NYC officials say they can't find EV garbage trucks powerful enough to plow snow

Post by mindover » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 5:42 PM UTC

itsyaboi wrote: post #25

ericmay wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not great framing because nobody made electric vehicles worse, they started off at a certain level of performance and then they'll just improve from there. Now you could say well we made snow plowing worse, and of course in this specific example you'd be right, but you'd be ignoring longer time horizons and not really comparing or accounting for the impact of negative externalities. An easy way to think about it is i…

A more apt analogy would be if you removed the existing window without having ordered a new one or found a contractor to install it.

Post by ericmay » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 5:46 PM UTC

legitster wrote: post #29

ericmay wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not great framing because nobody made electric vehicles worse, they started off at a certain level of performance and then they'll just improve from there. Now you could say well we made snow plowing worse, and of course in this specific example you'd be right, but you'd be ignoring longer time horizons and not really comparing or accounting for the impact of negative externalities. An easy way to think about it is i…

> An easy way to think about it is if you uninstalled an existing window and had tarp on it for a few days while you installed a more energy efficient window. A more apt analogy would be if the new window was not even invented yet.

Post by legitster » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 5:50 PM UTC

landemva wrote: post #34

legitster wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about this. I don't think battery swapping scales up very well. Firstly, I know someone who works on Daimler's electric trucks and he assures me that their electric powertrains are EXTREMELY dangerous just from the amount of power represented. Union operators have expressed negative interest in connecting/disconnecting the batteries outside of the factory. Secondly, the economics - the battery pack on a…

> you will probably see the size of the fleets increase This is already happening with municipal bus and school bus fleets. The bus count is over-provisioned to allow for the longer electric 'refueling' times. As fleet managers understand, when a vehicle is being refueled it is out of service.

Post by xenadu02 » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 5:58 PM UTC

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #26

legitster wrote: post #11

> “ With current technology, full electrification isn’t possible now for some parts of our fleet, but we are monitoring closely and really hope it will be,” Gragnani said. We are really letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. At this moment in time, Plug-in hybrids are the superior technology for nearly every application. I don't understand why they get so overlooked by consumers and manufacturers alike.

I've been saying this for years. I just don't understand it. A car that can drive ~40 miles on pure electric that has an ICE for longer trips would satisfy the needs of everyone. For like 90+% of people, it would mean never using gas for their commute while also eliminating range anxiety. I'm especially surprised about the lack of plug-in hybrids for semi trucks. I'd think having a little extra electronic torque woul…

Post by legitster » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 6:03 PM UTC

ericmay wrote: post #33

legitster wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An easy way to think about it is if you uninstalled an existing window and had tarp on it for a few days while you installed a more energy efficient window. A more apt analogy would be if the new window was not even invented yet.

Ok we'll use gas trucks forever and never change or improve or invent anything new.