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Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by oceanplexian on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:04PM (#47255263)
> internal combustion is hilariously inefficient

It's inefficient but not hilariously so. Modern ICE are quite amazing technology.

Combined gas turbines (you know, the energy source that powers your electric car) are about 60% efficient for the really good ones, minus 5-7% transmission losses, minus 10-12% charging losses, minus 20% loss in cold climates, lands you at around 35-40% efficiency from fuel source to the wheel.

The Atkinson-cycle engine in the Toyota Prius gets around 40% give or take some losses in the drivetrain. Electric have plenty of upsides, but for some people with cheap gas+high electric costs+cold climate you would honestly be better driving a hybrid.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by sitharus on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:56PM (#47255697)
> Combined gas turbines (you know, the energy source that powers your electric car)

Not everywhere. My car charges off an average of 80% renewables (mostly hydro and geothermal), right now it's 95%.

But it is definitely something you need to take in to account when purchasing, an EV isn't right for everyone.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by noosphr on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:09PM (#47255300)
This is something that always gets lost in these conversations.

Whenever you do the real world calculation for what an electric cars CO2 profile looks like it turns out to be the same as a gasoline car unless your country is majority nuclear.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by ramidarigaz on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:19PM (#47255391)
> Whenever you do the real world calculation for what an electric cars CO2 profile looks like it turns out to be the same as a gasoline car unless your country is majority nuclear.

Not at all true: https://www.carboncounter.com/

US-specific but you can even pick a state and it will use the generation mix of that state

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by noosphr on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:55PM (#47255692)
You charge your car at night.

At night the sun doesn't shine.

The mix is mostly coal or if you're lucky mostly gas.

This is the type of bullshit I mean by doing real world calculations.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by lokar on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @07:22PM (#47255887)
I charge during the day, from my rooftop PV panels. Over a year we are net negative on grid consumption.
Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by bethekidyouwant on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @09:06PM (#47256597)
This means you don’t take your car to work, which isn’t typical
Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by lokar on Thursday March 05, 2026 @10:44AM (#47262975)
I produced over 400kWh last week, in February.
Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by namibj on Thursday March 05, 2026 @07:08AM (#47260687)
Maybe today, but basically everywhere south of Canada solar is so high ROI that it's just a question of time before sunlight hours have electricity so much cheaper that the primary daytime parking locations become the favored (slow-)charging spots.

For you to prefer charging there your employer only has to charge you less during the day than your utility charges during the night, so the day/night rate arbitrage can easily pay for the metering hardware and installation (at the next opportunity to install without having to dig the parking lot up just for the chargers), with the rest being profit to incentivize the managers to install/offer this.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by cogman10 on Thursday March 05, 2026 @04:36PM (#47267635)
The wind blows, water flows, nuclear glows. Further, demand's at lows.

In my state (idaho) at night the power mixture is primarily renewable/clean because of this.

Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by sitharus on Wednesday March 04, 2026 @06:58PM (#47255714)
Or majority renewable.
Re:Does that use a lot of energy? by pcchristie on Thursday March 05, 2026 @06:01AM (#47260201)
This is wrong, and by a long way.