I am relatively new to this forum , but I have done a lot of reading here . One thing I have not seen mentioned here is Ultracapacitors . Although this is not a mature technology , it is already on the market . Three or four years back I bought an electric screwdriver , powered by ultracaps . It was larger than my regular Nicad powered one , and had about half the endurance . But the magic thing about it was that with the mains charger you could recharge it in about 2 minutes . As far as I know ,it could be stored indefinitely in a discharged condition .The length of its life is not known to me , but as it is not chemical , it is likely to be much better than any battery . It is probably comparable to Lithium batteries as regards weight for a given capacity . The fly in the ointment is likely to be the volume . but this could be mitigated by intelligent design .Energy stored in a cap is proportional to the square of the voltage , so we could store the energy at a few hundred volts , and use a DC DC converter to step it down to the motor voltage .So if range was limited to 5 miles , and charge points become common , you could just about recharge whilst waiting for the lights to change !
Cycling Cap ?
- Thread starter neptune
- Start date
It has been discussed on a few occasions some while ago and it does have it's attractions. Not really ready yet for an adequate sustained supply at e-bike levels as you say.
Charge points are arriving. but they seem to be based mostly at both end points like central London and Croydon for example, too far apart. Not sure whether someone would want to stop once or more on a journey even for a couple of minutes, especially if it's raining.
Charge points are arriving. but they seem to be based mostly at both end points like central London and Croydon for example, too far apart. Not sure whether someone would want to stop once or more on a journey even for a couple of minutes, especially if it's raining.
Maybe the time of the ultracapacitor is not yet . It would be nice to think that the day will come when local councils provide charge points on every lamp post .And of course , inductive loops buried in the road at traffic lights . Since my first post , I have done a little more research . Firstly , in Shanghai , a bus , on route 11 , is already capacitor powered . An ideal application , as of course buses make regular short stops anyway . Probably more relevant is the development of a hybrid ultracap/lithium cell . The claim is , very fast charging , and a life span of 20,000 charge/discharge cycles . Bring it on ! If you look at the members map , I am the only member within 30 miles . So will the council provide charge points for my personal use . Seriously though , I don`t know if it is the warmer weather , but I saw six E-bikes on my travels today , a personal record .
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A charge on every lamp post is a good idea , it will stop them rotting at the base from dog`s pee .I hope Lynda`s not on as she might not like the idea !
Sounds like it would be ripe for a hybrid car, the type where the petrol powers the generator to charge the capacitors rather than petrol powering the engine and charging (as in the case of a Prius type vehicle)?
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