News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on How many gallons of gasoline would it take to charge an iPhone?. Parent comment

Re:How many gallons of gasoline would it take to charge an i... by herge on Wednesday February 08, 2012 @01:10PM (#3567666)
How many times more efficient is a gas power plant than the average use of a car?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:How many gallons of gasoline would it take to charge an i... by drcube on Wednesday February 08, 2012 @03:18PM (#3568252)
Wikipedia says: "Even when aided with turbochargers and stock efficiency aids, most engines retain an average efficiency of about 18%-20%."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_engine

Wikipedia again: "Typical thermal efficiency for electrical generators in the industry is around 33% for coal and oil-fired plants, and up to 50% for combined-cycle gas-fired plants."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_plant

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:How many gallons of gasoline would it take to charge an i... by drcube on Wednesday February 08, 2012 @03:26PM (#3568291)
That neglects to mention the inefficiency in distributing gasoline via gas-powered vehicles to hundreds of millions of drivers.
[ Parent | on HN ]