Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Enviro Yugo? No. Wheego.
Posted by Gwynedd Stuart on Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 2:56 PM
- Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I'm going to be honest: I've never completely understood the electric car. What do you do, just plug it into the wall like a really big toaster? Yup. Wouldn't your electric bill go through the roof if you're forever plugging in a giant toaster car? Apparently, not.
Wheego's PR person Susan Nicholson was kind enough to 'splain these things to me and without treating me like a dummy. Nicholson says the Wheego Whip can, in fact, be plugged into a regular old outlet, but charging the battery would take a really long time. Instead, it's recommended that Wheego owners install upgraded 220V/240V outlets in their garages, like the ones a dryer plugs into. Plugged into one of these outlets, it takes about five hours for a battery to charge from half full to full.
She also said that Wheego owners wouldn't likely notice some insane increase in their monthly electric bill, comparing the car to "any other appliance." Basically, the 115 volt battery holds 30 kilowatt hours of power and electric companies charge per kilowatt. According to Georgia Power's Residential Service Schedule, the first 650 kilowatts homeowners use each month set them back 4.5991 cents each (the more kilowatts you use each month, the cheaper they get). So, if I'm not totally botching this math, plugging in a Wheego costs about $1.38 per 100 miles. Hell of a lot cheaper than a fill up.
Hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I can't help but wonder: If electric cars catch on, how many more nuclear power plants will be required to keep 'em charged? Discuss amongst yourselves.
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Wait a second...I thought electricity just came naturally from unicorn tears...LOL!! You mean it takes Coal, which provides almost half of America’s electricity generation and more than twice as much as the next-highest contributor — nuclear...that is fantastic! Coal is a non pollutant right? And you know how I really want a Nuclear Power Plant in my backyard!!
I think the point is that the power needed to travel 100 miles in an electric car produces a fraction of the pollution that 100 miles in a regular car produces. Even if that power comes from a coal plant.
Ultimately you could have a solar panel that charges rotating sets of batteries. When the batteries run out just throw them in the storm sewer. No that's not right is it?
The unicorn tears idea is interesting though. Maybe they could cry directly into a generator in my backyard.
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