If you want to understand how electric vehicles work and why they are preferred over Internal Combustion Engines, then this article is for you.
One thing that endears us to our phones is how they can easily be charged for use. Well, it’s no longer news that the same can be achieved with cars now. Electric Vehicles, also called EVs, now roam the streets in various nations now.
They are the next big thing when it comes to clean energy technology as most variations are emission-free. When it comes to cost-saving, they are far ahead of their Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterpart. Since they have 90% less moving parts than the normal ICE, they require less mechanical maintenance and, since they do not consume fuel, our running cost is drastically reduced.
Don’t get too excited, though. Electric Vehicles have their own fair share of costs. They come in different types and ranges; however, one thing is certain: they offer no small help in ridding our planet of pollution.
ORIGIN OF ELECTRIC CARS
Man has always been known for evolving from one level of ideas to another. We started with riding horses, then we moved to attaching carriages to the horses. Soon we entered steam powered engines and development led us into internal combustion engines.
Electric cars are older than most people realize. The electric cars we see today came as a result of multiple layers of invention: from batteries to electric motors so we can’t necessarily award the trophy to a particular name; however, we do know that, in 1894, Henry G. Morris and Pedro G. Salom came up with the Electrobat- the first electric car.
Since that time several modifications have been made to make it more practical in use as the initial electric cars couldn’t go long distances without recharge.
HOW ELECTRIC CARS WORK
Most people are quite conversant with the working principle of internal combustion engines where pressure rise and drop within the engine’s cylinder is responsible for the reciprocating motion of a piston which in turn rotates a crankshaft.
This rotation then causes the tyres of the car to move. The pistons of the engine are responsible for the noise we hear from our cars and combustion within the engines are responsible for the foul gas emissions that come from the exhaust pipe.
However, things work very differently in an electric vehicle. An EV is powered by a rechargeable battery which is connected to the tyres through motors. Motors convert the electric energy from the battery into mechanical energy, thus causing rotation in the tyres and traction for the whole car.
Some motors; however, do more than that. In ICEs, the power that is emitted in the form of heat and kinetic energy whenever the brakes are applied usually goes to waste. In some EVs, however, the motors convert that brake power (still mechanical energy) back into electric energy and use it to recharge the battery.
CHARGING ELECTRIC CARS
Just like our phones and any other thing that runs strictly on electricity, this car can be charged. It has a charging port which converts the alternating current from the power outlet to direct current to be stored in the battery.
The car can either be charged at public charging station or in a home charging unit. In most developed nations, there are so many public stations, so recharging isn’t usually a problem. However, in underdeveloped nations, we find little to no charging stations. Therefore one might need a home unit.
Charging speed varies. There are the slow stations that take about 8-10 hours for a max charge of 3kW, the fast ones that take about 3-4 hours for a max charge of 7-22 kW and the rapid ones that take an hour or less to hit about 43kW.
Different EVs have different maximum ranges. Some cars would go as far as 125 miles before the batteries run out while others would reach 250 miles. It depends on the battery size and capacity. This is something that should be considered before buying an electric car.
HOW ELECTRIC CARS HELP THE ENVIRONMENT
What happens when you get into the traffic on a hot sunny day? It’s quite likely that the low rumbling of your car and those of the other hundreds of drivers would begin to grate on your nerves. That’s called Noise Pollution and is why people get grumpy in traffic.
Apart from that the amount of emissions that come from each car pollutes the air and is responsible for black soot in the air, acid rain and even global warming.
Electric cars, however, make a world of difference. Since they have no engines with reciprocating pistons, they are silent and since they produce no emissions, they keep the air clean.
Their efficient build also helps us save power and they are built in such a way that power output could also generate some input for the battery (remember the special motors that can recharge the battery). It’s also cost effective and takes a lot out of the everyday running of the car.
Some EVs are hybrid systems in that they have fuel tanks and would switch over to gas when the batteries run out.
While EVs are still far from perfected, we can’t deny that they hold a lot of promise. Maybe one day every nation would have them running their streets. Wouldn’t that be amazing for our planet? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
SOURCES
https://www.energy.gov/timeline/timeline-history-electric-car, Timeline: History of Electric Cars
https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/energywise/how-do-electric-cars-work, How Do Electric Cars Work?
https://interestingengineering.com/a-brief-history-and-evolution-of-electric-cars, A Brief History and Evolution of Electric Cars.
https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-all-electric-cars-work, How Do All-Electric Cars Work
