- Last Updated: February 13, 2021
Sometimes there are a few questions that you cannot get an answer. When it comes to electric vehicles, I approached 25 of the most frequently asked questions. Below I broke every detailed answer:
Top 25 List.
Table of Contents
Question # 1. How Do Electric Cars Work?
Answer. One of the biggest highlight of electric cars is lower maintenance. There are fewer moving parts, resulting in great long-term reliability.
The following components make up the bulk of what makes an electric car tick:
- Induction Motors.
- Inverters.
- THERMAL COOLING SYSTEM.
- Single-Speed Transmission
- 12V Battery.
- Regenerative Braking System
- ONBOARD Charger
- Power Electronics Controller
- ONBOARD MAIN COMPUTER
Question # 2. Howl Long Do Electric Cars Last?
Answer. In many cases, electric cars last a lot longer than fossil cars. Few moving parts = fewer things that can break. With fossil cars, problems tend to be more mechanical in nature. When it comes to electric cars, problems tend to be electronic.
In particular, the battery.
Battery degradation over time can take a serious toll on your electric vehicle. The first iterations of electric cars (like the Nissan Leaf) had issues with premature battery degradation. In many cases, Nissan addressed that issue by replacing the battery under warranty for original owners.
Today, most electric cars today have batteries that can run over 200k miles without a problem.
The conditions your electric car drives in and how often you fast charge dictate the life span of your car (or should I say, battery).
Question # 3. Where Can You Charge An Electric Car?
Answer. Charging an EV can be done in one of two places. You can either charge it at home using 110-220 volt outlets, or use public level 3 charging stations.
Residential charging is limited to 240 volts, while 480 volt systems are available for commercial building locations. On average, you can achieve 1-10kW of charging speed with 240 volt systems.
Going the level 3 route can give you over 100kW of power.
Question # 4. Who Makes Electric Cars Today?
Answer. At the moment, the following brands produce electric vehicles: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Polestar Smart, Tesla, Volvo, Toyota and Volkswagen.
The brands that produce the most popular plug-in hybrid vehicles are: Chevrolet (Volt), Toyota (Prius Prime), Hyundai (Ioniq), Kia (Niro), and Honda (Clarity).
Question # 5. How MUCH DO ELECTRIC CARS COST?
Answer. If you buy brand new, you’ll be paying the full sticker price. A Tesla Model S 85 from 2013 cost more than $70K USD new. Today in 2021, a 2013 Tesla Model S costs $25K-$35K USD used.
Another example would be a Nissan Leaf which cost more than $40K for the highest trim level back in 2013. The Nissan Leaf from 2013 now costs as little as $5K USD.
To save money, buy used. To get all the warranties and the “brand new” feeling, buy new.
These things depreciate just like gas powered cars. The more there are on the road, the more likely you’ll find them heavily discounted.
Question # 6. Howl Long Does IT Take for Electric Cars to Charge?
Answer. This depends on a few factors.
Are you charging from a 110, 220, or 440 volt source?
Also, how big is your battery?
A 2013 Nissan Leaf with a 24kW battery pack accepts 1-1.5kW through 110 volts, up to 6kW through level 2, and takes about 45-50 minute at level 3 through 440 volts.
For the example above, level 1 would take 16-24 hours to charge 100%. Level 2 would take around 4 hours, and level 3 would will depend on the charge rate. Usually, 80% happens in 30-40 minutes and from there an extra 15-20 minutes to reach 100%.
Usually EV’s charge fast until 70-80%, from there they slow down to near level 2 speeds until you reach 100%.
Question # 7. Why Are Electric Cars So Ugly?
Answer. In almost all cases, electric cars that look ugly due to aerodynamics. The Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMIEV are great examples of that.
While some EV’s start out ugly, they start to look better after a few years of being on the market. A Nissan Leaf from 2011-2017 and 2018-Present would be a great example of such.
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric is an electric car that looks good and gets surprisingly good efficiency.
Question # 8. How Fast Can Electric Cars Go?
Answer. It all depends on which EV you are talking about. Most economical electric cars feel “quick” off the line, but ultimately don’t go any faster than 90-100 miles per hour. Its a strange feeling when the car is climbing towards its max as if it can easily go past it, but built-in governors prohibit EV’s from going any faster.
Tesla and now Porsche seem to be taking over the top speed and 0-60mph benchmarks. How does 0-60mph in less than 2.5 seconds sound?
Question # 9. How MUCH IS A CHARGING STATION FOR ELECTRIC CARS?
Answer. It all depends on which type of charger you want to install, and also where?
Commercial locations that have 400-480 volt electric systems available can get level 3 charging stations installed. These charging stations are expensive and only make sense to install if you charge people for them.
On the flip side, you can install a level 2 charger that runs on 220-240 volt and spend as little as a few hundred bucks. Going the level 2 route is by far the best option, I wrote an article on how to install your own charger at home.
Question # 10. How Do Government InCentives Work for Ev's?
Answer. The US government offers financial incentives for anyone who wants to buy a battery powered automobile (for both EV’s & PHEV’s). To determine if you’ll get the largest incentive, consult with your local dealership. Cars like the Nissan Leaf still qualify for the full $7,500 tax credits when bought brand new. While cars like the Toyota Prius Prime would only qualify for a fraction of that amount.
Question # 11. Why Don't Electric Cars Have Solar Panels on their Roof?
Answer. It lacks the place to make standing power. We are talking about days, if not a week to get a complete charge.
The area required even only 0.5 kW of power is much larger than any roof electric cars. At the end of the day it does not make sense, if much more efficient solar technologies are not invented.
Question # 12. Which Electric Cars Are MOST Popular Around The World?
Answer. The most popular cars in the world are likely to be Teslas. Now it does not mean that they are the most drive cars in any given country. In the US, Teslas is very popular, because they are quite accessible and made inside the country.
On the other hand, in countries such as France and many other parts of Europe, Renual Zoe is the most popular economical EV in the market.
Question # 13. How MUCH ELECTRICITY DO ELECTRIC CARS USE?
Answer. The answer is very straightforward. If you want to know how much energy your car will take, simply look at the battery specs sheet and see how many kWh it will take.
Since some manufacturers leave a “buffer” in the battery to preserve battery life (for the long term), run your EV down to as close to 0% as possible and charge it back up to 100%. Look at how many kWh were delivered and you can be within 1-2kWh margin of knowing exactly how much electricity your car can use.
Question # 14. How Far Can An Electric Car Go?
Answer. Getting to know this exact number can be tricky. Manufacturers don’t rate their cars with range that is based on “only highway” or, “only city” driving. It tends to be a mixture of both, but in most cases the range is rated with a cautious driver in mind.
For example, the Chevrolet Bolt EV (from 2017) is rated for 238 miles of range. If you took that and divided it by 60kWh of storage the car comes with, it would come out to around 3.9 miles per kilowatt hour.
In the winter, that figure is difficult to achieve, you’ll get somewhere between 2.7 and 3.0 if 95% on the highway. That number goes up a little more when in the city, look at 3.3-3.7 on average.
Now, in the summer with very warm weather, strictly highway figures reaching 3.9 miles per kilowatt hour are very achievable. In the city, it’s quite easy to achieve 4.0.
Another car like the Kona Electric is rated for 258 miles per charge, or 4.0 miles per kilowatt hour.
At this point, I hope you get the point that the number vary by multiple driving conditions.
Question # 15. Can You Drive Long Distances in An Electric Car?
Answer. Yes, but it depends on where you live. In countries such as Norway, you can go anywhere with almost any electrical machine due to their extensive network of charging devices. Tesla will not be problems due to their huge battery packs.
In the United States, after Tesla has become popular (for a good reason) for their charging network, electrified America made its network almost as good. With the exception of such states as Hawaii, Alaska and North Dakota, the TESLA supercharger stations can be found, in addition to the America's power plants.
Question # 16. What Are the Fees to Charge At Level 3 CHARGING STATIONS?
Answer: At the beginning, charging stations scored very little or nothing at all. Today, charging stations tend to charge either to kWh, delivered or per minute of charging.
EVGO has a tendency to be $ 0.15 / minute charging (no matter what speed you charge). Charging point has $ 0.15 / minute (sometimes more). Also, the largest network in the United States (at the moment) is electrified America, they charge both in a minute and kWh. The type of board depends on what state you live. In Virginia, they charge 0.31 dollars in 0.31 / kWh, while in Tennessee they charge $ 0.15 / minute.
Question # 17. What do bev, phev and hev stand for?
Answer: The following terms are broken:
- Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
- Hybrid Electric Vehicle (Hev)
Question # 18. What about "Your Just Moving The Tailpipe From The Charger, To The Local Power Station" Argument. Is it An Any True?
Answer: It’s a great question and it does have some validity to it.
At the moment, most places use fossil fuels to generate electricity for todays charging stations. In a nutshell, its moving emissions from one source to another.
When you charge an automobile and the electricity comes from clean hydro, wind or sun energy, emissions are virtually non-existent.
I can’t get an exact figure on how much fuel is being used to mine battery components. Companies like EVgo prides themselves as being 100% renewable sourced energy for their stations.
Question # 19. How Often Do You Need to Replace An Ev's Battery?
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Andrew a*d*0*1*1*8*@gmail.com
Роман b*a*k*i*@rambler.ru
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