Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine November 2024

HVACR NewsMagazine November 2024

• Domestic electric demand is expected to increase by 38% by 2035. • AI, artificial intelligence, could consume at least 85.4 terawatt hours annually. We haven’t even talked about the time it takes to charge a passenger car not to mention the time that will be required to charge an 18 wheeler. Point is this, every generation faces its own challenges. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the New York Annual Report of the Board of Health stated that 500 tons of manure was collected every day. (7) Some estimates are 2 to 3 times that amount with 40,000 gallons of urine.

This change to a “futurist future” will require changing to EVs, electric vehicles. After all, fossil fuels and combustion engines are big polluters and that is an obvious place where we can transition. Here are some interesting facts assimilated by Consumer Reports. (5) Their study was based on making a complete swap by 2050. I will use their report because they did the heavy research. • The Federal Highway Administration estimates that Americans drove 2.9 trillion miles in light duty cars and trucks in 2019. • They project that will increase by 17% to 3.4 trillion miles in 2049. Please note that this does not include larger pickups or freight vehicles. • The average passenger electric vehicle gets about 3.1 miles per kilowatt hour. • Using these numbers, we will need an extra 950 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year in 2050. That is a 22% increase. • Since driving is expected to increase, the demand jumps to an increase of 1.1 trillion kilowatt hours or a 26% increase in electric generation. Very interesting information but their conclusion fantasizes that the grid can absolutely meet the increased demand of changing to electric vehicles. Well, let’s say they are right, which they are not. What about the electrification of homes and businesses and doing away with gas heat. According to CNBC (6) ,

The automobile solved that problem; however, I am certain that many decried the automobile. It was loud, smelly, and spit fumes that were difficult to breathe they were already complaining about the mounds and mounds of horse manure.