Proposed Increase in Vehicle Duty

[Happier diner]

1 hour ago, cissolt said:

Second term road repair?  Seems quite common for MHKs to get their road fixed.  How bad was it beforehand?  Doesn't seem a well used road.

 

There was a new water main laid there. Its being reinstated. That's what happens.

It's good to Daphne bash, but not justified on this occasion.

[Non-Believer]

I'm waiting for Daphne's contribution to the news that DEFA are closing, at least medium term, footpaths in the Dhoon Glen on the grounds that there's @ 60 diseased trees in there and DEFA are going to wait years until they all fall down naturally rather than proactively dropping them to maintain public access to the footpaths.

How many foresters and labourers do DEFA employ now?

[P.K.]

The "Comments" are not exactly complimentary!

But worth a read.

A cautionary tale from France on owning a new EV. Made me smile.

Not got a Hyundai by chance...?

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-i-regret-buying-an-electric-car/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=cpc&twclid=2-4x650c87b4epe2o6rqfuv0d4y

 

[Annoymouse]

1 hour ago, Non-Believer said:

How many foresters and labourers do DEFA employ now?

Certainly not as many as they once did, it’s mostly sub contracted out now, just like the road gangs.

[BriT]

1 hour ago, P.K. said:

The "Comments" are not exactly complimentary!

But worth a read.

 

He must be surprised that few seem to share his pain of having to shell out £60 on his new toy that runs on electricity 100% derived from burning natural gas. 

[AcousticallyChallenged]

Just now, BriT said:

He must be surprised that few seem to share his pain of having to shell out £60 on his new toy that runs on electricity 100% derived from burning natural gas. 

The question is of course, whether burning it in a big more efficient piece of kit with bigger, better emissions abatement systems is overall better or worse than burning the fossil fuel in your own engine. 

[BriT]

1 minute ago, AcousticallyChallenged said:

The question is of course, whether burning it in a big more efficient piece of kit with bigger, better emissions abatement systems is overall better or worse than burning the fossil fuel in your own engine. 

I’d actually say it doesn’t matter. I get that Spectator article as France is largely nuclear energy but burning gas to generate power in order to charge supposedly “clean” vehicles just seems absolutely mental to me. 

[AcousticallyChallenged]

3 minutes ago, BriT said:

I’d actually say it doesn’t matter. I get that Spectator article as France is largely nuclear energy but burning gas to generate power in order to charge supposedly “clean” vehicles just seems absolutely mental to me. 

It's a scale thing.

A petrol engine tops out at what? 35% of the fuel energy being turned into useful output? And bear in mind, that's peak, and can vary significantly with engine load, temperature, conditions etc.

A CGT can get up to 64% efficiency, the one in Pulrose is 50% allegedly.

So, unless you're losing a lot power in transmission and charging, the EV works out cleaner, even on gas. Note, charging efficiencies vary around 80-90ish percent. Some modern chargers are in the 99% range.

[cissolt]

2 hours ago, Non-Believer said:

I'm waiting for Daphne's contribution to the news that DEFA are closing, at least medium term, footpaths in the Dhoon Glen on the grounds that there's @ 60 diseased trees in there and DEFA are going to wait years until they all fall down naturally rather than proactively dropping them to maintain public access to the footpaths.

How many foresters and labourers do DEFA employ now?

The commissioners have asked for the reasons it's being closed indefinitely.

Didn't they close a path in view of Daphne's house? 

[Ringy Rose]

3 hours ago, BriT said:

burning gas to generate power in order to charge supposedly “clean” vehicles just seems absolutely mental to me

Depends where you charge your car. The chargers at the old film studio in Ramsey all run on solar, for instance. So that is much cleaner.

Also depends on how thermally efficient the internal combustion engine is compared to the gas burner. Car engines are typically about 35% efficiency, gas-fired power stations much higher.

[finlo]

5 minutes ago, Ringy Rose said:

Depends where you charge your car. The chargers at the old film studio in Ramsey all run on solar, for instance. So that is much cleaner.

Also depends on how thermally efficient the internal combustion engine is compared to the gas burner. Car engines are typically about 35% efficiency, gas-fired power stations much higher.

Problem is it's usually broken so relying on Diesels or the interconnector (not necessarily a bad thing).

[WTF]

8 hours ago, Ringy Rose said:

 

Also depends on how thermally efficient the internal combustion engine is compared to the gas burner. Car engines are typically about 35% efficiency, gas-fired power stations much higher.

but at the end of the line which is more efficient , 35% under the bonnet or whatever at the power station with all the incurred energy losses getting the power into the vehicle batteries from the powerstation..

[mad_manx]

Off peak charging  makes  lot of sense as it will take the excess from the grid. 

Contrary to popular myth you don't need to have an electric car to get cheap off peak electricity. 

Just need to switch to electric heating and it's  cheaper than the EV tariff.

However just like for EV you will need an upfront investment.

Most people  moving  from a ICE to an EV are unlikely to go back to an ICE car (except those who end up with range anxiety but that's not an issue on island)

ICE cannot match the performance on an ev ( instant acceleration etc ) plus the one pedal driving  is a bonus.  Most EV haters  have never driven one 

 

EV is  not for everyone..  I love EV 's and have one .  If driving  only a few miles a day ( say 1 or 2 k miles a year)   then  a ICE engine car may be better from the nett cost point of view.  Charging issues are also another thing for those in flats etc ..

Also as much as I like EV Tech I still think there is a lot of progress to be made . While it's fine as an only car for on island use , I still use my ICE engine car if I'm going anywhere beyond North of England.

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by mad_manx

[Happier diner]

11 hours ago, finlo said:

Problem is it's usually broken so relying on Diesels or the interconnector (not necessarily a bad thing).

Is it? Are you sure?

[AcousticallyChallenged]

3 hours ago, WTF said:

but at the end of the line which is more efficient , 35% under the bonnet or whatever at the power station with all the incurred energy losses getting the power into the vehicle batteries from the powerstation..

35% under the bonnet is peak, rather than average.

During warm-up, idle, acceleration that can be far lower.

Whereas, grid management is all about keeping the generators at their peak efficiency for the demands on the system.

It gets really interesting when you consider the grid management stuff that EVs are capable of with smart meters. You simply tell the charger when the car should be charged by, and the grid operator then manages that to manage load more effectively.

Think Economy7 but on steroids.