Electric Cars

Why it may still be a while before they are widely accepted by the public, electric cars are starting to make a comeback.  The earliest electric cars were introduced back in the 1880’s and were a popular choice right up until advancements in internal combustion engines led to the success of cheaper, mass produced gasoline fueled cars. 

Some of us are old enough to remember a short-lived revival of the electric car in the 1980’s which never really took off commercially.  According to Wikipedia the present day interest in electric cars has come about “due to advances in battery and power management technologies, concerns about increasing oil prices, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”   In addition, government tax credits and other incentives have helped to give the industry a boost.

All-electric vehicles (EVs) run only on electricity that is powered by rechargeable battery packs.  They have many advantages over gas fueled vehicles but some disadvantages as well.  The U.S. Department of Energy cites their energy efficiency by stating, “Electric vehicles convert about 59–62% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels—conventional gasoline vehicles only convert about 17–21% of the energy stored in gasoline to power at the wheels.”  EVs are environmentally friendly and can be a step toward reducing our energy dependence. 

The biggest drawback to EVs are they can only travel from 100 to 200 miles without requiring a battery charge while gas fueled engines can go 300 miles or more before refueling.  Charging times for batteries is another problem.  A quick charge of 80% takes a half hour and a full charge is between 4 to 8 hours. 

This is why the Washington Post recently published an article reporting that workplace chargers will be necessary for the success of EVs.  The good news on that front is that it is predicted by the end of this year there will be 12,000 workplace charger sales, and by the end of the decade, over 63,000.

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car

fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml

washingtonpost.com/cars/why-workplace-charging-is-important-it-sells-electric-cars/2014/06/30/20c73f42-0074-11e4-b203-f4b4c664cccf_story.html

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