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Hybrids - News, Reviews and Views in the Press

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Honda Civic, Hybrid Cars

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#425 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [cdptrap] by kdhspyder Aug 02, 2007 (11:43 am)
Replying to: cdptrap (Aug 02, 2007 9:11 am) Not being in the 'Land of the Sun Gods' what is the storage capacity of your system ( if any ) in the event of storms, long cloudy periods, etc. Is it a 'pass-through' where you collect the energy, use what you need on a daily basis and then send the extra onto the grid? Or can you store enough for several days usage then pass on the extra?   I'm totally unfamiliar with it. Replies to this message: cdptrap (Aug 02, 2007 4:47 pm) tpe (Aug 02, 2007 8:14 pm) kdhspyder (Aug 02, 2007 9:07 pm) hiwayman (Aug 03, 2007 1:46 pm)
#426 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [tpe] by gagrice Aug 02, 2007 (3:25 pm)
Replying to: tpe (Aug 02, 2007 6:38 am) I'll get a picture. It may not be that big. It just looks like a huge array.
#427 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [kdhspyder] by cdptrap Aug 02, 2007 (4:47 pm)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Aug 02, 2007 11:43 am) In CA, "grid tied" means the PV system is tied to the power company grid. "Standalone" is of course, independent of the grid. Grid-Tied system can use batteries for back-up but it is an option. Standalone system always have battery back-up for night usage.   Our 9KW is grid tied without battery back-up or storage. All excess power feeds to the grid and we trade credits with our power company, PG&E. During peak hours, we get 3W credits for every 1W sent to the grid. During non-peak hours, it is a 1 for 1 trade.   Power companies do not want battery back-up power feeding back into the grid when the grid is down and being repaired. This unexpected juice can injure or kill a worker working on the line. So a properly installed battery power back-up for a grid-tied system will always cut off grid feed before coming on-line.   Battery back-up is also limited so it is not useful to feed any back into the grid. Whatever is not used will just remain in the batteries.   In our case, if we own a plug-in and charge it at night, it will draw power from PG&E. Our day time PV credits will pay for that usage. In the day, it will charge using our PV power. If our PV cannot generate enough to meet demand, it will automatically draw from the grid to make up the difference. Again, we just pay for it using our credits.   Hope this answers your question? Replies to this message: tpe (Aug 02, 2007 8:14 pm) kdhspyder (Aug 02, 2007 9:07 pm) hiwayman (Aug 03, 2007 1:46 pm)
#428 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [cdptrap] by tpe Aug 02, 2007 (8:14 pm)
Replying to: cdptrap (Aug 02, 2007 4:47 pm) I think that grid tied is the way to go. If you want the security from blackouts then buy a generator. It's a lot cheaper than maintaining a bank of batteries.
#429 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [cdptrap] by kdhspyder Aug 02, 2007 (9:07 pm)
Replying to: cdptrap (Aug 02, 2007 4:47 pm) Thanks, very clear.
#430 of 567 Re: Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids- Sensible or Stupid [cdptrap] by hiwayman Aug 03, 2007 (1:46 pm)
Replying to: cdptrap (Aug 02, 2007 4:47 pm) That's a very interesting system. Would love to see your farm's power set up. We have solar panels on our suburban house with the same set up. In our case we had to have two inspections before the system could be energized. The local building codes had to be met, and PG&E's inspectors has to assure themselves that our grid tie wouldn't kill someone in a power outage. In our case, our system senses if there is power on the grid. If there ISN'T, it doesn't feed our solar-generated power back onto the grid. Additionnally, we have a BFS (Big Friggin' Switch) we can throw, which cuts us off from the grid completely (this is different from the master breaker on most homes). My wife's dream is to have a total EV car, or a plug in, that we can recharge using our solar. And you are right, by the way, because the panels do not collect at night, the idea of charging an EV at night doesn't make much sense, environmentally, since you'd draw on the house batteries, or pull from the grid (usually from the grid).
#431 of 567 Re: More tax incentives for hybrids? Are they needed? [gagrice] by hiwayman Aug 03, 2007 (2:50 pm)
Replying to: gagrice (Aug 01, 2007 7:37 pm) Thanks for your sympathy. Obviously, the reason we're here isn't just about the money. There are a lot of personal reasons that keep us from moving to a less expensive area (I'm originally from Wisconsin, so I do pine for the pines, so to speak). I don't live in Silicon Valley, fortunately, because my cost of living would be even higher (I live just north of San Francisco) by about 20%. And your comment about living in Detriot? Really? Detroit????   In regard to the tax incentive, I would suggest that it really has almost NO impact on YOUR wallet, when you put it in the context of the tax incentives and breaks given all over the board to big corporations and other entities. There are billions of dollars in tax incentives that are taken advantage of by various entities and special interest groups such as tobacco and big oil. When you take the piddling little tax incentives that are given for hybrid cars (that are dropping to almost zero as we speak) as a percentage of the whole, it probably costs you something less than a penny each tax year.   To be honest the Feds support of alternative technologies is pretty pathetic. The influences of big oil and the automakers (who generally would rather not produce hybrids, and only do so, grudgingly, to increase their fleet overall MPG ratings) and a currently very fiscally conservative (at least when it comes to alternative fuels) government means that very little public funding (tiny slivers of a percentage of the total expenditures) is going to hybrids or similar cars. If I were to pick a battle to fight, I would go after the tax incentives given to big oil to do "research" when their profit margins are well over 100%, and their gross bottom line is in the billions of dollars.   Without getting any more long-winded, if you consider the couple of thousand-dollar tax breaks on a few thousand hybrids in the context of a Federal Budget that is approaching 3 TRILLION dollars (the budget comes out of your pocket, among other places), the cost to you as an individual is miniscule to the point of disappearing.   That is incredibly short-sighted on the Feds' part. As fossil fuels become increasingly scarce, and the demand for them increases, it will not be very long before the high price of these fuels will impact our economy and the economies of the countries around the world. A crappy economy directly results in tax revenue streams that become trickles. Revenue streams drying up means the feds can't do what they're supposed to do. Shock waves go through the economy. Hiways get crappy. Petrochemical companies, shipping companies, travel, power, and everything else gets even more expensive. Soon, the economy craters...   Nope. A piddling little tax incentive for a hybrid car doesn't make much difference to you. If anything, more incentives should be put in place to get people out of their Yukons and into their Prius'..... (BTW, I don't own a Prius..I own a Nissan Hybrid).... Replies to this message: tpe (Aug 03, 2007 3:48 pm) gagrice (Aug 03, 2007 4:12 pm)
#432 of 567 Re: More tax incentives for hybrids? Are they needed? [hiwayman] by tpe Aug 03, 2007 (3:48 pm)
Replying to: hiwayman (Aug 03, 2007 2:50 pm) hiwayman Excellent post.
#433 of 567 Re: More tax incentives for hybrids? Are they needed? [hiwayman] by gagrice Aug 03, 2007 (4:12 pm)
Replying to: hiwayman (Aug 03, 2007 2:50 pm) I don't know how far from Detroit downtown they are. They bought a nice home in Royal Oak. They are very happy back there. Trying to live in CA on a budget is tough.   I do agree on most of your thoughts about corporate welfare. I just don't think adding to it with incentives that rarely reach the buyers pocket are good. It was not difficult to see the pricing of the Prius come down as the incentives were cut. I am one the believes there is no interest in Congress to cut our fossil fuel usage. With every gallon of gas comes another bit of tax money in the till.   Our infrastructure is not being maintained with the gas tax currently being taken in. One of the 77,000 bridges not up to standard gave witness to that this week in Minneapolis. For the government to get serious about using less gas would erode that tax pool even more.   And yes I look for the economy to crater as you put it. Driving a hybrid will not help our economy in any way that I can think of.   I do hope you got a good buy on your Altima Hybrid. I have not seen one in San Diego yet.
#434 of 567 Are all hybrid drivers Crazy or by gagrice Sep 08, 2007 (10:29 am)
Just this woman and Al Gore JR???   A speeding driver going the wrong way on state Route 52 slammed head-on into a pickup truck driven by an off-duty Border Patrol agent early Friday. Both drivers were killed instantly, officials said.   Before the crash, several drivers called 911 to report the Toyota Prius was heading east, going at least 100 mph in the fast lane, said Highway Patrol Officer Rob Sanchez. The 2007 Prius then collided with the 1995 Chevrolet S-10 pickup.   A woman was driving the Prius, authorities said. She was identified by the county Medical Examiner Friday afternoon as Shayne Rae Leatherwood, 22, of Poway. The Border Patrol agent was identified as Neil Wilkie Hepburn , 35, a married resident of Chula Vista.   http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070907-1527-bn08fatal2.html

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