Newcastle Family Strike Balance of a Greener Life & a Fast Electric Car
During the Loomis earth day I was having a conversation with a gentleman at our Solar Universe booth regarding the impact electric cars would have on our electrical grid, and the cost of charging these vehicles. We discussed the benefits of solar for a few more minutes and both agreed that solar is the natural answer. It was then that Fred and Gabriela Michanie walked up and said they were on a waiting list for an electric car for Fred to commute to work in. They liked the idea of using solar to offset both the load on the grid and to charge the car without additional cost on their energy bill. The Michanie family is very green oriented and wanted to solve the fuel and emission problems associated with the daily commute, but did not want to create a larger energy bill and put more load on the grid. Together we agreed to work on designing a solar system for their home that would offset their current electric usage and provide additional energy to charge their car at night during off peak hours, and we did just that! Solar Universe electrician Brandon Hurlock assessed the home, main load panel and the location for the charging station. Brandon concluded that the main load panel would need to be changed out to accommodate the solar system and the car charger. From there we designed a custom system and went to work. Today, the Michanie family is enjoying the ability to create extra power during the day that’s sent back to the grid, and charging their sporty Tesla electric car at night when utility rates are lower. By doing this they are now offsetting their energy bill and realizing their goal of greener life and a clean efficient commute. It was a great pleasure working with the Michanie family on this project. Fred and Gabriela are truly passionate about living a greener life and having fun doing it!
Sincerely,
Gary Hayworth Local S.U.N. Advisor
Keywords
solar, tesla, electric car, pg&e, solar universe, environmentally friendly, going green, Loomis, Placer County, Lincoln, Auburn
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Nice!
To be "fair" and "green", the government should buy everyone a Tesla. At $100,000+ it should certainly stimulate someone's economy.
Now....what will we do with all those power cells when they die? Mercury, zinc, platimum, acids, etc. should be quite a challenge for the environmentalists...and quite a boost to the "heavy metals" industries. Why worry about CO2 when we can have tons of H2SO4 and HCL pumped into the atmosphere? Why, indeed!
You don't have a Tesla to go green. There are other electric cars out there. Also, you can make your own biodiesel or just ride your bicycle. There are many ways people can help the environment. Below is the anwser to your question about the Tesla Batteries.
What happens when my car battery reaches the end of its life?
Tesla Motors car batteries are both recyclable and replaceable. We are working to have our car batteries safely recycled, and have even built the cost of recycling into the purchase price of the car.
If you have any other question, please post it :)
Yes...recyclable. Probably Lithium. But what about the resources used and environmental impact of producing hundreds of thousands (millions, actually) of battery powered vehicles. All those metals have to be mined and processed and stored. Then, special recycling facilities will need to be built, staffed, maintained, cleaned of NON-recyclable components and waste, and so on.
What happens to these batteries when the car is in a serious accident? Can mere batteries power air conditioning, lights, stereos, and all the other electronic needs of the car on hot summer days and nights?
Yes, there are lots of ways to diminish one's impact on the environment. Some have already been perfected, but then a new "catastrophic conclusion" is produced on the computer desks of the ever-present fearmongers. Doom and gloom seems to win out over common sense. Just look back a few years to the Malthusians. Their idiotic prediction that we'd all be starving and living in filth by 2010 was actually taken seriously by a lot of scared people. In fact, I re-read some of my Del Oro class notes from 1966 the other day. Guess whose name was there predicting that overpopulation was the world's most serious problem....Thomas Malthus. Even though he died in 1834 his ridicluous theory still scares people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe.
But current products like natural gas and propane could be perfected even more if it weren't for the "new" scare: CO2. Baloney!