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+--- Thread: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread (/thread-4986.html)
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - ElwoodBlues1 - 06-01-2023
(06-01-2023, 02:49 PM)spf link Wrote:Get yourself a Ford Transit van. Very environmentally friendly, they often sit on the side of the road not working at all. Saves on the emissions.Very popular with the Van life movement are Ford Transits...
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - LP - 06-02-2023
Why stop at the Ford, might as well go all the way to a Combi!
I notice there is a maker movement converting these old vans to electric, sort of misses the point, the whole idea was they run on the smell and can go to anywhere you could buy a jerry of diesel off a farmer and at dirt cheap overheads. Once converted to electric will they take a genie and a 44 of diesel with them to recharge?
Electric vans sort of become the motoring version of coins in the electricity meter!
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - LP - 06-02-2023
Very very interesting developments surfacing in the hydrogen economy this week, Caltech has developed a new type of solar panel, but instead of generating electricity it generates hydrogen and other useful chemicals or compounds directly from the air. Technically it's a form of synthetic photosynthesis. Basically it takes CO[sub]2[/sub] and other gases from the air, and breaks reduces them to then form more desirable compounds in SolarSynthesis
The Moonshot for Caltech is to produce Aviation Fuel directly from the air, a completely circular process.
At the moment, the lab scale tests have the efficiency at nearly 20%, that is pretty much the same as SolarPV. The SolarSynthesis technology is based on silicon, so the expectation is that it will scale according to SolarPV.
If this is true no wonder Twiggy Forrest got out of Cannon-Brookes sun cable scheme! You can just make hydrogen and ship it via conventional pre-existing means to wherever you need the energy.
Who'd have thunk mimicking nature was a good idea? :o
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - kruddler - 06-02-2023
(06-02-2023, 03:57 AM)LP link Wrote:Very very interesting developments surfacing in the hydrogen economy this week, Caltech has developed a new type of solar panel, but instead of generating electricity it generates hydrogen and other useful chemicals or compounds directly from the air. Technically it's a form of synthetic photosynthesis. Basically it takes CO[sub]2[/sub] and other gases from the air, and breaks reduces them to then form more desirable compounds in SolarSynthesis
The Moonshot for Caltech is to produce Aviation Fuel directly from the air, a completely circular process.
At the moment, the lab scale tests have the efficiency at nearly 20%, that is pretty much the same as SolarPV. The SolarSynthesis technology is based on silicon, so the expectation is that it will scale according to SolarPV.
If this is true no wonder Twiggy Forrest got out of Cannon-Brookes sun cable scheme! You can just make hydrogen and ship it via conventional pre-existing means to wherever you need the energy.
Who'd have thunk mimicking nature was a good idea? :o
Isn't solar more around 30-35% efficiency?
If what you say is true though, THAT is the type of green energy we should work towards.
Kills 2 birds with 1 stone, eliminating CO2, while providing oxygen and essentially power.
Of course.....we could just plant trees.....or better yet, algae. It produces more O2 than trees, and takes up less space in doing so. Has other benefits as well. Not sure how well it scales globally, but it doesn't have to be a standalone fix in itself....just part of a combination of fixes.
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - LP - 06-02-2023
(06-02-2023, 06:02 AM)kruddler date Wrote:Isn't solar more around 30-35% efficiency?In the lab they are in the Mid to high 20s for short term solutions, but commercially and residential long life installations is low 20s.
There may be some thin film collapsible SolarPV systems that are above 20%, but they are not based on 24x7 operation, there are some R&D Solar EVs that are at or above 30% but the longevity is again low, less than 12 months.
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - spf - 06-03-2023
(06-01-2023, 10:23 PM)ElwoodBlues1 link Wrote:Very popular with the Van life movement are Ford Transits...
I would imagine they would be, once you breakdown you can camp there. If they ask you to move, well, you can legitimately say it doesn't drive. If they tow you to a mechanic, the repair bills are so expensive you will end up camping out the front of the mechanics for years. Solve the rental crisis and emissions all at once.
You have to hand it to Ford, they really are ahead of their time.
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - ElwoodBlues1 - 06-03-2023
(06-03-2023, 08:48 AM)spf link Wrote:I would imagine they would be, once you breakdown you can camp there. If they ask you to move, well, you can legitimately say it doesn't drive. If they tow you to a mechanic, the repair bills are so expensive you will end up camping out the front of the mechanics for years. Solve the rental crisis and emissions all at once.Fords service and support is woeful, if it wasnt for the Ranger they would go the way of Holden in this country.
You have to hand it to Ford, they really are ahead of their time.
Transits rust out badly and have a lot of cooling system issues but are popular for Van Builds as they have good headroom.
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - cookie2 - 06-03-2023
(06-03-2023, 08:59 AM)ElwoodBlues1 link Wrote:Fords service and support is woeful, if it wasnt for the Ranger they would go the way of Holden in this country.
Transits rust out badly and have a lot of cooling system issues but are popular for Van Builds as they have good headroom.
I have only owned one Ford in over 40 years. It was an old EA wagon which I bought as a bit of a working hack. It suited that job but I would not have trusted it to do a long trip. Eventually the motor blew up, The bodywork was pretty tatty and rattly by that time.
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - ElwoodBlues1 - 06-03-2023
(06-03-2023, 09:37 AM)cookie2 link Wrote:I have only owned one Ford in over 40 years. It was an old EA wagon which I bought as a bit of a working hack. It suited that job but I would not have trusted it to do a long trip. Eventually the motor blew up, The bodywork was pretty tatty and rattly by that time.We had an EB Falcon sedan , drove really well and the seats were comfy but it went the way of all Fords of that generation and blew the headgasket twice. Wasn't a bad car to work on but everything just fell apart ..
Re: The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread - Thryleon - 06-03-2023
Had an XE and an EF.
Both were good cars, the former was bought just after I was born, the latter was my upgrade when it died when I was 20. I drove the EF Until 2008, when the transmission was going. At the time was doing lots of city driving and parking so bought a 08 Mondeo diesel as I was going long distances on weekends.
Mondeo is still going and touch wood is still reliable enough, but im starting to look for an upgrade. It's had its time. It could keep going a few years but will need some money im not sure is worth spending.