Electric vehicles have become a way of life. To prove that is true is the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard put into place by the Obama Administration. By 2025, every new vehicle sold in the United States will need to reach at least 54.5 mpg. In order to operate, the plug-in hybrid EVs that function on batteries need to be charged occasionally. No more trips to the over-populated, busy gas stations. You can fill up right at home overnight or at work during the day. The car simply plugs in while it is immobile for a given period of time. It can also charge while being driven – once the car is coming to a stop and the brakes are applied, kinetic energy is transformed into chemical energy in the battery.
In order to operate, the plug-in hybrid EVs that function on batteries need to be charged occasionally. No more trips to the over-populated, busy gas stations. You can fill up right at home overnight or at work during the day. The car simply plugs in while it is immobile for a given period of time. It can also charge while being driven – once the car is coming to a stop and the brakes are applied, kinetic energy is transformed into chemical energy in the battery.
Let’s jump back into history when the Ford’s Model T came out. In 1908, when Model T first started there were no gas stations. People had to go to kerosene factories to fuel up. Model T was becoming very affordable that a surge in the number of automobile owners occurred and the demand for gas was quickly rising. Gas stations were meant to meet the growing needs of owners. With these new CAFE standards, history is bound to repeat itself only this time, with EVs. Since we are given an option for electric vehicles, demand is rising and networks of charging stations are coming up to meet that demand. Now, we have the SAE J1772 Level 2 plug (standard for most EV cars) to also, meet the high-rising demand.
There is a disadvantage, though when comparing to conventional vehicles: the driving range. Currently, the average range for an EV is anywhere from 50 to 130 miles per charge. Fortunately for you hybrid users, as of April 2014, there are 9,758 charging stations all over the United States. With the power cord coming in several different lengths you can actually build the charging station you need in a commercial or residential setting. The comparison between normal cars and EVs is that gas-powered cars range in miles per gallon (mpg) from about 16 to 30. If an EV were to have a value given to it, it would most likely be around the 200-miles range.
The advantages of having an EV is there are less moving parts than in a normal gasoline-powered car, which means fewer breakdowns and needs for service. EVs are the cleanest and most environmentally friendly cars now available at this time. When compared with the most efficient gas-powered vehicles on the market, EVs reduce pollutants more than 90%. This statistic also includes the emissions from power plants that create the power to charge the EV’s batteries.
Although the idea of the electric vehicle isn’t a fairly new one, all the new technology is definitely making the idea a better one!