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I was just thinking how climate influences peoples preferences for fueling their vehicles and heating their homes. In warm climates people may be okay to heat their homes with efficient heat pumps but they would never drive a car without good air conditioning, eliminating the possibility of electric vehicles. In cold climates, they may be able to drive electric cars without A/C but I doubt they would want to heat their homes with heat pumps.
That leads me to believe that NGV vehicles are practical in all climates, but electric vehicles may be limitied to cold climates. As the price of natural gas goes up, heat pumps may become more popular in the south. I have one and it is fine down to about 15 F.
Someone commented to me that they did not want their home heating fuel used for fueling vehicles. They are going to drive an electric vehicle with unlimited range and cold air conditioning.
That leads me to believe that NGV vehicles are practical in all climates, but electric vehicles may be limitied to cold climates. As the price of natural gas goes up, heat pumps may become more popular in the south. I have one and it is fine down to about 15 F.
Someone commented to me that they did not want their home heating fuel used for fueling vehicles. They are going to drive an electric vehicle with unlimited range and cold air conditioning.
. NiMh batteries are not affected as much as lead acid in cold weather. In any event, the batteries are warm after charging. If not, they heat up while power is being drawn off of them. The car has a very good heat pump that provides decent heat and A/C. The windshield (in addition to the defroster) is electrically heated. It also has heated seats. The reduction in range when running all this stuff is about 5%--no big deal. It even has a snow mode switch to reduce motor torque for slippery conditions. Electric cars are like any other vehicle--some are better then others and some have better systems then others. In very cold weather (minus zero) you would be better off in a IC car. Even our CNG's don't like extreme cold weather. In a bi-fuel it is better to start off in gasoline and then switch to CNG after it warms up. The best tip for winter driving is to move somewhere warm!
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