One thing about electric cars (I'll call them EVs from now on, for Electric Vehicles) is that not many people know much about them. Another thing is that there is a lot if misinformation about them. So let's see if we can clear some of that up.
Always the first question: How Far Can You Drive?
For the current crop of new EVs the target range is about 100 miles from a full charge. You'll get less range if you drive aggressively, or if you use the heater or the air conditioning a lot. In fact, driving at freeway speeds can reduce the range, as well. So our 92 mile round trip to Culver City to babysit our sweet granddaughter is probably a stretch.
So what good is 75-100 miles? Well, most of us drive far less than that each day, and one key to EVs is that if you charge at home at night, you'll start each day with a "full tank". So most trips, including work commutes and daily errands, can be done in the EV. For longer trips, you'll need your gas powered car, hopefully a hybrid. It's true that for most families, an EV will need to be your second car. But for some people, an EV will work well most of the time, and they will rent a gas powered car for their infrequent longer trips.
Making the batteries pollutes a lot and they aren't recyclable, right?
No. I've read that mining the Nickel in the batteries in most hybrid cars, as well as shipping all of the raw materials, makes hybrids less green than one might hope, but the batteries are recyclable. The lithium batteries in EVs are less polluting to produce and they have a future after their life in your EV. Power companies have a need to store power made during off-peak hours, and the used EV batteries will be in demand for that purpose.
Will we see lots of EVs stranded by the roadside due to range issues?
Probably not. The Leaf, for example, has lots of electronics to keep you informed of how far you can drive with the current battery charge, including a special navigation screen. It will also show you where you can go to charge your car at a public charging station.
The EV has no tailpipe, but you're still polluting and using oil at the power plant when you charge it.
Not completely true. Many of the people getting the first crop of EVs also have added solar panels to their homes, and if they make more power than they use, this free, clean power can charge their EV. That is what we'll be doing at our house. When we use more power to charge the EV than we make with solar, that power is probably not coming from oil. In the U.S., we make power from hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas, wind, solar, coal and a very small proportion of oil. Now it's true, some of these sources are not clean, especially coal, but I've read several times that it is still cleaner to run an EV charged from a coal fired power plant than to run a car on gasoline. Also, it is convenient to charge EVs late at night, when the power demands are lower. This makes power plants run more efficiently. So much so, in fact, that electricity rates are much lower late at night.
Are EVs slow and pokey, like golf carts?
Not at all. Torque is the thing that makes cars feel fast, and electric cars have a surprising amount of torque. Also, and really importantly, all of the torque is available as soon as you step on the "gas"? That makes EVs feel fast and responsive. EVs are real cars. They will move along with traffic, and they are quiet and smooth, without engine vibrations. Also, since the batteries are usually placed low, under the seats, the center of gravity is low, so EVs handle well. The Tesla electric sports car can go 0 to 60 mph in about four seconds. That is very fast.
What's an "Extended Range" EV?
The Chevy Volt is the first example of this type of electric car. Some people call the Volt a plug-in hybrid, but Chevy likes to call it an EREV, an extended range electric car. The Volt has a small gasoline engine on board that runs a generator. The generator makes electricity to drive the car a much longer distance than the batteries alone would allow. In fact, Chevy says that the Volt will have a range of about 350 miles using the batteries and the range extender engine.
Next Post: More thoughts on the Volt and the Leaf