The Netherlands
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Wouter]
#185165 07/15/0906:22 AM07/15/0906:22 AM
I couldn't believe the amount of energy these guys used up per year. They had lots of installed water power and it was so cheap per kWh that they were using many more times the total amount as other citizens in Europe. I remember you telling me that Norwegian didn't even isolate their houses against the cold and just turned up the heating.
Due to the sheer scale of hydroelectric installations electricity was cheap. My own house have electric heating cables all over the ground floor, with no unsulation to the ground (that I know of). If I turn them on, they will heat the floors and rooms, but also the part of mother eart beneath my house. You have to remember that during winter our heating and light demands are a fair bit higher than yours and we love hot water! Still no excuse for not insulating houses during the 50s. From the 60s and onward houses are insulated with 10cm in the walls and 20cm in the ceiling. Still, what is used in the private sector is not that much compared to the industry. E.g. melting aluminium with electricity.. It is all changing though as our dear state is building more and more transfer lines to export electricity to Europe. Prices are on a steep rise here now thanks to these lines.
A solar cell will not recharge the batteries in that vehicle during winter. At leat not here. It is frequently "dark" all day and night if the weather is bad. Even with sun there is not more than three to four hours of sun midwinter.
I do think vehicles like that is what we all are going to drive pretty soon.
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Rolf_Nilsen]
#185167 07/15/0906:44 AM07/15/0906:44 AM
A solar cell will not recharge the batteries in that vehicle during winter. At leat not here. It is frequently "dark" all day and night if the weather is bad. Even with sun there is not more than three to four hours of sun midwinter.
Modern cels don't really need direct sunlight anymore and can make do with dispersed light; it is just that the total yield is lower. I calculated 50 Watts per sq mtr. where modern cels are rated up to 150 watts in good lighting conditions. Additionally, I wrote the post with the Yanks in mind and they are alot closer to the equator then either one of us !
In our situation a combi power station with a solar cel and a small wind turbine is probably best.
Something like a (smaller version) of the darrieux turbine depicted here
The version depicted is quite large at 5 mtr tall and 3 mtr width but it also does between 4000 kWh and 10.000 kWh per year. Actually, almost twice to 4 times the amount my household uses annually including everything.
The depicted vehicle would only need in the order of 150 kWh per year if it does 12.500 km/7800 miles (= equal to 20L or 6 gallons of gasoline a YEAR when converted at 50% efficiency = typical powerstation). So for 400 kWh (= need + ample margin) our home turbine would be 1.5 mtr tall and just under a mtr wide. Fitted to the chimney of our houses. Actually, you can home build a darrieux turbine yourself. The underlaying principle is not that hard.
Wouter
Last edited by Wouter; 07/15/0906:51 AM.
Wouter Hijink Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild) The Netherlands
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Wouter]
#185169 07/15/0907:17 AM07/15/0907:17 AM
Taking a defensive drivers course online today for a ticket dismissal. I thought this was hilarious !!!!! Straight fron the course!!!!
If you cannot find the owner that does not mean that you're not responsible for your mistake. If you hit a parked car, you are obligated to find the owner, if at all possible, and take financial responsibility. Taking a defensive drivers course online today for a ticket. I thought this was hilarious!!!!! Straight from the course
You are required by law to leave a note explaining the situation and providing your name, address, and contact phone numbers. The note must be attached to the vehicle in a secure manner.
If you leave the scene without making an attempt to find the owner or without leaving a note, you can be charged with a hit-and-run violation, which carries a far greater penalty than the cost to fix the other.
Doug
Last edited by DougSnell; 07/15/0911:05 AM.
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: ]
#185190 07/15/0911:19 AM07/15/0911:19 AM
They Hyperion system is a cool concept, but... as was said before, Uranium is a finite resourse. They are in process of mapping the moon right now since there is Uranium there.
Breeder reactors are a very interesting technology. You would start making fuel and after three years of operation (I think) you would have enough fuel to start another reactor.
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Will_R]
#185193 07/15/0911:32 AM07/15/0911:32 AM
I read something about how Naval scientists recently rectified the findings on cold fusion and its theoretical possibility of existence. I'm not an expert in that area of science... any promise there?
Re: This is what I drive currently
[Re: Will_R]
#185198 07/15/0911:59 AM07/15/0911:59 AM
That is rich; spending heaps amounts of fuel and resources to mine Uranium on the moon.
I know solar stations got that hippy green environmental rep to them but dare I venture to say that building those in large enough numbers is both easier, cheaper and more dependable then mining uranium on the moon ?
Breeders are alot better then normal fission reactors but there is one small snag if I remember correctly. The breeders are also very good at producing (waste) plutonium; the main ingredient for powerful nuclear bombs.
Wouter
Wouter Hijink Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild) The Netherlands