Death of the generator????

[EricNJ]

Interesting article on a new RV focused power product.
What do you guys think about battery vs generator concept?

Volta Power Systems releases automotive grade technology - News - Holland Sentinel - Holland, MI

[JimF]

Don’t see it as a total replacement for a generator. We have been in the situation of no shore hookup and having to run on a generator for 7 to 10 days straight in temps that require 2 ac’s running 24/7. That and other power demands like tv, coffee pot, etc., would use up the Volta system after the first day, then what do you do. No thanks. We have carbon monoxide detectors in our coach and have not had problems related to that at all.

[Cowracer]

No battery system yet devised by man has the energy density of gasoline. Meaning you would need a literal ton of batteries to do what a generator and 20 gallons of gas can do in 24 hours.

If you read the article, the system they put on the coaches will only power them for 4 hours with the airs on. That wont even get you through the night. No... Generators aren't going anywhere for high-current applications like powering A/C units.

There are some promising technologies being looked at (graphene is the front runner) but for right now, the best battery for energy density is Lithium-Metal (not Lithium ion) that packs about 500 watt/hours per Kilogram. Compare with Gasoline at nearly 13,000 watt/hours per Kilogram and you will see that batteries have a lot of catching up to do.

Tim