|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Saturday, 10 February 2007 |
|
Because of frequent stopping and starting, about two thirds of the operating energy used by today's transit vehicles or automobiles in an urban area is kinetic energy lost in heat as the vehicle is braked to a stop. Therefore, elimination of the intermediate stops by itself almost triples energy efficiency. Careful attention to vehicle-weight minimization, streamlining, lowering of road resistance by careful selection of tire parameters, and use of electric propulsion that eliminates idling energy add to efficiency, putting PRT in a class by itself in terms of energy efficiency. The electrical energy use will be less than 200 watt-hours per vehicle-mile. The power will peak at about 20 kw per vehicle and will average about 4 kW per vehicle.
|
