Electric VS Gas Car | How Electric Cars Work
Has it finally come? Is the future now? We’ve got jetpacks, hoverboards, holograms – all the things we only used to see in old science-fiction
movies! (Well maybe not the jetpacks so
much…) And now: electric cars you plug into the wall like a cellphone! So who
came up with the idea, and how does the technology really work?
Before we rejoice in the future, let’s first take a trip to the
past… Oh, we’ll be going a lot further back than you think. You’ll probably be
as surprised as I was to find out that electric cars aren’t a 21st-century
invention. That is, electric-powered motors came out pretty much at the same
time as petroleum-driven engines (that is, the ones that run on fossil fuels
like gas and diesel). Almost two centuries ago, in 1828, a Hungarian engineer
named Ányos Jedlik invented the first prototype of the electric motor and used
it to power the small model car. And he wasn’t the only one with an interest in
that sort of technology. In 1834, blacksmith Thomas Davenport created a similar
device that could be driven at short distances using an electric track. Does
that ring any bells? (Think streetcars later on!) And over in the Netherlands,
university professor Sibrandus Stratingh built a tiny electric car powered by
non-rechargeable batteries. Now, even though the idea of a battery-powered
vehicle was to revolutionize people’s lives for the better, primary cell
batteries (that’s the “use once and toss” kind) weren’t the way to go for
obvious reasons. They needed too many batteries to run the motor over long
distances at such low speeds. It wasn’t until 1859 when French physicist Gaston
Plante invented the lead acid battery that changed the electric engine game for
good.
Three-Wheeled Cars
Many countries began producing electric three-wheeled cars until the US made a huge breakthrough. In 1891, they created the first electric vehicle, and get this: it was a 6-passenger wagon that could go up to 14 miles per hour. (that was major back then!) After that, people were thrilled, and the electric car market thrived. In the late 1890s, electric-powered taxis filled the streets of London. At that time, electric cars had many advantages over steam-powered and gas-guzzling engines. They didn’t vibrate, they didn’t give off that awful burning gasoline smell that we’re all familiar with, and, most importantly, they didn’t require much effort to start.
Fossil Fuel Cars
By the early 1900s, almost one-third of cars in the US were
electric-powered. But that wasn’t going to last long… By the late 1920s,
infrastructure in the US had improved significantly, and vehicles needed to go
further more efficiently. So, fossil-fuel cars took the lead because they got
the job done.
Disadvantages of Electric Cars
You see, the top speed that electric cars could achieve was 15-20
miles per hour. That’s about how fast you can go pedaling on your bike! Another
problem was that electric-powered engines back then could only travel 30-40 miles
on one go, which means they’d need charging every couple of hours. And things
were about to take a turn for the worse along with the improvement in
infrastructure. That’s when the electric starter was invented, and gasoline
cars began using it alongside mufflers, which made their noise a lot more
tolerable.
Electric cars took their final hit in 1910 when Henry Ford began
his mass production of gas-powered vehicles, which made them ridiculously cheap
whereas electric cars cost a lot more. Companies then realized that there was
no room for electric automobiles on the market, so they stopped producing them
altogether.
Evolution of Electric car
Fast-forward to the 21st century. We now have advancements in
technology and a greater concern for the environment. Add fear of running out
of resources to fuel our vehicles, and it’s no wonder automotive companies have
decided to give electric cars another chance. The main difference between
electric and fossil-fueled cars is that E-cars can use a variety of
renewable sources to generate their electricity. In fact, the science behind
the electric car is surprisingly simple. Its basic principle is the alternating
current, for which we have Nikola Tesla to thank more than a century ago.
Differences between Direct and Alternating Currents
Before you understand the science behind that, let’s back up and
first cover the differences between direct and alternating currents (that’s DC
and AC for short…or AC/DC if you’re into hard rock!). An electric current is
the movement of an electric charge that carries electrons. An engine, for
example, can be powered by direct current – which means that the electrons flow
in one direction only. For most things that run on DC, that’s from the battery
to whatever it’s powering. The electrons that move along an alternating
current, on the other hand, periodically and consistently change direction. It’s
pretty much all the electric power in your home, from your microwave to your
game console. In short, if you could look at the two types of currents on a
graph, direct would be a flat line and alternating would have regular uniform
waves going up and down. Or, to put it even more simply, DC would be like water
running out of a bucket with a hole in the bottom. AC would be kind of like
watching the water swishing around back and forth if you open the lid of your
washer and look inside.
What about electric cars specifically?
Well, most of them convert the direct current electricity from the batteries into an alternating current. Since electric cars don’t have an internal combustion engine like gas-powered vehicles do, they use their space quite differently. You’d normally expect a big bulky battery to be in the front under the hood, but it’s completely different in electric cars. They have 7,000 lithium-ion batteries that sit under the flooring! This battery pack has a longer lifespan and a higher power density – which makes them ideal for powering a vehicle. But one of their vulnerabilities is overheating and thermal breakdown. That’s why electric cars have coolant running between them to prevent overheating. And there’s all kinds of interesting stuff at the back of the car. That’s where you’ll find the inverter, which is what converts that DC into AC and gives power to the engine. But it can’t do that without the induction motor. It’s also in the back, and it takes the alternating current that just came from the inverter and creates a rotating magnetic field that causes the motor to turn.
Gearbox or Lever
Electric cars don’t have a gearbox or lever, and all of them are
automatic. They have a single-speed transmission that sends power from the
induction motor to the wheels. This is how the electric motor transforms
electrical energy into mechanical energy. That is, the physical power that
turns the wheels and sends you on your way! But here’s where it gets even more
interesting. When you accelerate while driving, the car uses more energy. But
when you brake, the energy is transformed into electricity through the
induction motor. Then, that electricity travels all the way back to the battery
pack and is stored so that you can use it later! Now that’s efficient!
Levels of Charging
1.
The first level is the basic charging you can do at home – it uses
an outlet of 120 Volts and adds 2-5 miles of charging per hour.
2.
The second level – uses Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment and has
a higher voltage (220-240 Volts) to add 10-25 miles per hour of charging.
3.
The third and most efficient one is the Direct Current charging
station which does exactly what it says.
It uses direct current to add up to 80% of the car’s battery
charge in less than half an hour.
The Cost of charging an Electric Car
The cost of charging an electric car is dirt cheap as well. It’ll
cost you less than $5 to fully charge your electric vehicle at home, and you
can get up to 150 miles on one charge. That, of course, depends on the size of
the battery. Bigger electric cars with bigger batteries can cost up to $15 to
fully charge, but they can cover up to 300 miles. Now, electric cars are less
expensive to run and maintain if we compare them to fuel-powered vehicles, but
there’s no denying that the car itself comes with a much higher price tag.
Average Operating Cost of an Electric Car
According to a recent study, the average operating cost of an
electric car is $485 a year, whereas a fossil-fuel automobile is $1,117. So,
that higher initial price should pay itself off over time. But there’s still
another problem. One of the most expensive components of the electric car is
its battery pack. It’ll cost you an arm and a leg to replace if it breaks down
– expect anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 for a replacement! But most electric car
manufacturers give the battery at least an 8-year
warranty for up to 100,000 miles if that makes you feel any better about
purchasing.
Conclusion
The good news is that we’re seeing a huge movement toward
electric-powered vehicles as a strategy to tackle fuel emissions and reduce
pollution. The head of automotive research in Europe predicts that by 2025, all
cars in Europe will be totally electric or at least hybrid. And many countries are setting goals to lower their fuel
emissions in the next few years. So, who knows? Perhaps sooner than later, we’ll
all be zipping around in electric cars, and gas guzzlers really will be a thing
of the past! What about you – are you interested in getting an electric car?
Thank you
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