Electric Cars
Electric cars have been growing in popularity lately, but many consumers are still unsure about what makes them work and what the benefits are of switching to electric. The answer to How do electric cars work? might surprise you with how simple it is. All you need are batteries, an inverter, and an AC motor, and you have your car that runs on electricity!
The Benefits of an Electric Car
One of the most important considerations in buying an electric car is its impact on your local environment. Electric vehicles are much more fuel efficient than gas-guzzling cars, and because they’re running on clean energy, you don’t have to worry about polluting your city’s air. Electric cars are also typically cheaper to maintain than conventional cars and help keep thousands of tons of pollutants from entering Earth’s atmosphere every year. With low operating costs and a virtually free supply of power, electric cars can reduce your overall transportation expenses for years to come.
One of the largest considerations when purchasing an electric car is its impact on your local environment. Electric vehicles run on clean energy and require far less fuel to operate than a conventional car, which means they help reduce air pollution in your area. This makes them much safer for you, your family, and anyone else who lives in your city, as well as promotes a cleaner, more environmentally conscious lifestyle.
However, there’s more to consider when you’re considering an electric vehicle (EV) than just its environmental impacts—you also want to think about how it might save you money down the road. EVs are cheaper to maintain than gas-powered cars because they require fewer replacements for essential parts like tires and windshield wipers.
Charging your car battery
Charging an electric car battery isn’t that different from charging a smartphone—you need an outlet and you need to be plugged in. All electric vehicles (EVs) charge by plugging into an electrical outlet, but there are two different ways that you can do it. One is called Level 1 charging, which is done through a standard 110- or 120-volt household socket. This process can take as long as 20 hours for your car to fully charge if it was completely drained of juice. Level 2 chargers are faster, using 240-volt power instead of 120 volts. These allow you to fill up your tank much quicker—typically just four to six hours will get your engine back up to full capacity.
Keep in mind that charging your battery takes energy, which means it costs money. A full Level 2 charge at a public station can cost anywhere from $3 to $12, depending on your car and how much you fill up. If you’re using a home charger, your utility company may offer incentives that could offset these costs. However, many people find they can easily recharge their batteries by plugging their cars into standard wall outlets overnight at home. This is a great way to save on charging costs—and cut down on emissions if you live in an urban environment with lots of stop-and-go traffic or vehicle emissions wafting through your neighborhood air.
Different types of electric cars
Electric cars come in two main flavors, with the third type on its way. The first type is plug-in hybrids, which are equipped with a small battery and electric motor for primarily city driving but can be plugged in when you need to drive more than 100 miles (160 kilometers). Plug-ins still have an engine that runs on gasoline—but it’s used solely to charge the battery. The second type of electric car is a pure battery-powered vehicle like Tesla’s Model S sedan. These vehicles have powerful onboard batteries but sometimes also use regenerative braking to charge their batteries while they slow down.
The third type of electric car, which is gaining ground but is not yet widely available, is a fuel cell vehicle (FCV). This type of car converts hydrogen gas into electricity. FCVs run purely on electricity and are considered zero-emissions vehicles because they do not produce harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs) or other tailpipe pollution. A fuel cell car also has a much higher range than either plug-in or battery-powered cars.
However, an electric car has fewer moving parts and uses much less energy to operate than a gasoline-powered car. Furthermore, as battery prices continue to fall (and/or as range increases), electric cars are quickly becoming more cost competitive with their gas-guzzling counterparts. For all these reasons, you might wonder why anyone would choose to own any other type of vehicle. But there's one reason that lots of people will always have a soft spot for internal combustion engines - they're just plain fun!
The future of electric vehicles
We’re still in the early days for electric vehicles, with high costs and range anxiety holding many potential buyers back. But that’s about to change; several high-profile manufacturers are taking steps to launch mass-market electric cars within just a few years. The future looks bright for these eco-friendly cars; if you like driving and care about environmental issues, it’s only a matter of time before you can drive an electric vehicle to work every day. To find out more about how they work and what’s in store for them in the coming years, read on.
The big news with electric cars is that they don’t have to be seen as the future of your community. It will quickly become a common sight, just like diesel and gasoline-powered cars are now. These electrically driven vehicles have clear benefits over their fossil fuel equivalents and will soon be more affordable than you might think. Electric vehicles are expected to outsell hybrid models in 2018, while China continues to push ahead with EV infrastructure planning (2017-2018). The US government has also started supporting investors and manufacturers of zero-emission vehicles by lowering taxes.