• Austin Community To Become A Volt Village To Test GM Electric Cars' Impact On Grid
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[img]http://i.imgur.com/joQAo.jpg[/img] [quote]Talk about high Volt-age. [b]A neighborhood in Austin, Texas, designed to be a test bed for green technologies and that, according to General Motors, boasts the highest concentration of electric cars in the U.S. will become a laboratory for how the vehicles and their drivers interact with a smart power grid, homes and renewable energy systems.[/b] General Motors has initially made 100 of its plug-in electric hybrid Chevrolet Volts available for purchase by the 1,000 residents of the Mueller development and more than half have been sold so far, according to a company representative. GM and its OnStar subsidiary on Tuesday announced a collaboration with an R&D organization called Pecan Street that is managing various sustainability initiatives in the Mueller neighborhood, which was built on the site of a closed municipal airport. Members of the Pecan Street consortia include the University of Texas, utility Austin Energy, Austin Technology Incubator, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Environmental Defense Fund. OnStar started out in 1996 as a wireless service for Cadillac owners that provided driving directions and emergency assistance but is now morphing into an interface between electric cars and the grid. As part of the alliance with Pecan Street, OnStar will make its smart grid interface available so researchers can develop new services and gather data on driver and vehicle behavior. “We hope Pecan Street’s research will speed up the innovation cycle around smart grid and consumer electronic technology,” Brewster McCracken,” Pecan Street’s executive director, said in statement. “Electric vehicles represent a significant addition to home’s energy profile and understanding that impact and how consumers use and charge their vehicles is critically important.” OnStar will allow researchers to develop services such as demand-response that would allow drivers that sign up to let the utility control when their Volt is charged to minimize the impact on the grid in exchange for receiving a lower electricity rate or other incentives. If a utility offers variable electricity rates, OnStar can notify drivers by e-mail and tell the Volt to begin charging its battery when prices are cheaper. Pecan Street researchers can also use OnStar to control charging of all the Volts in the Mueller neighborhood. Called “aggregated services,” this would allow a utility to balance demand on the grid as well as activate charging when renewable energy is flowing into the grid from wind farms or solar arrays. About a third of Mueller homes have rooftop solar systems. “We are moving our lab demonstrations into the real world,” Nick Pudar, OnStar’s vice president for strategy and business development, said in a statement. “We’re gathering information from families’ vehicles throughout this community to find out the direct impact the Volt has on the grid and how to get drivers the lowest-possible charging rates. This project will also help us develop future capabilities of the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles.”[/quote] [url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/07/24/austin-community-to-become-a-volt-village-to-test-gm-electric-cars-impact-on-grid/[/url] With NRG also spending something like 10 million dollars to pop up charging stations all over Houston, It looks like Texas is quickly becoming one of the biggest markets for electric vehicles. Who woulda thunk it? I wish the Volt's didn't suck, though. I hear they have a problem with spontaneous combustion.
Volt's a piece of shit.
[QUOTE=Amplar;37040074]Volt's a piece of shit.[/QUOTE] Volt is better than every other electric car right now. Hell it even looks like a car, unlike the leaf which looks like they just threw clay on a piece of paper and added wheels to it.
[QUOTE=Amplar;37040074]Volt's a piece of shit.[/QUOTE] Just wait 10-20 years for price of fuel to go up. Then say you don't want to spend money that piece of shit. I know my next car is going to be a Electric car. [i]I'll be waiting[/i]
It's strange. Whenever I see a volt it's usually hauling ass down the highway. I see quite a lot of them though. Give them a few more years and they'll be as common as Prius. Though I wish there were more decent options than just the Volt. If I'm going to buy an EV I want one that looks like a normal car. That's why I'm excited for the Tesla models. Hopefully more options will come available in the future.
[QUOTE=Amplar;37040074]Volt's a piece of shit.[/QUOTE] I like the Volt. First electric car I'd actually want to drive. You could at the very least say why it's a piece of shit.
[QUOTE=Aide;37040121]Just wait 10-20 years for price of fuel to go up. Then say you don't want to spend money that piece of shit. I know my next car is going to be a Electric car. [i]I'll be waiting[/i][/QUOTE] I'm not giving up my combustion engines even if gasoline is $20 a gallon.
[QUOTE=Aide;37040121]Just wait 10-20 years for price of fuel to go up. Then say you don't want to spend money that piece of shit. I know my next car is going to be a Electric car. [i]I'll be waiting[/i][/QUOTE] He never said anything about electric cars being shit, he said the volts shit. There's good cars and bad cars, and electric cars don't magically escape that.
Volt's are beautiful cars, anyone who says otherwise is dumb and I hate you
It is definitely interesting to see electric cars gaining ground in this city. I saw a single electric refill station in a parking lot to a grocery store in Austin and it seems incredible that they are actually starting to become a bit more mainstream.
[QUOTE=Amplar;37040074]Volt's a piece of shit.[/QUOTE] how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp] [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] oh and the battery dies in 10 years if you use a normal house outlet, 5 if you use a GE(or other brand) quick charger
Water plus basically any element from the lithium family will light on fire if it comes into contact with water.
[QUOTE=meppers;37040217]how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp] [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] oh and the battery dies in 10 years if you use a normal house outlet, 5 if you use a GE(or other brand) quick charger[/QUOTE] I seriously doubt a flaw like that would get past. If that danger actually exists there is likely a water proof container around the battery or some other protection. Otherwise what would happen in the rain? Also 5 or 10 years doesn't sound that bad for a battery life. Batteries aren't generally that expensive (for car parts) and even on cars today you have a good chance you will need replace the battery in that time.
[QUOTE=meppers;37040217]how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp][/QUOTE] I don't know, do any of your cars with gas engines normally catch on fire on impact? I mean, really, they wouldn't be able to sell the thing if it was that dangerous. They've probably waterproofed and fireproofed the battery up to an extreme temperature range. It's a given that these vehicles are going to be wrecked, lots of cars are every day and there's no way to stop it. In an extreme situation it might be able to happen but it probably won't. Technically a fuel tank + fire can equal an explosion anyways.
[QUOTE=meppers;37040217]how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp] [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] oh and the battery dies in 10 years if you use a normal house outlet, 5 if you use a GE(or other brand) quick charger[/QUOTE] As far as I know, the lithium wouldn't explode like a bomb. It would just be a huge fire
[QUOTE=meppers;37040217]how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp] [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] oh and the battery dies in 10 years if you use a normal house outlet, 5 if you use a GE(or other brand) quick charger[/QUOTE] 10 years is a long time for a battery...... [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] Also there's lithium ion phone batteries, does that mean that if I drop my phone into water it explodes? (answer is no)
[QUOTE=MightyMax;37040163]I'm not giving up my combustion engines even if gasoline is $20 a gallon.[/QUOTE] Ahahahaha when it actually IS $20 a gallon we'll see if you'll stick to your statement.
[QUOTE=Valnar;37040275]I seriously doubt a flaw like that would get past. If that danger actually exists there is likely a water proof container around the battery or some other protection. Otherwise what would happen in the rain? Also 5 or 10 years doesn't sound that bad for a battery life. Batteries aren't generally that expensive (for car parts) and even on cars today you have a good chance you will need replace the battery in that time.[/QUOTE] Electric car batteries are not the same as the battery in your car. They are much larger and much more expensive. [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] But they're working on that bit.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;37040120]Volt is better than every other electric car right now.[/QUOTE]cough tesla cough
I'm reading review for the volt and everyone is acting like there will be mass riots or something when gas hits $7.00 a gallon in the U.S. lol what morons
[QUOTE=OvB;37040328]Electric car batteries are not the same as the battery in your car. They are much larger and much more expensive. [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] But they're working on that bit.[/QUOTE] Still, its a part that he said that currently has a lifetime of 5-10 years. It would have to be pretty damn expensive to make that to be a major detractor to it. Especially since they are probably still improving the technology of the battery a lot.
[QUOTE=Amez;37040324]Ahahahaha when it actually IS $20 a gallon we'll see if you'll stick to your statement.[/QUOTE] Not to mention that we subsidize the hell out of gas (compared to European prices, which I heard are ~3x our prices). If we didn't, I'm sure there would be an even bigger push toward electrics.
I'm in the market to buy an electric or hybrid vehicle in the next month or two. I looked at Volt because I personally think it looks pretty sweet, but then I couldn't believe the 41 thousand dollar price tag with absolutely zero government rebate. I mean yeah this is Canada where cars are more expensive, but really? 41 grand for an electric vehicle? I won't save enough in gas/maintenance to warrant that price tag compared to a hybrid priced at 25-30K.
Volt is a neat car, I did a report on it, and I test drove it. I considered it when I was buying a new car, I went with the cruze eco instead. The volt price tag may seem scary at first, but there are so many rebates that you can get. The car is about $40,000, but the government gives you ~7,500. The with the dealer promotions you can get another ~$5,000, especially if you trade in a gas guzzler. I could trade in my 1999 grand prix and get a Volt for about $27,000.
The only thing holding me back from recommending electric cars at this moment is that there's no fueling stations. In New York, the outer boroughs have next to no fueling sites, and I live in an apartment- I'm not sure my building's garage has outlets. Only in Manhattan are there charger stations. Even in the areas where I may be going to college and grad school, there aren't many. Yes, that could change in the next year or so, but right now owning an electric car would be a bitch. It's interesting to see how this experiment will play out, perhaps the findings will go towards making more chargers a thing. If the power drain isn't extreme, it could convince cities to install more sites.
[QUOTE=Arachnidus;37040826]The only thing holding me back from recommending electric cars at this moment is that there's no fueling stations. In New York, the outer boroughs have next to no fueling sites, and I live in an apartment- I'm not sure my building's garage has outlets. Only in Manhattan are there charger stations. Even in the areas where I may be going to college and grad school, there aren't many. Yes, that could change in the next year or so, but right now owning an electric car would be a bitch. It's interesting to see how this experiment will play out, perhaps the findings will go towards making more chargers a thing. If the power drain isn't extreme, it could convince cities to install more sites.[/QUOTE] The volt has a gas generator on board for when you need it.
[QUOTE=meppers;37040217]how to drive a volt in 5 easy steps: 1. start engine 2. get hit by another car 3. fuel for gas generator catches fire 4. firemen arrive 5. firemen cant put out fire because water+lithium ion = bomb [sp]i wasn't the one who made this up, is this true?[/sp] [editline]1st August 2012[/editline] oh and the battery dies in 10 years if you use a normal house outlet, 5 if you use a GE(or other brand) quick charger[/QUOTE] Lithium does not react with water EIDT: I'M FUCKING STUPID LOL
I can't see myself driving a electric car, I love the roar of a big v8 and even the nice hum of a v6. I can't see a car engine being almost completely quiet when it goes
[QUOTE=MightyMax;37040163]I'm not giving up my combustion engines even if gasoline is $20 a gallon.[/QUOTE] Yeah you will. Also you are a great person for not thinking about the environment.
The oil mavericks of Texas are probably pissed off at this. But hey, at least this is for science!
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