[GRLUG] OFF TOPIC Electric Car

[Collin Kidder]

It IS off topic but it seems that most of the list wanted to engage in 
the chat. And, what other list would we use? I'd be fine moving the 
discussion elsewhere if I knew of a better place. Is it possible that 
this discussion might go on long enough that a separate sub list should 
be started? Would the owner of the machine grlug.org is running on be 
interested in doing that?

Colin Vallance wrote:
> I'm going to nitpick here, but isn't this a *Linux* users group email  
> list?  Haven't others been chastised or told to go elsewhere when  
> bringing up other topics (I'm thinking windows machines as a past  
> example)?
>
> Not a bad topic but if we're going to be subject matter militants,  
> shouldn't we be consistent?
>
>
> On Nov 20, 2008, at 9:40 AM, Collin Kidder wrote:
>
>   
>>> I disagree with the statement that AC motors are more efficient. I  
>>> have
>>> a high end furnace from Waterfurnace which has a DC motor for the
>>> blower. There is always a loss when converting AC to DC or DC to AC.
>>> Even with the loss, it was more efficient in ongoing electrical  
>>> usage to
>>> use a DC motor rather than an AC motor.
>>>
>>>       
>> There are a variety of construction techniques for both AC and DC  
>> motors
>> but ordinarily an AC motor is more efficient. As a bonus an AC three
>> phase motor is extremely simple especially compared to a DC motor.  
>> They
>> are more reliable because of this. Also, they are pretty easy to  
>> control
>> speed and torque wise. Usually a three phase or six phase AC motor
>> running at over 400v is the best bet in terms of price, torque, and
>> efficiency. Obviously there are a lot of factors that go into any  
>> choice
>> though.
>>
>> It's not uncommon for three phase AC motors to get better than 90%
>> efficiency. Granted, there are some DC motors which can also reach  
>> that
>> sort of efficiency. It seems, though, that finding a 200HP AC three
>> phase motor is a LOT easier than finding a DC version of the same.
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>
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