Covinaman said:
I'm not trying to stop you geeks from gagging on each others' :arrow:
I just saying its been done before. I like bike generators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJ0CeBYG0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EhllIuPje
Why not on the leaf?
OK, take this idea, but in the leaf instead of a person turning the pedals, the main battery pack is going to instead, right? So you're taking power from the battery pack to turn the wheels, which then turns a generator, which then charges a battery, which then powers your heater (or whatever).
The problem with this idea, which is what everyone is laughing about, is that you're just TRANSFERRING the energy, not producing more. Basically you're using one battery (the drive pack) to charge another battery. And in your idea, you're losing energy in heat, friction, and charging. Plus you need to add all those components so you're adding weight to the vehicle.
It's a good idea on a bicycle because your body energy that you're using to turn the pedals needs to be converted into electricity to power, say, a headlight. You can't just plug your light into your body, you need to convert somehow. But say you had an electric bike with a battery pack, then it would be more efficient to plug that headlight directly into the battery pack rather than have a completely separate battery charged off of a generator attached to the wheel that the main battery was driving.
In an ICE, it makes sense to have the engine turn the alternator (generator) because the engine itself is not storing/producing electricity to power all your electrical components. You need a separate battery in that case, because your engine isn't an electrical power source.
Does that make sense?
Don't feel bad, just remember that most of us on here are geeks and we've heard this kind of idea before and just because you didn't realize how all this works doesn't make you an idiot or anything. This is how you learn!