What You Should Know About Battery-Powered Electric Vehicles (EVs)
The EV’s batteries are optimized for energy, using NiMH or Li-ion cells. They have a long life and are covered under the vehicle’s warranty for a decade or more.
They can go a long way on a single charge, but recharging to 100% can take 3 to 12 hours. Drivers need to plan accordingly.
Better fuel economy
EVs are powered by electricity, and can be recharged at home or at a public charging station. This allows drivers to enjoy better fuel economy than conventional vehicles – saving money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric vehicles can also be recharged using renewable energy, such as wind or solar power. This helps to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and may increase sustainability.
The battery technology in EVs is always improving. Scientists are working to improve driving range, weight reduction and charging time. They are also exploring new battery chemistries and combinations. This work will be crucial to ensuring that EVs are successfully integrated into smart cities, where they will play a significant role in reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Lower operating costs
EVs operate on electricity, which generates far fewer climate change-causing greenhouse gases than gasoline does. They also use regenerative braking to recover energy and extend the life of their brake pads.
Combined, these factors cut emissions by 2.6 to 4.8 times over a traditional gas-powered car. And despite the higher purchase price, EVs can cost less than most conventional models to own over its lifetime.
As our electric grid continues to get cleaner, EV lifecycle emissions will drop further. But, in order to accelerate the adoption of EVs, the batteries must become cheaper and faster to charge. And battery switching stations must find viable ways to balance demand with inventory, so they can quickly swap out the vehicle’s battery as needed. Without such advancements, EVs may not achieve their full potential.
Longer driving range
The driving range of an EV is often one of the biggest concerns for potential owners. The good news is that the vast majority of drivers don’t come close to running their vehicles out of fuel in a single day, whether they have a long-range EV or not.
Many factors affect a vehicle’s driving range, including how the driver uses the air conditioning and heater and how cold or warm it is outside. EV manufacturers have put a lot of effort into quelling range anxiety with features like the Driving to Empty (DTE) metric, visible on the dashboard.
What’s more, EV batteries can be reused for storage after they no longer power a car. Companies like RePurpose are already offering this second-life service. This makes electric vehicles a more sustainable choice than their gasoline counterparts.
Better ride quality
The battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) we drive today are propelled by one or more electric motors powered by rechargeable battery packs. The batteries convert chemical energy into electrical current that drives the electric motors.
The EV battery pack’s weight lowers the centre of gravity, giving your vehicle a more stable and planted feel. Plus, the battery’s durability and regenerative braking systems reduce maintenance needs compared to traditional cars.
Electric car owners also typically don’t need regular oil changes, fuel filters or smog checks, and they can take advantage of state and local incentives designed to offset the initial sticker shock. Some even qualify for a free charging station!
Less maintenance
As an added bonus, EV owners typically don’t need to worry about oil changes, spark plugs, multi-speed transmissions, and more. However, EVs do still require routine maintenance.
For example, drivers must rotate their tires and replace cabin air filters. Additionally, they will need to check the battery coolant level, power inverter, and charger every 7,000 miles.
EVs’ batteries are also designed for a longer lifespan, and recent crowd-sourced data shows they degrade at a far lower rate than previously feared. Additionally, regenerative braking helps to conserve brake pads so that they need replacing half as often. Lastly, electricity is increasingly coming from renewable sources, so EVs have significantly lower lifecycle emissions than conventional vehicles.