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Hybrid Cars, Solar Energy, Alternatives....

Yes, I have read that if you are trying to decide between a gas Honda Civic or a Hyrbid Honda Civic it might take you 10-12 years to recoup the difference in cost through gas savings if you buy the hybrid.

But I have a mini pick-up truck that's getting 22-24 miles per gallon. Doubling my MPG would be a great thing indeed...and if gas prices continue to go up over the next 10 years (and why wouldn't they) the hybrid would pay for itself faster and faster as the prices rise. Right?

What I would like to know is if anybody has a hybrid and what the maintenance costs are? How much does it cost to own the hybrid?
 
Motokid said:
Sure. I'd love to see it.

What prompted your parents to invest in this? Are they just enviromentally concerned or is there other reasons? Is it a common thing where you live, or are your parents trail blazing some new territory?

Does Germany offer tax incentives or tax breaks for such an investment?
Click to expand...

The photo is from last year when it wasn't finished yet, but you get the idea:
solar.jpg


This is getting more and more common. When driving through the villages and over the countryside you see a lot of solar panels. Especially in my region many farmers take up this opportunity.
The last government (involving green party) decided the phasing out of nuclear energy and regenerative energies are massively promoted here (I hope I'm not getting too political here.. ). I think the fixed prices are a result of that, which was the main reason for my parents to invest in solar energy. There are no other incentives.

Wind energy is very important in my region, too. There are five windmills just around the house. :eek: On the far left of the photo you can see part of one.
 
Wow...that's a lot of panels....I can see where the price was probably pretty high...

I've been looking into a passive solar hot water heating system and seeing that for a family of 4 the expense would be about $3000.00 US just for the equipment...

I think I'd rather spend that money on a corn burning stove to heat the house....but I'm weighing options at the moment...
 
We've thought about getting a wind generator, but they are so very expensive, and we know a guy just a mile north of us who has one that just sits because it got zapped by lightening twice. After the second time, his insurance company told him they wouldn't pay damages on it again. We're in the perfect area to use such a gizmo, but we're hesitant to take the plunge.
 
Wind power is definitely not even on the farthest radar here where I live.

Do you have any idea of the cost abecedarian?
 
abecedarian said:
We've thought about getting a wind generator, but they are so very expensive, and we know a guy just a mile north of us who has one that just sits because it got zapped by lightening twice. After the second time, his insurance company told him they wouldn't pay damages on it again. We're in the perfect area to use such a gizmo, but we're hesitant to take the plunge.
Click to expand...
They should make a wind generator with a lightening rod attached, and hook the lightening rod to a storage battery, so if it gets hit by lightening, you could collect the energy that way too!
Then, you should also put solar panels on top of it. AND a methane reclamation unit from manure, that could power a stove or a hot water heater.
Am I missing anything, or do I have all the bases covered with this contraption?
 
You should build it on a river to get some hydro power, too. On the seaside you could also get energy out of the tides.
 
I'm not sure of the aproximate cost of a wind system, seems like multi-thousands. You could try googling Kansas Wind Power. They should have a website by now. We get a catalog from some other place and I've been trying to remember the name, but can only recall the color of the cover :rolleyes: All I can think of is Solar Living, and that's not quite right..I'll try to go looking in the basement this evening and see what I can find. Right now I have to go make a triple batch of chili and bake a cake and get it all done by 4:30, oh and get a kid to do his math..


Water power wouldn't work too well here, the closest river is a mile away and is usually pretty shallow and sluggish.
 
So...what would it take to convince you to but a hybrid car? Gas prices? And how high? Tax breaks? More models of hybrids available? Knowing what the longer term risks and or benefits might be?

Are you planning on buying a new car in the next year or so? If so, will you consider a hybrid? If not, why?
 
i wonder where technology in cars will be in fifty years or 100 years. we're definatly advanced compared to the earliest cars.. i hope water [especally ocean] will become a popular source of fuel. we've definatly got enough of it
 
The Carnot engine is the most effecient - but it's only theoretical and never been built. The 4 stroke internal combustion engine hasn't really changed much in years. They've made the vehicles more effecient, but the power plants are the same. Pretty much.
 
Motokid, not sure if you know this or not but there are a few hacks that can be done to a Prius to make it purely an electric car provided your trip range is relatively low, <50miles if memory serves, and you have a place to recharge it at the end of your trip so you can return. So for those that just boot about town or have a short commute you can remove petrol fuel altogether.
 
Motokid said:
So...what would it take to convince you to but a hybrid car? Gas prices? And how high? Tax breaks? More models of hybrids available? Knowing what the longer term risks and or benefits might be?

Are you planning on buying a new car in the next year or so? If so, will you consider a hybrid? If not, why?
Click to expand...

Moto, my current car is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that gets 18.4 mpg. When I do replace it, it will almost certainly be with a hybrid. I'm biding my time and watching to see what becomes available.
 
abecedarian said:
The catalog I was trying to remember is Real Goods. www.realgoods.com
They have all kinds of products for saving energy. The tone is pretty California New-Ager, but its another place to look.
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Very cool site abecedarian...
this is the solar system I was refering to: http://www.realgoods.com/renew/shop/product.cfm/dp/2200/sd/2202/ts/1045508

I just have the issue of, the side of the house that gets the most sun is the front....so the panels would ultimately have to go there....which creates a problem with the aesthetics of the house....the whole world (as we know it) would see this, and I'm not sure that's gonna float with the wife....plus the price....
 
It's only a matter of time when the diesel car craze also spreads across the USA.
Big European and Japanese Diesel station wagens can easily achieve 35- 40 mpg long distance and still achieve performance figures that only a few years would have been unimaginable.
We're talking 0-60 mph in the 8 second region and flexibility to match.
With Diesel Particulate filters fitted (DPFs) particulate emissions, the achilles heal of diesels is also minimised. Modern diesels such as the Jaguar S type twin turbo (which I was involved with) and the BMW 535td are very very refined also.

Biggest problems I can see is that it DOES NOT tackle the issue to burning fossil fuels- as there is less of a fraction of diesel produced from crude oil than when Petrol is refined from it.

Would I get one?
Probably not- I think buying newish cars is totally ludicrous- with savage depreciation. Decent modern diesels also fetch a premium over their petrol cousins-even second hand. People pointing to the fact that older cars produce more pollution - are forgeting the enormous energy used to make their newer car, and also the fact that modern ULEV compliant catalytic converter cars run very inefficiently and produce alot more CO2 than older leaner running non-cat cars.
My 1983 Mercedes 280 TE cost me £50/$80 to buy! It runs perfectly- I'm not going to worry overly about fuel economy when people are spending several times that much on the initial purchase price of a brand new car- for what?
Image reasons?
For fear that any car over 3 years old will give them trouble and expire on the road side?
 
Marquis Rex said:
It's only a matter of time when the diesel car craze also spreads across the USA.
Big European and Japanese Diesel station wagens can easily achieve 35- 40 mpg long distance and still achieve performance figures that only a few years would have been unimaginable.
We're talking 0-60 mph in the 8 second region and flexibility to match.
With Diesel Particulate filters fitted (DPFs) particulate emissions, the achilles heal of diesels is also minimised. Modern diesels such as the Jaguar S type twin turbo (which I was involved with) and the BMW 535td are very very refined also.

Biggest problems I can see is that it DOES NOT tackle the issue to burning fossil fuels- as there is less of a fraction of diesel produced from crude oil than when Petrol is refined from it.

Would I get one?
Probably not- I think buying newish cars is totally ludicrous- with savage depreciation. Decent modern diesels also fetch a premium over their petrol cousins-even second hand. People pointing to the fact that older cars produce more pollution - are forgeting the enormous energy used to make their newer car, and also the fact that modern ULEV compliant catalytic converter cars run very inefficiently and produce alot more CO2 than older leaner running non-cat cars.
My 1983 Mercedes 280 TE cost me £50/$80 to buy! It runs perfectly- I'm not going to worry overly about fuel economy when people are spending several times that much on the initial purchase price of a brand new car- for what?
Image reasons?
For fear that any car over 3 years old will give them trouble and expire on the road side?
Click to expand...

Diesel? yes.

Hybrid? no.

The problem I see witht he diesel industry in the US, is the restrictions put on by the EPA. The cost to manufacture a diesel engine is going to escalate dramatically by 2007. New limits on emissions will be enforced. Caterpillar is already having problems just meeting the latest set of standards through Exhaust Gas Recirculation (burning the exhaust again to reduce emissions). The off road (i.e. construction) and marine diesels are next on the chopping block. I think the cost of diesel fuel and of diesel engines will make them impractical.

Hydrogen That's where my money is. The problem with that is that big oil will fight it tooth and nail. I believe we would have hydrogen cars like we do hybrid cars now if the oil companies didn't have so much power.

?

Love me some capitalism, but we need to do something.

Anyone heard that there is actually a butt load of oil in Alaska? too bad we value some dubiously protected land over our independence.

Just my humble opinion.
 
Supposedly there's oil all over America. Heartland, Gulf of Mexico off Florida, Alaska, off coast of California, under National Parks....but the enviro's won't let it be drilled for...

But eventually either that will change, or alternative fuels will seep into the mainstream.

How can we manufacture synthetic oil, but not synthetic gas??????

Once they figure out hydrogen, then the question is how to get it to the consumer all over the country? That's a huge infrastructure that would have to be invented.
 
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