We'd imagine that the UK Petrol Retailers Association would have a vested interest in making the business model of the tried-and-true gas station survive. So, we aren't all that surprised to read about the group's suggestion that future gas stations should carry solar roofs that feed power into electricity dispensers, especially now that the Prime Minister has pledged large sums of money for EV development. The alternative, of course, would be to charge your electric car's battery right at home while it's not being used. If you wanted to go renewable, you could set up your own solar or wind-powered charging station right in your garage. Still, there are a number of individuals who don't have a place to store their cars, let alone its associated charging gear, so the idea of stand-alone charging stations definitely has some merit. Whether or not these solar stations deserve any government help is another matter entirely.

[Source: Auto Express]

The other day we had a post about the need to continue doing some basic maintenance on your car even if you are driving less in this age of higher fuel prices. One of the items we mentioned was caring for your battery. If you drive your car infrequently as I do (I drive a lot of loaner vehicles from manufacturers for review purposes) you may find that your battery eventually dies. Just as all the electronic gear in your house draws juice to light up all those LEDs, so to does your car for alarm systems, clocks etc. Even with nothing drawing power, a battery will eventually self discharge. I use an inexpensive trickle charger that slowly charges my battery and automatically shuts off when full charge is reached and then re-starts when the voltage gets below a certain level. Mine is a plug-in unit because my car is in a garage. If you park your car outdoors, though, you might want consider a solar charger. The1.8W unit pictured above is available online for under $25 and measures 6.5 x 1.25 x 18 inches so you can stick it on your dashboard and plug it into an accessory socket. If you are going to leave it sitting for extended times you should also go for a charge controller that monitors your battery to prevent over-charging. Just as with a hybrid battery, overcharging your starter battery will damage it. You can find various examples of these devices by using your favorite search engine to look for "solar car battery trickle charger" and you shouldn't need to spend more than $50. It's cheaper than a new battery and less hassle.

We have brought up the idea of saving money on gas by riding a motorcycle or scooter a few times now, and invariably, we get comments which state that motorcycles are worse for the environment than cars. Is that true? Not necessarily. Exhaust emissions are calculated in parts per million, and more parts per million of harmful particles in the exhaust is bad. This is often cited in defense of cars, as motorcycles often have worse ratings in parts per million that autos. But, what about the difference in total amount of exhaust? The smaller the engine, usually the less total exhaust comes our the tailpipe. So, motorcycles with smaller engines may or may not be better for the environment that automobiles. Note, too, that most modern motorcycles are equipped with fuel injection and modern computer controls in addition to their necessary catalytic converters (click for a test in 1999 - warning: .pdf), all of which make quite a difference in overall harmful emissions. Remember, the worst polluters are the old 2-stroke bikes, which are not sold really in America anymore.

But, what about electric motorcycles? Here is one made by Lightning Motors. The bike is based on the Yamaha R1, which, at 1000cc, does not have a small engine from the factory. The R1 is one of the highest performing motorcycles on the roads today, and is a bit of a status symbol. The conversion is slightly ungainly, because of the box-like lithium ion batteries hanging from the frame spars. The article also speaks of charging the bike using solar panels, which is an intriguing possibility for an electric cycle, as they should need fewer hours of charging for the distance required to travel in comparison to a heavier, more powerful electric car.

[Source: LA Times]

I have pondered (and posted) about a few ideas regarding charging the battery of your car with solar power rather than with the alternator, except when necessary. Here is a solar car-battery charger that you can get today. It's called the Sunsei SolarCharger, and you mount it on your windshield where it can get good access to the sun. I suppose that it would work on the dash or on an open sunroof as well. The charger features a trickle charger when the battery reaches its full charge, so there is no worry about leaving it hooked up for too long. I use a trickle charger on my motorcycle when the weather turns cold; this would work out just fine for me, if I were able to mount it outside the garage and run the cable inside to my bike. I think that I may just have to look into one of these for myself! Anyone else out there?

If you want one, I did a quick search and found them here. At that site, they range from $40-$160.

Related:

• Could the windows of your car charge the battery?

[Source: SlipperyBrick]