What is EV
An electric vehicle (EV) is a car that runs entirely or partially on electricity instead of gasoline. The electricity is stored in reusable batteries and used to power an electric motor that turns the wheels.
Electric avenues: if you’re driving a car that needs to be fueled up, chances are your vehicle runs on an internal-combustion engine (ICE), powered by gasoline or diesel fuel. Electric vehicles (EVs) have a battery instead of a gasoline tank and an electric motor instead of an ICE.
Type of EV
But not all EVs are created equal. There are several types of EVs, all powered a little differently:
- Battery electric vehicles (BEVs)are powered by rechargeable electric batteries. BEVs produce no tailpipe emissionsand have no combustion engine.
- Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)are powered by an electric motor as well as a small combustion engine. They have an all-electric range from 20 to 60 miles and can be charged at a charging station.
- Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)have an internal-combustion engine and an electric motor that assists only at low speeds. The battery is charged either by the combustion engine or through recuperation when braking.
- Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)use electric motors. The electricity is generated in fuel cellsand can be stored in a small buffer battery. Fuel cell vehicles require hydrogen (compressed into tanks) as fuel.
Electric cars are better for the environment
Electric cars are greener than petrol or diesel cars by a number of key measures, with the exception of the carbon intensity of the manufacturing process (although this will change as economies of scale are achieved through mass production).
Energy Efficiency
Electric cars are far more energy efficient (85-90% efficient) than internal combustion engine cars (17-21%), which means that they use less energy to get you from A to B.
Less energy used means less produced, which in turn means less CO2 emissions produced by non-renewable energy sources and the wider energy supply chain.
Energy Source
However, it is often claimed by sceptics that electric cars just move the pollution to the power station; it’s called the “long tailpipe theory”.
To an extent this is true. But it fails to note that pretty much all power stations are greener than internal combustion engines in terms of energy and carbon efficiency.
The mix of power generation we actually use to charge electric cars in the UK (which includes wind & solar as well as power stations) is far greener than an internal combustion engine and getting greener all the time.
Exhaust Emissions
Electric cars have zero exhaust emissions, which means they do not emit any harmful exhaust gases or soot in densely populated areas. Likewise, with coal now becoming a small part of the power mix, very little air pollution at all is released from modern power generation.
In contrast, the exhaust emissions from vehicles with internal combustion engines is a significant source of CO2 that contributes to global climate change and air pollutants that harm people’s health at a local level.
Air pollution is often described as a public health emergency, with urban air pollution for many UK towns and cities well above safe limits and not improving. It is clear that road transport is the primary contributor of harmful gases and particulate matter and that electrification is a key part of reducing this.
By the way EV is the future. One day the fossils fuel will finish then EV will be the only one opsation.
