Sens4Miles

100 Mile Range TRIAC EV Available Now!

The TRIAC is a zero-emission vehicle that's now on sale and does the hybrid car one better by reducing one of the wheels and getting rid of the gas completely. It can reach top speeds of 80 mph and has a range of between 60 to 100 miles. An optional capacity boost battery adds 25 per cent on top of that.

Designed by Green Vehicles, the TRIAC, costs about $20,000 and comes in a nifty range of colors including, of course, green. The zero-emission vehicle charges up in six hours. Green Vehicles claims the charge is as simple as plugging in a toaster.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1673/69/

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I priced them on the BP Solar website. They're rated to 80% of full power for 25 years. They cost $100k. Maybe the cells you are looking at don't last as long. You're also going to need to set them up to track the sun or accept they will not produce the full 200W except when the sun's rays are normal to the surface. You also need to look at the charts showing the current derating as the surface temperature of the cell goes up.

In our example, our solar cell owner got tax credits from California to help defray the costs of his solar cell array, and his array isn't powerful enough to recharge the car on its own. His perspective is he's doing good by running his meter backward so when he does make a demand from the conventional generating system, he's contributed when the sun was shining so it offsets the need for fossil fuels. It's as convoluted as carbon credits. Without the conventional source, the solar source would require life restrictions (must charge vehicle during daylight hours and cannot run A/C after about 6 pm) so that the reality is, the solution is partial at best. Just like carbon credits, the money part works out fine, but the planet doesn't care about the money.

So whether he likes it or not, he's still dependent on fossil fuels (although in Davis, there is a considerable hydroelectric source at Lake Berryessa that is exceptionally inexpensive in wet years - 1983 was awesome for hydro power in NorCal), and almost worst of all, the fossil fuels they're burning to make up the difference in California are natural gas fired. They're terrifically inefficient compared to other power generation methods, and because of this, they are only used during peak load periods to make up the gap between coal/nuclear/hydro and the peak load (late afternoon when everyone kicks on their A/C - and my A/C got cycled by the utility to help manage their load.)

Finally, there is an installation cost, a depreciation cost, and ultimately a replacement cost (which will not likely be offset with tax credits). Add to this an opportunity cost (well, if the array covers your roof it will be pretty much all good, but if it requires using arable land, then we've again reduced our ability to produce food because we have opted to produce energy - even if on a small scale).

From here. It also happens to be an excellent review of existing infrastructure and planned infrastructure in Solano County, including a good discussion about the "peaking" natural gas fired plants built by Calpine.
So, it's great to feel good, and it's great to organize your life around the resources you've chosen, but we're all doing that anyway. We're just not as committed to doing it his way.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

So how much electricity does it consume during 6 hour recharging?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Someone please explain how removing a wheel is "one better" when the platform is now inherently unstable. People have been building and promoting trikes for years, and yet they'll still tip over very wonderfully when driven moderately quickly.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Moderately quickly and people **** about hypermiling don't go together.

And removing a wheel removes rolling resistance I guess.

Gee, here's an idea - it's called a motorbike.

bagwell

exactly, that's why trikes should be banned....
wait, on second thought...just wear your helmet and you'll be ok

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

if you know the specs of battery, mainly the Ah (amp*hour) spec and voltage you can do a simple calculation to see how much energy can be contained inside. The energy pulled from your socket isnt going to equal what the battery will put out because of small losses here in there. But it wont be anywhere near the losses experienced in an internal combustion engine.

If you want to get fancy and have this battery and charger you can put a meter on the socket to see how much kWh was pulled during that 6 hours.

Lil4X

Three wheels are not necessarily unstable - but whether you have a motorcycle with a sidecar, a three-wheeler with one wheel in front, or two, the handling is not only different than that of a four-wheeler, it can get pretty spooky.

The addition of a sidecar to an ordinary motorcycle can play with your head. I once had a motorbike with a sidecar that, when attached so screwed up my riding instincts for the first few minutes I would ride it straight into the ditch, despite repeating to myself any number of times "DON'T TURN RIGHT!" The slight lean to the right when riding straight ahead would always trigger an instinctive veer to the right to re-establish balance, and I'd be off in the weeds. At least I was still upright.

The weird feeling of that transition from a vehicle you instinctively balanced to one that with the simple twist of a couple of bolts, was turned into one you simply guided went away in about five minutes. Soon you, or you and a cooperative passenger would be power-sliding around corners at a rapid clip - with your passenger performing gymnastics to help maintain balance.

To me, they always felt like riding that bike with the sidecar in a perpetual right turn. At least with that rig, if you really pushed it in a left turn you'd lift the rear wheel of the motorcycle off the ground, limiting your speed through the corner and saving your hide. Right turns were a bit more of a balancing act because the sidecar wheel was sprung you had to learn exactly at what point it would lose contact with the ground and turn you back into a bike that required balance.

The advantage of a traditional one-wheel-forward, two-behind trike was that it was ALWAYS a vehicle you pointed where you wanted to go. It didn't lean (meaning you had an equal chance of going off the left side of the road), but at least it was easier to think of it as being a vehicle rather than a bike. With one wheel in front and two behind they were not the most stable of platforms, considering that rear track was pretty narrow and the high CG didn't help matters a bit. You couldn't lean very far over, and it did little good, since your weight shift had little effect on the dynamics of the much heavier machine. Add to that a rather heavy axle and a soft set of rear springs, and you could see why the police used them for parking meter duty rather than pursuit.

Now a three wheeler in which the single wheel is in the rear is only slightly better - but if you can lower that CG by putting the engine in front or behind the rider, you solve a LOT of problems.


Photo courtesy of the German Morgan Owners Club

Perhaps the most famous "trike" was the Morgan three-wheeler manufactured from the teens to the early thirties in England. The Super Sports models (1929-1939) were usually powered by a long-stroke 950cc V-twin J.A.P. (J.A. Prestwich) motorcycle engine driving the front wheels and owing to their low CG, good balance, and light weight were known as outstanding handlers; often beating much larger 4-wheelers in club racing.

Later editions from the mid '30's through the war were based on 4 cylinder automotive engines, but the company, damaged by post-war economics in Europe never really brought back the three-wheelers after 1947. Since that time Morgan, after going through a number of reorganizations over the years still produces some of the best handling hand-built cars in the world.

Today, three-wheelers are enjoying a resurgence in popularity among EV's not necessarily because they reduce rolling resistance and the weight and complexity of a differential gearset and suspension, but because in several states they can be licensed as a MOTORCYCLE and do not have to conform to the stringent requirements for registration as an automobile.


Photo courtesy www.aptera.com

The Aptera is probably one of the closest to production, albeit in small quantities. It is to be available first as a hybrid, then shortly as an all-electric vehicle. There is some pretty good engineering and ergos here, and although manufacturing is probably going to be pretty crude, it is a beginning.

bagwell

I'd take this over a traditional motorcycle any day!

How much will the Aptera cost?
The approximate price for the all electric version is $26,900 and the plug-in hybrid $29,900. These prices are subject to change any time before we begin production.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Which means they won't meet side impact requirements or rollover requirements, won't require the same level of emissions control, and won't be required to meet basic crash testing standards. All of these things reduce cost dramatically and increase risk to the occupants.

Yes, I'm actually quite familiar with driving on three wheels and I've seen lots of past efforts to build three wheel vehicles. Racing sidecars (worms) have a lot of advantages because it is possible to get the CG very low. This is not true for road going vehicles, and the Aptera is a perfect example. In order to drive this vehicle successfully and comply with new Federal requirements, they'll need to add stability controls which would prevent tip-over, and would ultimately limit the vehicle's handling.

Sorry, I'm just not seeing it as "better" when it is inherently less safe than four wheels.

And please spare me the obvious safety arguments. I've held a motorcycle road racing license and competed on two wheels, so I'm not just being "fearful."

Lil4X

No, most of this generation of high efficiency hybrids and EV's are really just rolling test beds - so let early adopters beware. If you are willing to be a guinea pig for new technology, you may find yourself a canary in a coal mine. Some of these new EV's like the Aptera have pretty serious CG issues, particularly with the battery and powertrain weight carried fairly high in the structure. I certainly agree that inside something like the Aptera is about the last place I'd want to be when contending for a narrow lane with an oncoming Suburban or garbage truck.

But in fairness, these are not racing or sports cars, despite the presence of two seats and some pretty zoomey styling. They are studies in producible highly fuel efficient transportation pods that will get two adults and a couple of overnight bags, briefcases, or grocery bags about 100 miles on a gallon of gas or equivalent energy. These restrictions don't allow for a lot of smoky burnouts, trail braking and apex clipping. That's going to be the biggest change in the EV transition, a change in thinking of driving as sport to one of responsible consumption with safety. That, I fear is many years away.

bagwell

geez - as I said elsewhere -- we all know tanks are safer than motorcycles....

from the Aptera website...

SAFETY

How safe is the Aptera? What about the body strength?


With safety being our top priority, we have raised our standard beyond the requirements of a typical passenger car. Nothing is normal or standard for the Aptera so why should we stick to "normal" safety standards? For example, the Typ-1 roof is designed to EXCEED rollover strength requirements spelled out in FMVSS(Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) 216 for passenger cars. The doors also far EXCEED mandated strength requirements for passenger cars as does our 45" frontal impact deflection and crumple zone. We decided not just to meet many of the requirements for passenger cars, but we chose to exceed them. Industry safety standards are very different for passenger cars and motorcycles; we are choosing to go well beyond the industry safety standard for passenger cars so Aptera drivers can feel safe in any driving situation.



What are some of the safety features unique to the Aptera?

The Aptera's composite safety cage is similar to Formula-1 cars. Our "Eyes Forward" vision system allows for 180 degree rear sight. There is a display panel in the driver's field of view which enhances situational awareness allowing you to keep your eyes on the road. The over-sized LED turn indicators located on the rear and side of the vehicle are easy for other drivers to see, adding greatly to the night and day visibility of the Aptera.



How stable is the Aptera? Can the Aptera easily roll-over?

Unlike many 3-wheel vehicle designs that were abandoned in the 80's due to their instability the Aptera has two wheels in the front and a single rear wheel eliminating any tendency to roll-over. The Aptera also features traction control, a low center of gravity and a wide track width which makes for a very stable platform that increases cornering stability without sacrificing performance.



Will it be possible to turn off the airbag on the passenger side when you have a child on board?

Yes, this will be standard on all Aptera's.



What if an object hits the underside of the vehicle, will I be safe?

The Aptera's monocoque construction or structural skin provides 360 degree protection for the occupants. Monocoque construction was first widely used in the aircraft industry, starting in the 1930's.



Since the Aptera is classified as a motorcycle, do you have to wear a helmet or get an endorsement on my license?

You are not required to wear a helmet to drive the Aptera, nor is an endorsement on your drivers license required. Anything in the state of CA with three wheels does not require a motorcycle license and enclosed vehicles with three wheels do not require the use of a helmet. All this and you also get to drive in the HOV lanes!


a blip about emissions ----
Why aren't you using a diesel engine in the hybrid?

Due to the way diesel emissions are calculated (emissions per gallon instead of emissions per mile); it's proven impossible for us to find a suitable small Diesel engine that passes California emissions. That's why we're using a very clean, efficient, and small gasoline engine that will make the Aptera emissions friendly.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

^^I love the marketing department. They say all kinds of neat stuff. Then they leave it to the techies to make what they promised a reality.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

OK, thanks, but I still wonder how many kWh's are consumed when recharging that vehicle over night for 6 hours. I imagine a bunch. Let's just say 10A at 220V for 6 hours. Watts = Volts x Amps, so that's 2200W constant for 6 hours so that's 13.2kWh's per night. At perhaps 10c/kWh that's only $1.32 overnight. So 100 miles for $1.32 seems great. That's like 300mpg in equivalent $!

Lil4X

Don't forget though that a load of 13.2 KWH consumed by the charger won't put 13.2 KWH into the battery, nor will you be able to extract 13.2 KWH in output. You are going to lose a lot making heat either way.

According to some resources, lead acid batteries give back about 90% of their charge when worked lightly, but in deep cycle operation, such as in PV power systems, golf carts and EV's, when current draw can be heavy, that efficiency falls to just over 50%. This deserves more investigation, but not at this hour of the night . . .