Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Saturday, January 12, 2008
SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR EXTRA BAGGAGE
We found an ingenious alternative to buying a bigger car, which will save usthousands of dollars. Our six year old Hyundai Lantra is considered amedium-sized car (2.5litre engine). Its cabin space is fine but the boot is quite small. It has always suited us for running around the city, especially given the fuel economy and ease of parking.
We have a two year old child and another on the way. Family members kepturging us to buy a bigger car, seeing how cramped it was when we packed for long-distance visits to them. Our family lives 600km away and we usually visit them three times a year. To upgrade our car just for those three visits would be a very expensive exercise, but with the new baby coming some more room was definitely in order.
After doing some calculations we found that a box trailer was the perfect solution! Even spending a bit extra and getting a smaller/lighter trailer witha water tight cover, we're still better off than if we buy a bigger car.Trailer registration is $40 per year. A decent trailer and cover can be bought second hand for around $500. If it needs new tyres they'll cost around $200 for the pair. Over five years this comes to $180 per year. Trailer hire would cost us around $270 per year to cover our three trips. The Hyundai already hada towbar, and the trailer increases its fuel consumption by about a third, orone extra tank on each of these family trips.For a bigger car, based on the models we checked out thoroughly, we would belooking at a changeover cost of about $8,000 - or $1,600 per year over fiveyears. That's before any other on-road or unforeseen costs, and not countingthe permanent increase in fuel consumption!
We have a two year old child and another on the way. Family members kepturging us to buy a bigger car, seeing how cramped it was when we packed for long-distance visits to them. Our family lives 600km away and we usually visit them three times a year. To upgrade our car just for those three visits would be a very expensive exercise, but with the new baby coming some more room was definitely in order.
After doing some calculations we found that a box trailer was the perfect solution! Even spending a bit extra and getting a smaller/lighter trailer witha water tight cover, we're still better off than if we buy a bigger car.Trailer registration is $40 per year. A decent trailer and cover can be bought second hand for around $500. If it needs new tyres they'll cost around $200 for the pair. Over five years this comes to $180 per year. Trailer hire would cost us around $270 per year to cover our three trips. The Hyundai already hada towbar, and the trailer increases its fuel consumption by about a third, orone extra tank on each of these family trips.For a bigger car, based on the models we checked out thoroughly, we would belooking at a changeover cost of about $8,000 - or $1,600 per year over fiveyears. That's before any other on-road or unforeseen costs, and not countingthe permanent increase in fuel consumption!
Attention men: Age has very little to do with GREAT sex...
In fact, there are men out there 10 years older than you experiencing some of the best sex of their lives. And those men have three things in common:
- The urge to perform any time
- Surging desire and stamina
- And a reproductive system running on top of its game
Lucky? You bet.
But now YOU have the key to unlock the beast within...
I'm talking about feeling aroused, frisky, and raring to go anytime.
Complete with the surging desire it takes to rattle the walls and wake the neighbors. And it's all done naturally and side effect free.
Get the inside scoop on this "triple action" secret-and enjoy great sex at 60 or 90. Because let's face it --there really is no such thing as having too much fun in the bedroom...
Attention men: Age has very little to do with GREAT sex...
In fact, there are men out there 10 years older than you experiencing some of the best sex of their lives. And those men have three things in common:
- The urge to perform any time
- Surging desire and stamina
- And a reproductive system running on top of its game
Lucky? You bet.
But now YOU have the key to unlock the beast within...
I'm talking about feeling aroused, frisky, and raring to go anytime.
Complete with the surging desire it takes to rattle the walls and wake the neighbors. And it's all done naturally and side effect free.
Get the inside scoop on this "triple action" secret-and enjoy great sex at 60 or 90. Because let's face it --there really is no such thing as having too much fun in the bedroom...
Sunday, July 29, 2007
V2G Technology on Plug-In Electric Cars
The vehicle's battery can also be used to power homes and businesses.
In April 2007, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company showcased the first-ever utility V2G technology demonstration.
Related Links
• Future Hybrids
• Future Hybrids: Two-Mode Hybrid
• Future Hybrids: Hydraulic Hybrid
• Future Hybrids: Plug-In Hybrids
• Future Hybrids: Air Hybrid
• Future Hybrids: Steam Engine Technology
OK, you're feeling really cool and smart with your purchase of a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV). Your daily round-trip commute to work is barely 30 miles so, recharging the batteries overnight gives you some change back from a ten dollar bill for the weekly cost of electricity. Plus, since you drive entirely on electric juice, there are zero emissions coming out the tailpipe.
Wowzer, what a feeling! But wait, there could be more euphoria in the offing.
What if the local power company was willing—maybe even anxious—to pay you to draw some of the stored energy from your PHEV's batteries while it was parked during the day? Hey, that would reduce the cost of operating the car even more.
That's exactly what Professor Willett Kempton of the University of Delaware and his colleague Dr. Steven Letendre from the Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, came up with in 1966.
Called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, the idea is to take advantage of the electrical storage capacity in the vehicle's battery during hot afternoons when demand is highest and most costly to avoid blackouts. During these periods, energy is worth several times more than overnight when vehicles recharge. It is also possible to provide power to a home or businesses on occasions of high electricity demands to avoid high energy prices and help prevent outages.
Kempton and Letendre's idea isn't just a theory presented in a technical journal. In April, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company showcased the first-ever utility V2G technology demonstration. The prototype PHEV was a traditional Toyota Prius with an added Lithium-ion battery. PG&E reversed the flow of energy from the vehicle back to an electrical outlet, then ran several lights and appliances to show how V2G could benefit its customers.
The really big potential of using V2G, however, will come from integrating the technology with renewable energy and thereby reducing harmful emissions. During times of maximum demand, electrical utilities have to buy power from expensive and less efficient fossil fuel power generating sources.
PHEVs will charge their batteries at night when energy is inexpensive and is generated with a larger percentage of renewable resources. When demand is high the next day, instead of turning on a fossil-fuel based generator, the utility can purchase the renewable energy stored in the vehicle batteries.
There are numerous hurdles in the path of V2G, not the least of which is the cost of developing and integrating the technology into the automotive and electrical generation industries on a wide scale. But, because V2G has the potential to radically change both the utility of vehicles and the ability of cities to meet peak electrical demand with significantly lower costs while reducing harmful emissions, don't be surprised if the hurdles are overcome sooner than later.
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