Thank you for your interest in Electric Vehicles. Following is a
list of Frequently Asked Questions, and answers from one of the EAA's
veteran members, and a long time EV component designer and driver right
here in MN, Lee Hart.
1. How far can you go?
As far as you drive in a normal day! Since your "gas station" is
just an electric outlet in your garage, that's all most people need.
A typical EV with inexpensive lead-acid batteries goes 40 miles per
charge. That's 280 miles per week, 14,000 miles a year. The national
average is 12,000 miles per year, so EVs can handle most people's daily
driving right now.
To go farther, add batteries. EVs go 100-200 miles per charge with
higher-tech nimh and lithium batteries. The downside is that these
batteries cost more initially (but make up for it with longer life).
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2. How fast can you go?
Same as any car; speed is no problem if that's what you want! There
are street-legal EVs that go from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds and over 120
mph in the quarter-mile. The GM EV1 went over 186 mph without its speed
governors.
EVs are perceived as "slow" because most are deliberately speed
limited. All the recent auto company EVs were electronically governed
to 80-85 mph. The "NEV" (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) category is
limited to 25 mph.
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3. Does it raise your electric bill much?
No. Electricity is far cheaper than gasoline. Imagine paying less than $1 to "fill 'er up"!
If your car gets 17.1 mpg (the national average), you're paying 17.5
cents per mile at $3.00 a gallon. EVs average 3 miles per KWH. At the
6.5 cents per KWH here in Minnesota, that works out to 2.25 cents per
mile; 8 times cheaper!
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4. How much does an electric car cost?
At present, electric cars cost more than regular cars. They are
either converted from normal vehicles, or hand-built from scratch. Both
routes are labor intensive, and so expensive.
The "high cost of EVs" claimed by the auto companies is a
consequence of putting the entire development cost for a new car on a
tiny number of vehicles. Where EVs are mass produced, they are much
cheaper. Electric scooters, golf carts, fork lifts, and similar
vehicles are cost-competitive with their gasoline-based versions.
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5. How long do the batteries last?
Plain old lead-acid batteries only last 10,000-20,000 miles or 3-5
years (whichever comes first); but are cheap. It works out to 3 to 5
cents per mile, or about $1000 every few years. Battery cost is
actually more than electricity cost (but is still half the cost of
gasoline).
Advanced batteries like nicad, nimh, or lithium last longer, but
cost much more initially. They make sense if you need the longer range
and plan to keep the vehicle a long time. EVs have gone 50,000-100,000
miles with them, but they cost several thousand dollars a set. Nicad
and nimh have the longest calendar lives (over 10 years). Lithiums
provide the longest range, but only last a few years.
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6. Don't electric cars just move the pollution from tailpipes to smokestacks?
It's a complicated question; you can get whatever answer you want, depending on your assumptions.
If you assume all your electricity is generated by the dirtiest old
coal plants, then the environmental improvements of EVs are lost due to
the extra pollution from the coal plants. Your only benefits are
reduced oil imports, and moving pollution out of the cities.
But most of our electricity in Minnesota comes from other sources;
hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, etc. Thus electric cars reduce total
pollution significantly.
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7. Where can I get an electric car?
Right now, your options are:
Buy an NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle). They are good for
low-speed driving on streets with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or
less.
Buy a used EV; either one of the few produced by the auto companies
that they weren't able to crush, or produced by one of the many small
firms that specialize in low-volume EV production. These can be great
bargains since batteries wear out and are expensive to replace. "Needs
batteries" is a common reason to sell.
Convert a regular vehicle into an EV yourself. Almost anything can be
converted, though small light cars or trucks are the best. It costs
$1000-$15,000 depending on your performance requirements and how much
of the work you can do yourself.
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8. If electric cars are so great, why don't the auto companies produce them?
Conspiracy theories aside, the simple answer is that EVs are outside
their area of expertise; they don't know how to do it, and don't want
to learn. They see EVs as a disruptive technology that distracts them
from their "real" work. And companies (like people) hate to be told how
to do things that they think they are already the experts at.
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9. If I bought an electric car, how would I get it fixed?
Most things on an electric car are exactly the same as any other
car. Its tires, brakes, shock absorbers, lights, horn, radio, seats,
glass, and body work can all be done by exactly the same shops.
What's different are all the things that EVs don't have, and
therefore never need to be fixed. No more oil changes, antifreeze,
belts, exhaust systems, tune-ups, or anything else associated with the
engine. Electric motors are essentially zero maintenance, and last the
life of the vehicle.
Flooded lead-acid batteries need occasional maintenance. This
consists of cleaning and watering, which you can do yourself for free,
or by any place that sells batteries. Other types of batteries are
sealed, and generally need no maintenance.
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10. Which is more practical and cost effective; a hybrid car, an electric car, or a hydrogen car?
If you need one car to "do it all", hybrids are your only practical choice.
If you are a two-car family, then it is practical to have an electric
car for daily local driving; and a regular or hybrid car for
long-distance trips.
Hydrogen cars are a fantasy. They don't exist except as ultra-expensive
prototypes, and probably never will be practical according to the
experts.
The best near-term solution looks like the plug-in hybrid; a car with
both a complete gasoline and electric propulsion system. It can be used
on either "fuel"; electric for clean inexpensive daily driving, and
gasoline for long trips. It is also less "disruptive" to the auto
companies, since it retains the entire gasoline engine system that they
know and love. Toyota and others are working on such cars; maybe we'll
see them soon! To learn more about plug-in hybrids and current news,
visit http://www.pluginamerica.com/
Lee A. Hart
leeahart@earthlink.net
"Never doubt that the work of a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever
has!"
- Margaret Mead
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2009 by MNEAA. All rights
reserved.