Test driving a fossil fuel car

Linked below is a tongue-in-cheek test drive of a fossil fuel car, by a Swedish Tesla electric vehicle (EV) owner. Some of the humour may be lost if you aren’t familiar with EVs in general, or Teslas in particular, so a few points to note:

● it is not necessary to start a Tesla — sit in the driver’s seat with the “key” — select drive (which releases the hand brake) — go
● similarly, no need to turn a Tesla off — shift to park/engage hand brake, get out, lock — if preferred, let the Tesla lock itself
● EVs use the electric motor to generate electricity when the accelerator is released — this produces a braking effect — in the Tesla, the braking effect is quite strong & the brake lights are activated — use of the mechanical brakes is generally necessary only for coming to a complete stop, or in an emergency
● owners routinely charge their EVs overnight, at home, at little cost
● Tesla have installed free-to-use, ultra-fast chargers (Superchagers) to facilitate cross-country travel
● electric motors have only one moving part, while fossil fuel engines have hundreds
● in practice, fossil fuel engines use approximately 20% of the energy in fuel to propel the vehicle — the remainder is lost as heat — EVs use approximately 90% of the energy in the battery to move the vehicle
● Tesla sells its cars through Tesla-owned stores, rather than independently owned dealerships

Fossil-fueled test drive
http://teslaclubsweden.se/test-drive-of-a-petrol-car/

Thanks to Canberra EV for the link. / Tesla Model S electric vehicle EV battery internal combustion engine ICE battery LiIon lithium ion charge charger recharge Supercharger efficient inefficient /

Tesla’s Power Wall

Fundamental to existing electricity supply around the world is “base load”, mainly provided by fossil &/or nuclear. Norway is an exception, with 99% of electric power provided by hydro*.

Hydo & geothermal excepted, renewable sources of electrical energy are intermittent: solar when the Sun shines, wind only when it blows.

All of the above notwithstanding, some claim that base load is an outdated concept. They reason that a modern grid, of continental scale, can be used to supply power from the places where the Sun is shining &/or the wind is blowing to the places where little or no power is being generated. E.g. Professor Mark Diesendorf, at the University of New South Wales claims that all of Australia’s electricity needs can be supplied with wind & solar, existing hydro, plus 6% from bio-fuelled gas turbines. In such a mix, the bio-fuelled gas turbines would be filling the peak demand function which fossil-fueled gas turbines fulfil in the existing Australian & other grids.

If it turns out that base load is required for a sustainable power grid, there are a few possibilities, including:

● Ambri utility-scale aluminium storage battery

● Repurposed used electric vehicle batteries

● Tesla has just announced its range of power storage batteries for domestic, businesses & power utility use:

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/05/tesla-powerwall-a-battery-for-your-home/

Tesla Power Wall press kit
http://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy

Should you get a Tesla Power Wall?
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/get-tesla-home-battery-let-physics-explain/
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* “Renewable energy in Norway” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Norway / 20 trillion kWh energy power supply energy nuclear power plant fossil fuel transportation electricity production USA electric power sector carbon dioxide CO2 EPA forest environmental damage electricity grid fossil fuels sustainable renewable energy sources power consumption dirtiest power generation resources cleaner smaller more resilient energy grid Tesla Energy homes businesses utilities fostering clean energy ecosystem fossil fuel energy innovation company Tesla Energy zero emission power generation Tesla Energy, Tesla move away from fossil fuels sustainable energy Tesla batteries store sustainable renewable energy manage power demand backup power increase grid resilience renewable power partners deploy storage on the grid improve resiliency cleanliness grid Tesla Powerwall rechargeable lithium-ion battery store energy residential level load shifting backup power self-consumption solar power generation Powerwall Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack liquid thermal control system software dispatch commands solar inverter integrated with the local grid harness excess power load shifting financial savings charging during low rate periods demand for electricity lower discharging more expensive rate periods electricity demand is higher increasing self-consumption rooftop roof top solar power generation store surplus solar energy generated back-up power outage Powerwall grid outages solar grid backup power optimized solar power Powerwall cost benefits installers load shifting mounting wall mounted indoor outdoor inverter energy continuous power peak power round trip efficiency warranty Powerwall distribution Treehouse sustainable home improvement store Fronius Symo Hybrid inverter photovoltaic PV reduces overall system cost SolarEdge Green Mountain Power powertrain Tesla electric vehicle Tesla energy storage systems consumption avoid peak demand charges power outage Amazon Target Jackson Family Wines EnerNOC Tesla Energy for Utilities Advanced Microgrid Solutions OnCor Southern California Edison Edison Energy Edison International AES /

Do you have enough time?

Really?

Linked below is an article that develops the idea that widespread claims of not having enough time are motivated by a range of ulterior motives, including, avoiding more tasks/social engagements, inflating the speakers importance, etc.

Lots of interesting ideas in the comments, too.

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/03/brigid_schulte_s_overwhelmed_and_our_epidemic_of_busyness.html / too busy proud but exasperated tone desperately trying to assistant I work roughly 100 hours a week getting more and more behind I am simply unable to keep up demands on my time handle more requests push folks away do the work that I do art of busyness convey genuine alarm at the pace of your life helpless resignation completely on top of your game humble brags overwhelmed work love play no one has the time cultural epidemic the overwhelm working adults always behind always late one more thing and one more thing and one more thing to do conference call mounds of unfolded laundry waking up in a 2 a.m. panic to-do list friends crazy all the time busyness deep in the overwhelm doing too many things no sense of distinct phases researchers contaminated time women are more susceptible what needs to get done time pressure free or leisure time time serenity flow time use diaries squeezing out any free time time squeeze brag about it disease holiday letters anthropological record words phrases hectic whirlwind consumed crazy on the run way too fast meta-busy phase busyness working at the speed of light launch ourselves through the day breakneck speed busyness work three jobs mark of social status checklists competing about being busy showing status if you’re busy, you’re important full and worthy life busyness Schulte John Robinson sociologist Father Time collecting time use diaries American Time Use Surveys antidote overwhelm meditate vacation breathe walk in nature to-do list feeling oppressively busy busy created host of personal and social ills unnecessary stress exhaustion bad decision-making ideal worker available at all times grateful to be busy insane schedules Silicon Valley entrepreneur diaries paradox free time virtue empty time busy trap redundant obsolete time use diary free time she lying in bed exercising playing backgammon working mother leisure time write review contaminated time repairman fix the washing machine skipped email work breakfast being mindful living in the moment being present to-do list how busy you are /

Sent from my Apple Watch

We’ve all seen emails with a signature line: “Sent from my iPhone”, “Sent from Samsung” etc. Just now, sighted for the first time, an email with a, “Sent from my Apple Watch”, signature line. / smartphone smart phone signature line e-mail email iPad tablet Android iOS device /

What you need to know before buying a Chromebox

Chromeboxes have lots of ports
Credit: kitguru.net

Web browsing, email, word processing, photo storage & video fulfil almost all of the computing needs of many people. This is the target audience of Chrome OS.

Chromebooks are the best known implementation of Chrome OS, but Chromeboxes constitute another. A Chromebox is attached to my TV for Netflix, Youtube & other video.

http://www.omgchrome.com/know-buying-chromebox/

http://androidpcreview.com/chromebox-buying-guide-find-best-chromebox/1899/ / buying Chromebox inexpensive little PC casual computing needs first-class security receive free software upgrades fixes new features Chromeboxes HP ASUS Chromebox replace Windows tower PC energy-efficient kiosk computer signage driver Chromeboxes use cases fantastic buy HD video editing software Chrome OS Internet access computer pros and cons Chrome OS hardware supply keyboard mouse Chromeboxes main PC unit power supply cable manual keep costs down compatible favourite keyboard mouse set Bluetooth USB-powered peripherals Chromeboxes bundles Chrome keyboard mouse Dell wired USB keyboard Chromeboxes monitor screen compatible current generation Chromeboxes full-sized HDMI out port full-sized DisplayPort out monitor VGA DVI Chrome PC DisplayPort-to-VGA HDMI-to-VGA adapter monitor cable keyboards ASUS Hewlett Packard HP LG Chromebase all-in-one Chrome OS PC computer built-in speakers keyboard mouse set hardware processor faster storage upgrade components dual-core Intel Celeron Haswell 2995U 2957U processor running at 1.4GHz CPU integrated graphics performance cost energy efficiency Intel Core i3 processor Intel Core i5 i7 benchmarks Celeron CPUs performance graphics integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 HD multimedia content immersive games memory RAM 4 GB 4GB RAM tabs operating system add extra RAM memory upgrades SO-DIMM slot Acer CXI Dell Chromebox memory modules soldered motherboard void warranty 204-pin SODIMM DDR3L @ 1600 MHz DDR3L PC3-12800 eMMC flash storage compatible M2 SATA III SSD 100GB free online Google Drive storage supports external USB hard drives thumb drives flash drive SD card MTP ports connectivity connecting devices monitors USB 3.0 full-size HDMI Out full-size DisplayPort 4x USB 3.0 full-size SD card slot Gigabit Ethernet Audio in/out jack built-in Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0 LE small these things are inexpensive secure PC Chromebox /

Next breakthrough in solar technology costs

Developments in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells:

● inexpensive, polycrystalline, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with 19% efficiency
● double-layer PV panels which utilize different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in each layer
● rear contact technology which increases the area available for energy collection at the front

Together, it is expected that that these developments will lead to cells with 26%+ efficiency. Using current dimensions, this will result in panels rated at 420 Watts.

Installation, including cabling, connection, racking & labour, is a substantial fraction of the total cost of PV, particularly roof-top. Fewer larger capacity panels are required for a given generating capacity, driving down installation costs & total cost of a PV system.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/4/29/solar-energy/next-breakthrough-solar-technology-costs?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1316563&utm_campaign=cs_daily&modapt= / SunPower world PV panel efficiency 24% efficient cells best solar panels highest efficiency solar panels cost quite a bit more 50% commodity panels produced market leaders Trina Yingli REC ultra-high efficiency panels reduce installation costs real-estate per unit production product high sticker price SunPower Sanyo multilayer multi-junction panel HITs heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer Panasonic leading lithium-ion battery technology market leading solar technology Panasonic’s HIT panels SunPower product efficiency laboratory HITs efficiency in excess of 25% Panasonic manufacture latest HITs panels cost effective price SunPower Panasonic technologies Trina efficiency record over 19% efficiency using inexpensive solar cell polycrystalline cell Trina expects to mass produce SunPower substantial efficiency gains existing single layer technology cutting edge research single layer panels hitting diminishing returns percentage point of efficiency below UNSW laboratory record single layer silicon cell efficiency sell homeowners roof Panasonic’s HIT technology SunPower’s more scope efficiency gains add another PV layer capture energy from another part of the electromagnetic spectrum Panasonic’s exclusive patents on HIT technology will run out soon US start-up Natcore institutional research efforts high efficiency PV cell SunPower Panasonic’s HIT technology Natcore panel suppliers HIT technology push efficiencies single-layer technology developers projects SunEdison high-pressure fluidised bed reactor HP-FBR technology reduce the energy required most energy-intensive manufacturing PV cells 90% solar industry combine continued trend high efficiency polycrystalline cells Trina developed rear contact technology SunPower front-contacts front of the cells HIT technology 26%-27% efficient cells regular sized panels pumping out 420W available solar displacing fossil fuels 15% efficient 26-27% efficiency cheapest energy source ongoing cost reductions in the hardware reduction labour cost per watt installed less physical panel installed per Watt dominate total installation costs paying 35c/W 420W 250W panel staying the same size labour cost of installation reduces 20c/W substantial saving less cables fixings less racking 5-10c/W CEC accredited installation accreditation licensed electrical contractors trade qualified installers multi-layer panel HIT thin-film silicon technology perovskites researchers rear contact technology low temperature polysilicon processing very cheap solar commodity suppliers incremental improvements polycrystalline processes lowering costs adding another layer Australian government Australian solar industry develop commercialise install next generation of solar power /

Iron Man’s head speaks

Credit: Brando/The Gadgeteer

Bluetooth speaker in the shape of a full scale model of Iron Man’s head. 10 out of 10 for cool, but at $US449, there have to be many better options.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2015/04/26/iron-man-sings-all-your-favorite-tunes/ / buy Bluetooth speaker life sized replica Iron Man’s head MARVEL Iron Man Mark XLIII 1:1 Scale Bluetooth Speaker from Brando plays your favorite tunes via Bluetooth USB flash drive 3.5mm audio cable pair it with your Bluetooth enabled mobile device load up selection MP3 files USB Flash drive directly pre-order shipment scheduled May 1:1 scale replica Iron Man’s head Tony Stark’s head pre-order /