From Staff Reports

 A UNC Asheville professor unveiled his case for buying an electric car now during a July 19 presentation in Robinson Hall.

Dave Erb, a member of the mechatronic engineering faculty at UNCA, gave a presentation titled “Making a Case for the DG PV EV: Electric Vehicles and the Power Grid.”

Erb has worked on developing electric and hybrid electric vehicles for more than two decades. He has devised vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, alcohol and natural gas, as well as electricity.

An experienced electric vehicle racer, he is vice chair of the City of Asheville Transit Commission.

His presentation — addressing three questions — lasted about an hour, followed by an 60-minute question and answer session. About 50 people attended.

His questions included the following:

• Why is it that most knowledgeable automotive people with a long view are now saying electrified power trains are the future? He said that issue is no longer an argument.

• Why does it make good sense to get energy for those vehicles from photovoltaic panels that are grid-tied?

• What is the effect of that photovoltaic supply and EV demand on the grid?

“Those are the questions, but the way I kicked off the discussion was the four steps I think we need to take” to get away from petroleum-fueled vehicles, he told the Daily Planet in an interview in late July.

“Basically, transportation is going to change. We’re too dependent on petroleum ....”

Next, he addressed four steps that have to be taken “for the most access for the least dollars,” noting that they need to be taken simultaneously “and now.”

The four steps include the following:

• Reduce vehicle miles traveled, meaning “drive less as individuals,” Erb said.

• Employ vehicles productively, with more load per trip, such as carpooling. He also advocated switching vehicles to suit the task “we’re asking them to perform.”

• Improve vehicle technology. “It will happen,” Erb said. “Powertrain electrification is needed, but it won’t show up until customers demand them.”

• Get electricity from a sustainable source. “I’m going to be pushing a photovoltaic source,” he said, noting that “a 200-watt solar panel, a little smaller than a 4 (foot) by 8 (foot) sheet of plywood, would out 600 watt hours on the grid per day.”

So what would Erb think about concerns about individual freedom from those who might abhor giving up their vehicles and riding in a carpool or public transporation? the Daily Planet asked.

“This is a choice they have to make,” Erb replied. Calling it an adolescent concern, he said, “I don’t value independence that much. As an adult, the best things in life are interdependent.”

Otherwise, the professor said, “I would argue that it’s taking of at a tremendous rate ... Hybrids came on the market about 12-13 years ago.

“Plug-in electrics — PEVs — they’re being adapted at roughly double the rate ... It’s completely supply-constrained because the car companies don’t want to screw up on this, so it’s supply-constrained.”

Within two months, he expects Nissan and GM to unveil new models of electric cars.

Erb noted that recently there was a fire problem with the Volt, hurting demand temporarily, until the problem was resolved. “If they had followed battery protocol, that wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

He lambasted “Neal Cavuto on Fox News” for saying “this is stupid and the cars (the Volts) blow up ... You’re going to be stranded after 30 minutes.”

Feeling that some in the media are inexplicably opposed to the PEVs and EVs, Erb said it makes him wonder as “I’m sure Chevy dealers advertise on Fox” and other networks.

As for why someone would want to derail the effort to popularize the EVs, he said, “A lot of folks have a vested interest” in its failure to maintain the status quo.

“We live in a funny time ... in history. It seems like every technology gets assigned to a political party,” such as EVs and photovoltaic panels being favored by Democrats and liberals — and “oil, gas, coal and nuclear” favored by Republicans and conservatives.

“I think the technological merits of electric cars and photovoltaic panels are undeniable,” Erb said.

Asked about the desirability by some Americans to be off-the-grid, the professor told the Daily Planet that “I’m a big fan of the grid,” personally. “I actually view the grid as a really good thing.” He added that
“that’s a lot of effort and wasted resources to be off-grid.”

Erb closed his UNCA presentation with five comments, including the following: 

• It is just not open to argument technologically that the presence of more EVs on the grid will “enhance grid reliability in the long run. The presence of large amounts of grid-tied voltaics will enhance the grid.

• PVs and EVs will make good investments.

• Cars are not financially rational calculations on a balance sheet. “They are red-hot emotional statements,” Erb said. “If someone says a hybrid or EV will never pay for itself, I’d say no car will ever pay for itself.”

(Erb’s two cars include a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid and a 1990 Mazia Miata.  He also rides a bike, rides a bus and walks to work at UNCA.)

• The U.S. is in a situation wherein one can make a financial argument for running photovoltaics into a house in Asheville today, “but one must have the (financial)wherewithal.”

“EVs are now available where anything you can do with a gas car you can do with an EV,” he noted.

• Some people in Asheville recognize the potential for EVs and PVs “and they’re going to make money off of it,” Erb said.