Snowflake stereotypes and cars
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Do they though? Solar panels and ev battery break down after couple of years, you'll then have to get them replaced, wood gas engine and hydro generators are more independent
EV batteries don't necessarily break but become less efficient. Is horribly underreported how worse the ev batteries become after 5 years. But if you maintain some best practices you can reduce that. It's not optimal but technology improves so maybe we will get better ev batteries in the future.
As for solar panels, I honestly don't see a reason against them.
I know it's not cost effective, is not even green effective but it does offer a bit of independence if you have to make regular short trips. Like me taking my kids to daycare and school.
So leave the battery 60% charged and only drive when it's 60-70 degrees outside?
Technology improves—to a point. Solid-state batteries, the latest meme in the EV space, has its own problems, like lithium dendrites.
Technology isn't fucking magic, and the fact that people treat it as such is why we get retarded policies like ICE vehicle bans by 2030.
I blame political lobbying. Holy fuck, how does anyone think that hydrogen is clean? Tell me you are brutally, willfully ignorant without telling me you are a window-licking moron.
That is because there is so much variability. The software of the battery power electronics is paramount to battery lifespan.
That is, how fast and deeply you discharge your battery and the way you charge your battery both dramatically effect lifespan.
It turns out that active cooling (liquid cooling systems and radiators) are vital to both fast charging and battery pack lifespan. See the early Nissan Leaf that had battery packs without active cooling systems. The battery had a truly disappointing lifespan. Now Nissan doesn't make them like that.
That said, it would be a relatively simple matter for the manufacturer to build a diesel heater into the battery cooling system. That would keep the battery warm in low temperatures. Even electric heating driven from the charging circuit (an electric blanket) that ran while the car was plugged in would be a good start.
It amuses me to think about people pouring diesel or kerosene into their electric car to keep it warm. It would solve a bunch of problems, as making heat out of electricity is really inefficient, so passenger cab heating, windscreen defrosting etc takes a huge toll on the battery and thus the range.
IMNHO, EVs are just an under-baked idea. They will get dramatically better as these problems come to light and are solved.
tl;dr: It is just about impossible to do an apples to apples comparison across EV brands or even models.
Solar panels have a effective lifespan of about 25 years. It used to be 20 years, but the newer Chinese panels last even longer.
If the frames are built well and there is quality wiring, you can just replace the panels and get another 25 years.
You may want to add more panels or replace them early, because performance degrades slowly over time. At 20 or 25 years (depending on where you draw the line) they are no longer economical.
As for Lithium Ion battery packs. That is a legitimate concern. Depending on environment, cooling, charge discharge cycles and how full you charge the battery for maximum charge ... you could get between six and ten years out of your battery pack. Less if you regularly charge them really full and discharge the battery completely; that is long distance driving. Don't do that.
Replacement costs of a battery pack for a six or ten year old tesla is more than the resale value of the car.
If you can get your fuel for free (simplest is if you charge at work) then it might still be a worthwhile trade.
I have a friend who has an EV. His wife also has an EV. Both of them charge for free at work. Both drive less than 40 km a day, on average. It works out very well for them. Free fuel, no mechanical services required. There vehicles will just cost them tires and washing until they sell them.
EVs are not for every case, but for their niche they can be outstanding.