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pseudo plug in?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by psikot, Oct 25, 2007.

  1. psikot

    psikot New Member

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    i know it would be overkill and wierd but would it be possible to set up rotating wheels below the ground to spin in the opposite direction, so when the car was driven onto them and the ground wheels would regenerate the battery? pseudo PEHV?
     
  2. D0li0

    D0li0 New Member

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    While I'm not quite sure exactly what you're describing keep in mind that there are no "free lunches" in the realm of physics/natural law. Conservation of energy dictates that if such a system were capable of capturing substantial quantities of energy from the motion of a vehicle that the vehicle would be required to expend more energy to accomplish the same amount of work. So no, generators on the wheels, no wind mills, etc, etc... The best solution is to waste as little of the original energy as possible by using the most efficient technologies available. Turns out that plugging into recharge a battery is the most efficient, furthermore electricity can be generated from a variety of localized sustainable sources such as wind and PV. Even when generated from a centralized coal plant it turns out that using that power in an EV/PHEV is cleaner than our gas cars.
     
  3. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I think you are talking about a motorised roller built into the floor, it would be cheaper to make a charger and connections to the battery. The range of the standard battery is very small and would make it uneconomical to charge it from mains power.