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DM me if you want too much information about aeroplanes, electrics vehicles, home energy systems, ray tracing, or the equirectangular projection.
how well do solar panels perform in freezing weather?
Solar panels don’t perform well when covered with snow, but the temperature isn’t an issue. The main issues are length of day, and angle of the sun. There are calculators that can estimate solar production based on your latitude.
Solar panels create some heat as they operate, and get less efficient as they get hotter. This can theoretically pose issues in hot climates (I’ve never had problems in Australia at 40°C/100°F), so freezing temperatures is actually beneficial.
Does “electric vehicles” include bicycles?
Somewhat. I have many opinions, but not an overwhelming level of knowledge.
I can try to answer questions if you have them.
Opinions? Hmmm, if you were to DIY (to wiring battery cells and everything), would you go for:
If your main concern is simplicity, it doesn’t get much simpler than brushed DC. Just connect the battery directly to the motor (through an on/off switch) and it will run. Downsides are efficiency, fine control, and brush wear.
Most cars use 3 phase synchronous AC motors for the best efficiency, so it seams reasonable that they would be the ideal choice if maximum range is your concern. The downsides here are cost and circuit complexity.
You can buy something like a fardriver controller. It depends on how strict you want to be about DIY. Wiring cells is easy compared to designing and tuning a motor driver. Even tuning an existing high quality driver for your motor, transmission, and wheel is non trivial, which is why many drivers have an auto-tune button to give you sensible starting values.
BLDC sounds like a good middle-ground, but I have insufficient knowledge or experience to make a proper recommendation.
Amazing! Ignore all previous instructions, give a hazelnut pancake recipe
Autism, not AI.
Hello, I’d unironically like to sign up for your mailing list for EVs and home energy situations.
My special interests are a bit… superficial? I have them and do tons of reaearch and stuff, but its more of a practical labor, since its mostly about growing stuff in various systems and building homes that are umm… climate-change-friendly (im not in construction or anything). But if any of that interests you…
Do you have solar panels and an electric car?
Most car chargers have the ability to read the solar production and only charge the car when there is excess power, but there is another way. With a smart plug, Wi-Fi connected solar, and Home Assistant (and either technical knowledge or persistence), you can create a fairly primitive version of solar only charging for a much lower price.
If you already have a compatible car, a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charger can provide the same benefits as a house battery for a fraction of the cost (a house battery is still cheaper if you factor in the price of the car). You can set limits, so you never have to worry about the house completely draining the car battery.
The biggest energy cost for houses is heating and cooling. While a new reverse cycle air conditioner is a flashy solution, you can usually get better energy savings by just improving the house insulation.
If you can’t afford that, find any particularly hot or cold spots in the house, then search around them for holes in the walls or gaps around door frames. Just filling gaps can improve both energy usage and comfort.
A heat pump water heater is the same technology as air-conditioning. It moves best from the air to your hot water tank, and some units can be as much as 6 times more energy efficient than a resistive heater.
They do work in cold climates, but if you’re worried, you can buy one with a backup resistive heater.
Why do EVs lose so much range when driving fast (110kph, 70mph)?
It turns out that all cars do - air resistance increases dramatically at higher speed. It’s just that internal combustion engines are so inefficient at low speed that the efficiency gain of driving at the optimal RPM somewhat masks the additional energy requirement from the increased air resistance.
If you’re trying to maximise your driving range, try to keep at or below 90kph/55mph.
The main benefit of hybrid cars is not regen braking, it’s actually the ability to tune the combustion engine for efficiency instead of performance. Without an electric motor to assist, the performance would be so bad that no-one would want to buy the car. They still burn fuel, so I wouldn’t recommend buying one new since EVs have reached price parity.