Watched "who killed the electric car?'

[Compaq888]

I actually bought a dvd of it. Interesting stuff. I'm sure we have the technology right now to make a car last 300 miles on a charge. If the car was mass produced by a major manufacturer right now i'm sure it could do 350+ miles on a charge. Did you see that old guy and his wife??? They make solar panels that are thin like paper!!!!!

Wrap those solar panels on an electric car and I'm sure it would go 500 miles on a charge during the day.

Cool stuff. Oh and thank god I bought a civic. I spend now $50-60 on gas a month. Hopefully starting next year $35-45 a month. I wish mine was an electric car.

[onegammyleg]

Yup , good flik that.

I think those thin solar panels were roof shingle replacements that made electricity., weren't they ?

Here i have seen a few buildings now completely covered in solar panels on the sunny side of the building., dont know how it connects up tho.

I doubt it connects to the grid , probably powers the central heating or ventilation system , perhaps the car park lights too.

[JanGeo]

I priced some solar shingles . . . $109 each for 17 watts and you drill holes throught the roof to get the wires from the back side of the shingles connected in the attic . . . I don't think there will be much of a payback at that price.

[Ted Hart]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

I priced some solar shingles . . . $109 each for 17 watts and you drill holes throught the roof to get the wires from the back side of the shingles connected in the attic . . . I don't think there will be much of a payback at that price.

"Payback" is the least of your problems ; 1st...assume you generate 200 watts of power, then you do so at 115 volts, to run your 115 v. ...~80 amp appliance (~200 watts) Plug it in... WHOA! You have just "made" DC!...and you want to run an AC appliance? Rotsa ruck! Not on this planet!

[The Toecutter]

Well, you could try building your own DC to AC inverter, but unless designed correctly, it would be horribly inefficient.

Or you could by a car inverter...

[brelandt]

In my landlords solar powered house all of the light fixtures ceiling fans, etc have been converted to run off of DC. everything lower than the ceiling AKA radios, microwave, etc is running off of an AC converter mounted right above the battery bank. Looked simple enough. That is unless I'm totally missing something here?

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by Compaq888

I actually bought a dvd of it. Interesting stuff. I'm sure we have the technology right now to make a car last 300 miles on a charge. If the car was mass produced by a major manufacturer right now i'm sure it could do 350+ miles on a charge.

Not only do we have the technology for a 300 mile car today... we actually have the cars to prove it. We also have fast-charge technology. Though none of this super range or quick charging is needed 90% of the time, it most definitely exists to quiet the nay-sayers. My EV "only" has a 100 mile range, and we use it for at least 95% of our trips. The Prius stays parked in the garage for four weeks at a time.

The movie represents the first time that EVERYBODY can see what these cars were, and how much the drivers liked them. When my EV1 was taken away from me with fewer than 30k miles, the thing looked and drove like new. It is now "recycled" for my own good.

Wrap those solar panels on an electric car and I'm sure it would go 500 miles on a charge during the day.

The day when we can get 200 extra miles out of vehicle-mounted PV panels may come... but that is still a dream. For now PV panels belong on the roof of your dwelling where they are exposed to as much sunlight as possible. Cars get parked in the shade, driven at night, etc. For now there is no reason to tote around solar panels that'll increase your range by about 3 miles in the best of situations. My roof-mounted PV covers my home energy use AND my main vehicle energy use - to the tune of 1000 miles/month. I don't need to carry the panels with me.

If you are interested in buying this movie, your money will do the most good if you purchase it from PluginAmerica. Or you can buy them from me since all my proceeds go back to PIA as well. I only have a few copies left.

[onegammyleg]

Originally Posted by darelldd

It is now "recycled" for my own good..

You should be grateful the auto maker looked after your interests so well.
Now , go out and buy an SUV.

[darelldd]

Originally Posted by onegammyleg

You should be grateful the auto maker looked after your interests so well.
Now , go out and buy an SUV.

I can certainly write more off my taxes that way, and be more patriotic all at the same time! Mmmm. Petroleum. The smell of freedom.

[thisisntjared]

it is on my queue my father just recommended it very strongly.