SVN solovelanet

64 Production Fuel Emission Maintenance Disposal Life cycle of the heat engine End cycle Production Batteries Disposal Load Life cycle of the electric motor End cycle Moreover, the lack of the foul smell of fuel and exhaust gases, the quietness and the absence of vibrations of electric systems are incredible be- nefits; and those who have actually experienced sleeping in an aft cabin during a long night at sea will surely agree.Furthermore, the significantly lower thermal dispersion also helps to improve on-board comfort, particularly during the summer season.Another remarkable benefit for sailboats, that are being built lighter and lighter, is the lower weight of the entire electric system compared to the equivalent thermal system. In addition to the cost per travelled mile, that is much lower with electric propulsion, another main benefit of eco-friendly engines is the drastic re - duction of required maintenance work.This elimi- nates the annual servicing costs of heat engines. This is due to the general simplicity of an electric motor, which has far fewer components involved and therefore a lower risk of breakdown. The icing on the cake is the possibility of installing an electrically rotatable motor + sail drive system (2 x 45°, 2 x 90° or 360° depending on the models), that greatly improves the handiness of a boat. Limitations The main limitation of an electric sy- stem is undoubtedly the run time al- lowed by current technologies. As in the case of the tank capacity for heat engines, regardless of the power of a On top, a sector of the canals in Amsterdam where many restrictions are in force on sailing under power, and plans are being made to ban it. Here above, two equivalent engines with very different weights: on the left a S-Drive heat engine manufactured by Volvo Penta, with a power of 18 HP and a weight of 140 kg. On the right, a 10 kW (about 20 HP) Oceanvolt electric motor weighing 46 kg, almost one third of the former. Here below, an 80 HP Torqeedo inboard motor. 20 hP 140 kg 10 kW (20hp) 46 kg OCEANVOLT SD D20/130S VOLVOPENTA A heat engine causes more pollution throughout its life cycle, from production, more complex and therefore more energy-hungry, to exhaust emis- sions which are composed of absolute pollutants, emissions that are completely absent in electric motors.

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