This Winnebago RV Is 100% Electric And Zero-Emission (https://www.greenmatters.com/news/2018/05/02/Z1NhQY6/winnebago-electric-motorhome)
That's a lot of charging? 125 mile range ? Good for some of the older guys that like to pull over and take a break at every stop sign .. wouldn't try it a night!!
Not a practical setup.
I wonder if Coach Net will send a "mobile electrician" ?
You could tow a diesel genset maybe ^.^d
I was thinking along those lines.
A diesel driven generator to power the electric motor - sounds like the electromotive diesel locomotives that have been around for decades.
On the other hand, I like the move toward all electric and we have to start somewhere. "Motorcars" weren't practical when they first came out due to constant mechanical failures, frequent maintenance, safety issues and few navigable roads, but they managed to work out the problems. I had always thought that diesel cars would be the future, but that future looks pretty dim. Tesla has extended the range of their cars to compete with conventionally powered cars, but not the amount of time to do a "fill up".
It really bugs me that any all electric vehicle is referred to as zero emission. Indeed, the vehicle itself may be zero emission, but producing the electricity to recharge certainly is NOT.
The more we transition over to wind and solar power generation, the better that situation will become, at least in the long run. But in the immediate term, if you follow the production pipeline back far enough, there is no "emission free lunch". Producing solar panels is not emission free, nor is manufacturing wind turbines. Somewhere, somehow, you gotta pay the price.
An exception to this would be the EV that was recharged using solar panels. In the Southwest, we're starting to see more and more carports (usually in commercial lots) with solar panels and a charging station. Of course, production of anything requires an expenditure of energy, but the idea is to reduce emissions as much as possible. Today, the only reliable source of emission free (or low) energy is nuclear power. Today, unlike in the past, nuclear carriers and submarines are expected to operate without every replenishing.
Here's a photo I took yesterday at Page, AZ (Lake Powell). This facility converts coal to electric power for "zero emission" vehicles.
And neither is the manufacturing of all the components that go into the vehicles taken into consideration.
Roland
I'm editing this as I thought I may have sounded obnoxious. (I may be obnoxious but I don't need to sound like it.)
Does it really matter if we call it zero emission or remote emission? Does pretending that just because it doesn't have a tail pipe it has no emissions any different than pretending that emissions from conventional sources don't matter?
I think it really boils down to realizing everything has an impact. Be it fuel choices, food choices, spending choices, or whatever. We are all in one pool, so lets try not to pee in it.
I think it is about reducing the amount of emissions - yeah, I'm mindful of the fact that I'm traveling around "America the Beautiful" in a 30.000 diesel burner.
The coach is OK. The 300 miles of electric cord spooled out is a bit inconvenient.
Solar and Wind Power Collapse
Delingpole: Epic Renewables Fail as Solar Crashes and Wind Refuses to Blow (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/06/09/delingpole-epic-renewables-fail-as-solar-crashes-and-wind-refuses-to-blow/)
At 125 miles per Charge it would take a week just to get out of state, going west. The 31 day trip would have required over 60, all electric.
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
A partial help to the portable power storage bottleneck is the latest version of batteries by Dr. Goodenough, the li-ion inverter.
Uses silicon not lithium. Three times the charge rate and discharge rate and amount stored. Cheap.
Electric motors on each wheel stuff like a railroad engine? Just a matter of time.
Industry is heavily invested in the current li-ion so this will take time.
I think I read that the silicon batteries had little temp restrictions
All I had to do was look at the source of the article (won't say more).
I spent a career in the electric energy industry, 30 years.
Trust me, if it weren't for government subsidy the solar and wind industry would not exist--- the economics are not there, period.
Dont get me wrong, I'm not against those industries, they simply cant compete with with a liquid, portable energy source that provides unlimited range at reasonable cost (that would be petroleum). We sold many thousands of 4 megawatt wind generators. Maintenance cost on these units is very high as is initial cost. In addition there is a great deal of noise polution involved with their operation. Solar is very inefficient, with the best panels at around 28%, and the cost per watt is very high.
Everyone seems to forget that petroleum is not some evil man made substance, but a naturally occuring substance in our world.
If you want a true low emission fuel, look to hydrogen, followed closely by liquified natural gas.
Just my informed opinion.
We are moving well beyond discussions of motorhomes and may be censored in this discussion. Having said that, I would add that renewable energy has come a long ways from being unprofitable. Here is an interesting article regarding the economics of renewable energy: The Economics of Renewable Energy: Falling Costs and Rising Employment |... (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/adnan-z-amin/the-economics-of-renewabl_b_7452996.html)
You can also find many other studies on the subject if you did a search on the economics of renewable energy, which we have used for centuries.
Don't really care one way or another what others think about it, but for me the ability to be off grid, even in a big city, with or without selling energy back to the power company is...... PRICELESS. And with battery tech coming along soon any house can have the ability to go thru 1 to many days without wind or sun. Not practicable in all areas, but then neither is oil. Imagine trying to power a space station or lunar/mars hab with fossil fuels. Not happening. I have not, and will not, put solar on my present home as I will be out of it in a few years hopefully, and on to my off grid coach. Sure I will have to put in diesel to move it about. But my net use of fuel, and my ability to fend for myself will be greatly increased. And for that reason, I say its all good.
One day there will be a all electric RV, train, bus, truck etc. Sure the power might come from fossil fuels for a while, but eventually it will come from renewable sources. More power beams down to earth daily than we need. Just have to get the efficiency up. And we are. Just takes time.