Quote:
Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy
BTW, I think in this particular instance, if everybody had done the right thing, then everyone could have had their cake and eaten it, too. The GM heavy-vehicle hybrid system is reportedly very good, and seems to be pretty transparent. The upside is 50% better city mileage, the downside is a lot of extra cost. I think in this case if it had been managed right, volume would have brought the cost down into an effective range.
Heck, we got some new A/C units at work that were high efficiency...we got a rebate from the power company that was substantially the cost difference between the std. and hi-efficiency...so we got the high efficiency upgrade for free, we save electricity for the life of the equipment, the power company doesn't have to build a new plant...seems pretty win-win to me.
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I tend to agree. And there's also, speaking of the power companies, the fact that they waste as much as two thirds of the energy, in any unit of fuel, as waste heat, and resist like hell any attempt to get them to improve their efficiency. Even when faced with the fact that the technology is off the shelf, and at least two countries, Japan and Denmark, do this wast heat energy recovery as a matter of course.
Here's something for you to read:
Find greatest energy savings in power production industry
Keep in mind the author used to be a power industry executive. Enjoy.
BTW, I used to call on the power industry, and one of my friends, and a former engineering customer at DTE Energy (Detroit Edison), verified everything this guy says is possible.