The Prius is much larger than my Saturn so you’re right in size comparison. I was under the impression that the batteries were a service item within the life of the car. All batteries need replacment at some point. A standard car battery today has a life span of 4 years. I guess a number needs to be picked in the form of mileage or years to make a true calculation of cost.
I have to say I like th Prius from the inside. Could do with a little styling updates. Stick the drivetrain in a Camry as a true hybrid option and you’ve got a more marketable vehicle.
I’d rather have a turbo-diesel with a trend toward bio-fuel to get off the oil standard. But then, we could build diesel hybrids and have the best of both worlds.
New-ish car, that gets about 35 mpg. And I don’t go on a lot of road trips.
I keep my air-conditioning energy costs low by living in a 70 year old former speakeasy remodeled by two different generations of maniacs, none of whom ever installed an air conditioner. (This is especially enjoyable during the summer.)
Oh, and…my home’s electricity almost certainly comes from geothermal power. Which probably renders everything but my car moot!
Our new house has 2X6 construction for tighter insulation, and we paid more for better windows and doors. We replaced incandescent light bulbs in all outdoor, garage and shop applications with screw-in fluorescents. We use propane only for the furnace; everything else is electric, and we’re counting on our electrical cooperative to get more of its energy from the wind farm near here and less from the coal-fired plants. We’re even considering putting up a windmill of our own.
Well, setting up the infrastructure is only one part of it. Where would the hydrogen come from? Yes, I know it’s a fairly ubiquitous element but we would need to extract it from somewhere, and what fuel would be required for the extraction? And therefore what benefit would we receive.
I generally try to be fairly “green”. I separate out all recyclable rubbish (we have recycling bin collection and kerbside collection for glass bottles, so I don’t have to make any extra trips to dispose of the recyclable stuff). I shred and compost most of the waste paper I generate, along with my compostable food waste.
At the start of this year, I decided to get rid of my car and cycle to the train station. I can’t pretend that this was primarily a “green” decision – it was mostly because it saves me several thousand pounds a year – but I do feel better for not converting £50 a week of my hard-earned cash into exhaust fumes!
Since January I have cycled nearly 400 miles instead of driving 600 miles. I feel healthier, and so does my bank balance (or at least it will, once the car payments finally stop!)
I’m trying to find more ways to reduce my energy consumption but sometimes it’s a bit frustrating. I drive a new car that gets about 34 mpg, but I have to drive 60 miles round trip to work. I am the only one at my company who lives in the area, so carpooling is out. Baltimore’s abysmal mass transit system would take about 2-2.5 hours to get me to work, involving the Light Rail, MARC train, and a bus, followed by a 2 mile walk. Or, I could cut out the bus and bike about 8 miles from the train station, which is not really feasible in the winter. It takes me about 40 to drive to work in the morning, 45 min-1 hour to get home at night by car.
My wife drives a Civic that gets about 37 mpg. Her commute is only 12 miles. We used to carpool, but she changed jobs and it’s no longer possible.
I’ve replaced most of the lightbulbs in our house with compact fluorescents, we only turn on lights in rooms that we are currently occupying, and we keep it embarrassingly cold in the house. (60ish during the day, 65 when we’re home, back to 60 at night). I’d love to install solar panels, but we just can’t afford them. I’d also like to get an LCD tv to replace my aging CRT, but again there are other financial priorities.
