This looks like an interesting solution. it even seems feasable.
Lloyd
http://www.poulsenhybrid.com/PoulsenHybrid.php
(http://www.poulsenhybrid.com/images/mechanical_600.jpg)
he Poulsen Hybrid® Power Assist System
patents pending
The Poulsen Hybrid was designed based on the observation that only 10-15 horsepower is required to propel a compact or mid-size automobile along a level road at a steady 50 to 60 mph leading to the conclusion that this relatively small amount of electric power would be able to cope with 70-85% of normal driving, only aided by the combustion engine during start up and when extra energy is required for acceleration and hill climbing.
The patented system incorporates powerful electric motors which are mounted externally on the rear wheels of a conventional car. It works equally well with rear and all wheel drive vehicles, and gasoline, diesel, or natural gas fuels.
The Poulsen Hybrid system utilizes brushless permanent magnet motors. This style motor came into being with the development of extremely high-energy, rare earth permanent magnets and has found use in aerospace and advanced vehicles including a record winning solar powered racecar. They feature high power and torque within a compact, lightweight disk shape and are ideally suited for direct drive road vehicle applications.
Our motors have been specially developed by Poulsen Hybrid and are manufactured at our facility in Shelton, Connecticut, USA.
I saw this concept a while ago, a fellow in Europe had a working prototype.a year or more ago. IIRC the motors were made from brake rotors or drums.
Ron
That looks way more advanced than putting baseball cards in the spokes. :D
Seriously, I don't think the motor is the problem that needs solving, it's the batteries and their cost.
You must admit that it's a nice retrofit.... it always come down to storage when were talking elec...that's why ICE has been KING for so long.
Lot's of new ideas in bats...but the industry has only spent the last 2 years in earnest thinking about elec... storage.
Those damn physics laws...are a real painNthasrse.
I suspect that the real money to be made in the next 50 years will be in bats.
Lloyd
Interesting..
But as I think about it I could not imagine driving something that had that aparattus hanging off the side of it. My Kids would change their name if they seen me in it. ;D (after they quit laughing)
Surely a more engineered approach could be had that may drive the car somewhere else, Like maybe
within the vehicle someplace.
maybe I'm just to picky... I always thought the drivetrain was supposed to be "in" the car.
Amerka is ready for change. As long as it doesn't hurt the lines of my Corvette.
Perhaps something like this will soon be fitted into a more conventional looking wheel and fitted to a broad array of vehicles.
But where are we going to get all this electricity we're getting set up to use for everything that moves. I really like the idea of using our future storage devices as grid tie contributors during the hours of darkness.
Casey
I like this one. Although it isn't a retrofit, it does have these newfangled hub motors... ;D
http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/1131
A fifth wheel.
http://99mpg.com/
Randall
Quote from: highwater on May 11, 2010, 10:00:44 PM
A fifth wheel.
http://99mpg.com/
Randall
Looks like someone drove over a motorcycle. :D
Quote from: LowGear on May 11, 2010, 10:58:56 AM
But where are we going to get all this electricity we're getting set up to use for everything that moves.
Nighttime generation. power plants run all night long, and it's too complex to shut them down for 6 hours. If recharging was done from 10 pm - 5am, it would utilize idle spinning generators.
And it would not all happen at once, a little here, some there, and a new pattern would emerge.