What Aren't We All Using Electric Cars? Check Out The Cool New TWIZY!

I look for new developments in electric cars all the time, and found something interesting today - The Twizy.

They have a really cool marketing plan too, which is how I found this. They are having a contest to get kids in Universities to design color schemes. Vote For Your Favorite HERE! I voted for the one below from Rachel Smith at University of Huddersfield.

Here Are My Design Notes:

• Spare Tire? - They don't mention if you get a spare... Maybe under the seat!
• Battery Replacements - Recommended every 36 months, 13,500 miles. Couldn't find replacement cost.
• Cool doors! - they also have a water proof blanket to wear inside the car, which suggests it comes without doors too.
• Storage - not sure on this one... is it enough to get some groceries? 50 Liters... I would like to see more storage area...
• 50 miles per hour - pretty good. We would have to get it licensed here in the states because it has 4 wheels.
• Weight - 450 kg (990 pounds). This includes the 100 kg batteries (220 pounds)
• $9,000 Price Tag (approx.) - would you pay that much?
• Charge 3.5 hours for 6 hours use - 10 amps/220 volts* - Let's get into this!

*Cost Analysis For Electric Use:

Note:

• Volts times Amps = Watts
• 1000 watts = 1 KW
• 1 KW used in 1 hour is 1 kWh

It uses 10 amps with a 220 volt connection, which means 2,200 kWh used per charge. With 3.5 hours of charging, that's 7,700 kWh total per charge. In 2007, the average American household used just 936 kWh/mo. (DOE) If you live in America, this is represents a huge increase in electric use.

Cost: 1 kWh costs less than 10 cents where I live. $0.10/kWh is $77 for 6 hours of driving. Driving a car for 6 hours at 50 miles per hour is 300 miles. This matches maximum speed and hours of use for the Twizy. With 30 miles per gallon, you would need 10 gallons of gas to match the Twizy's range per charge. At $4 per gallon, that's $30 in gas, versus $77 in electric.

Viability: This is just 3rd grade math I am using here** and you can plug in your numbers, but it seems to me that the electric car doesn't become viable until gas hits at least $10 per gallon. If we also factor in the size and power of the vehicle, I am thinking it is not viable until gas prices hit $20 to $40 per gallon. My car weighs about 400% more than the Twizy, so I am leaning more toward the idea of $40 per gallon as the "viability threshold" for using something like this.

Battery Charge: I could not find any data on how long these batteries HOLD a charge. If for example you fully charge the Twizy, drive only a few miles twice each week to the grocery store - say 50 miles per month - will the charge last the full 6 months? (50 times 6 = 300). I am guessing you will lose some of the charge, so that you may have to charge the car every 4 to 5 months when driving just 50 miles each month. This gives the car a range of only 200 to 250 miles per charge, and raises the cost far above $77 for 6 hours of driving.

This may be why we are NOT all using electric cars!

**See The 3rd Grade Math Caricula From Houghton Mifflin.

How else could the electric car become a viable option?

Well, I focused on more expensive gasoline to make the electric car viable, but can you guess another way? The answer is the lower cost of electric. Tesla patented a free energy system way back, over 100 years ago - in 1901. I have researched this technology extensively and have concluded that even 1 cent per kWh is way more than we should be paying for electricity. There have been so many patents and inventions over the last 110+ years on generating electricity from radiant energy. Even minimal efforts to support research into this field could get our cost of electricity down to almost nothing.

Although I provided a scenario of about a 500% increase in gasoline cost as the "viability threshold" for using electric cars, an 80% reduction in electricity costs would also work.

There is energy all around us waiting to be harnessed.

Hobbyists everywhere are experimenting with earth batteries and other radiant energy systems that produce free energy 24/7. It's not a question IF it can be done, but how to set up systems in every home for a reasonable price. Solar is not 24/7, and is not viable currently, but a radiant energy system is.

Read my Solar Viability Study.

What is radiant energy?

Ever seen that "snow" on an old style TV set? That "static" is generated by what is called radiant energy. Penzias and Wilson won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1978 for what has been called the most important scientific find of the 20th century - this proved the Big Bang Theory at the time - they proved the existence of a "constant" low-level background radiation that prior to this was only theorized to exist throughout the universe. This is radiant energy, and it is everywhere - aka "dark energy" - Tesla called it "cosmic rays" - it has been called many things throughout recorded history.

So, why don't we all have radiant energy systems in our homes?

A radiant energy system represents a buy once, maintain only system. The recurring revenue models currently being exploited by large businesses and utility companies cost you more and make them more money. Greed takes precedence over saving you money. It's that simple. Their only motivation to save you money is to make more money, and these free energy systems just don't fit the plan.

Also, if you think our leaders will come to the rescue and bring it to us, think again. They cater to money, not our best interests. Although I think it is possible, the only way we will really see less expensive electricity is when our "leaders" come to actually "serve" us. I like to quote Jesus on this issue.

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant. (Mark 10:43)