Posted 06.06.2011 at 11:53 am
2 Comments
Station Cafe
Nash Hoover, taken with the Sony NEX-5
Day two of our tour started with a picturesque ride on back roads through Virginia’s Piedmont country, with rolling hills and horse farms. Mid-morning found us in the small town of Ashland, where we stopped into the Station Café for a cool drink. The day was already into the 90s, but the front door to the Café was standing open. Inside, ceiling fans kept air moving, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant. It was a marked contrast from some earlier stops, where we were met at a restaurant door by a blast of arctic-cold air.
A conversation with the owners of the Café revealed that their air conditioning-free policy was part of a significant energy conservation effort that included switching to energy-efficient lighting and appliances. Granted, the Café was better suited than many businesses to survive summer weather sans AC, thanks in part to the design of their historic brick building. In a time before cheap, abundant energy – and the ensuing excesses it has in some cases allowed – the building’s designers relied on high ceilings and strategic window design to create natural convection, and had – through chance or intention - created an equalizing heat sink with the thick outer brick walls. It would be unrealistic to suggest that we all give up our air conditioners, and being a Floridian, there are certainly times when I wouldn’t want to be without chilled air. But as we move towards a saner, leaner energy policy, perhaps we should look at some of the simple solutions from years past, and re-introduce them into our future designs.
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Great father & son project and experience. I look forward to tracking your trip and sharing it w/my son. Thanks for the inspiring effort!
So I had a question about this idea, which I think is excellent by the way. My question is with the design. I know that you guys are trying the cross-country trip in this little cart looking vehicle that is electric and I understand all the weight cutting that has happened and that you probably want to conserve energy by weight reduction and I'm sure you're happy to see a downhill from time to time. My question though comes with the fact that I myself have had an idea very similar to this one as well, but I think of it more as a hybrid. Two things: thin-film solar panels for the hood, and also two free spinning bike wheels connected to the front that have magnets attached to the rims, which can be spun using whichever speed you want, as it would work as two bikes basically elevated, removing the rolling resistance from the road, but used to help charge a secondary battery while the primary is being used for driving the cart. The benefit is a constantly charged battery(ies) from the solar panel roof and the action of "riding" the bikes for the driver and passenger which only resistance comes from the electrical resistance of charge the secondary power supply. You may think that it will add weight and what not...but the issue is always going to be charge with electric cars and their maintenance, and existing technologies can't compensate for the speed of just filling up a gas tank which may take 2-5 minutes, as opposed the charge times on batteries. This way, even when the cart is in motion, there is supplemental charge being supplied, just for being in the sun and also, you're on a bike and even on an uphill, you won't feel the effects of which because the "bike generators" are elevated and only pedaled to produced electricity to the secondary battery supply, which could be switched to to drive the cart while the depleted/lower battery could go back to being charge by the solar panel/internal "bike generator" meanwhile. Also, if you could get the wheel from the generator to basically drop to the ground on downhills to collect the energy of downhill, you could have basically regenerative braking at the same time. What are you thoughts on this, considering your experience as of yet?