In this small publication I would like to tell about the advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles. It will be about the comparison of "clean" passenger electric cars (not hybrids), using a chemical battery (hereinafter referred to as EV), with passenger cars with internal combustion engines. In addition to the capabilities of the cars themselves, a partial comparison of infrastructure, ecology, etc. will be affected.
This is not a special big scientific work and not a story about Formula E or Drag Racing. Rather, it is a small reference book about features regarding affordable mass-produced cars.
+ + + + + Pros EV
Reliability of the power plant
Less moving parts. High resource of the electric motor. 1 step in the transmission.
Big runs on TeslaEnvironmental friendliness
Habr articleA study from Oxford claims that vehicle emissions such as nitrogen dioxide cause more than 10,000 people to die each year.
Diseases associated with emissions when using diesel cars is 5 times more than when using gasoline and 20 times more than when using EV.
The Guardian ArticleAnother article on The GuardianEEA report: EVs are better for climate and air qualityData for Moscow:Six years later, in 2004, in Moscow the flow of pollutants from industrial enterprises increased to 8%, the contribution of heat and power facilities remained almost unchanged - 5% and the share of road transport increased even more - 87%. (In the same period, on average in Russia there was a different ratio: emissions from motor vehicles amounted to 43%.) To date, the capital’s fleet is over 3 million units. The total emission of pollutants into the atmosphere of the city is 1,830 tons / year or 120 kg per inhabitant.
CO2 pollution:
Energy of some countries:
High efficiency of the power plant
Even with all the energy conversions on the way from mining to wheels, the EV efficiency is significantly higher than the efficiency of a car with internal combustion engines.
An article on insideevs.com
The Guardian ArticleTotal energy consumption:
Security
The absence of a large engine that can injure passengers in a collision. Large deformation zones in front. The rigid frame created by the battery pack (Tesla). Low center of gravity - less tendency to turn over, better handling.
Tesla Model X test for tilting. In the test, the car behaves like a "tumbler":
Tesla Model 3 after a serious accident:
Low energy cost
Usually, energy per km for EV is several times cheaper.
For the US, in the case of the Tesla Model S, electricity costs almost 3 times cheaper than gasoline:
Energy recovery
Actually it is important. Highly. Riding is always acceleration / deceleration. Way uphill / downhill. It is not practical to burn energy of slowing down or moving from a mountain, transferring it into heat. Totally.
Less noisy power plant
The electric motor + inverter + gearbox is much quieter than the engine + transmission.
The power plant does not create vibrations
When I reminded a friend of mine about this, he said that his Hyundai was not vibrating. Totally. It turned out that the vibration is very easy to notice, just putting your hand to the car.
Acceleration pedal response
In EV it is instant. Those. it is not just instantly fast, but instant. There is no lag. It is impossible to explain or understand until you roll yourself.
Smooth overclocking schedule
Single stage transmission and high torque.
No exhaust and you can not suffocate
Does not need ventilation in places such as a garage, underground parking or a tunnel. In the US, every year more than 500 people die suffocating with carbon monoxide in a car (some deliberately).
No need to start and turn off the engine
Actually it is very comfortable. It is never necessary to think about turning off the engine in a parking lot, a parking light or not. Do not need a special Start Stop system.
No need to run in
The new EV does not need a sparing mode of operation for the first time.
Modes "running" BMW M5 2007:
No need to warm up the engine
A cold electric motor can be used in extreme conditions without increased wear.
Tachometer BMW M5 2007, which shows the allowable speed for a cold and heated engine:
No problem starting at low temperatures
As there is no concept of the start. For many residents of the northern regions, this is salvation. You can forget about "took the battery home", "towed to a car wash to warm up", "need a blowtorch", "call the warm-up service", "unscrew and warm the candles", "do not jam all night", "start every few hours so as not to get up a stake ", etc.
No problem at highlands
ICE loses its power with decreasing oxygen. "Choking."
Volkswagen idNo problems with fuel quality and underfilling
Electrons do not have an octane number. There is no quality electricity. You can not fool shortcut a couple of kW.
Smaller propensity to fire
In the United States, an average of more than 150,000 vehicles (17 vehicles per hour) burn each year, claiming 209 lives. In Germany, 15,500. Tesla had 22 fires for 225 thousand cars.
Scalability of the power plant
Twin-engine electric car is simple and efficient. The new Tesla Roadster has 3 electric motors.
Tesla Model 3:
RIVAL - 4 motorsSimple weight distribution along axes
The feature of EV is that the heaviest element is a battery that can be placed in the center. Problems with excessive load on the sub-axle and solutions in the form of a motor in the front, the rear transmission is not required.
Flat floor
EV does not need a universal joint, and consequently a tunnel and a “hump” on the floor for the all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive version.
Longer warranty period for powerplant
Tesla Model S / X have an 8 year powertrain warranty with no mileage limit.
Better grip
The electric motor is faster and more accurate to control. Especially, if it is not one, but two, three or four motors - on the engine to the wheel.
There is no need for a differential when the motor on the wheel
Such a scheme in the new Tesla Roadster and Tesla Semi.
No need for center differential for all-wheel drive version
The absence of such a differential, in addition to increasing reliability and simplifying the design, also improves the quality of wheel adhesion and off-road performance.
Braking recovery
Low wear of brake pads and discs. There is no danger of overheating of the brakes.
Front trunk
The small size of the electric motor and the battery below allow flexible configuration of the useful space. For example, add the front trunk.
Lack of many consumables and fuels and lubricants
You can forget once and for all about replacing many filters, candles, oil, belts and other things.
Tesla official website with service scheduleUnlike gasoline cars, spark plug filters, spark plug replacements, or emission checks. As an electric vehicle, even the brake pad replacements are rare.
Low cost of ownership
StudyStudySave $ 60,000 after 643,000 km on Tesla Model XStatistics from the owner of Tesla Model SComparison of Tesla service cost with German cars
Tesla costs - owner reviewsNo need for petrol station infrastructure
Most EV owners charge them at their own gas stations - i.e. from the home power grid. Charges along the way can be in a variety of places - most often just in parking lots and do not require a special territory.
There is an opportunity to extract energy
You can create your own charging station - solar panels on the roof of the house, wind turbine, and so on.
In California, since 2020, all new houses will be required by law to be equipped with solar panels on the roofs (this law does not apply to houses in the shade and houses above 3 floors). If you look at the map, you can see that more than 90% of the housing stock in California are private houses, i.e. under the law almost all new residential houses under construction will be covered.
The battery can be used as a source of energy for households.
Nissan energyBattery may be used after deterioration
After the battery capacity has dropped for use in EV, it is not necessary to recycle it, but you can use it for some time to store energy. This is what BMW is doing with its BMW i3 batteries.
No towing problems
ICE with automatic transmission usually can not be towed without locking the axis of the drive.
Charging by towing or gravity
You can recharge by towing or descending from the mountain.
No smudges
Where there are cars with ICE, you can often see a characteristic pattern on the asphalt - traces of oil from the engine / transmission. EV has much fewer problems with this. Those. it is cleaner not only in terms of ecology and emissions, but also in the most direct sense of the word.
No problems with the disposal of fuel
No need to change the oil, and therefore dispose of it (like many other consumables).
No unpleasant exhaust odor
The garage where EV is stored will not have the characteristic smell of a car with ICE. By analogy with the room for smokers and without.
No danger of water hammer
Easily overcomes water obstacles, because it does not need air mixture to work.
Off-road benefits
Exact power control on the wheel, and hence slip. It is impossible to spoil the mud belts and other units. Not afraid of dust and sand in the intake system or clogged air filter. It does not need a special air supply system from above to overcome water obstacles.
Examples of EV SUVs:
RIVANCamp mode
In Camp Mode, a special tent is joined to an electric vehicle (usually to the rear of the car), the trunk opens and the climate control (music) is turned on. A large amount of battery and no exhaust can thus maintain the desired temperature in the tent.
Easier to wash
Tesla does not need to wash the units under the hood and the engine.
- - - - - Cons EV
Weight
Perhaps this is the main drawback. With the same mileage, the electric motor + battery is always heavier than the engine + transmission + tank. Many other disadvantages are due to the fact that EV is heavier than a car on an engine.
Faster suspension wear
Weight. In addition, the suspension must be more reliable (and therefore more expensive) to carry the weight of the battery.
Faster tire wear
Weight. Plus constant braking recovery.
Difficulties with maneuverability at high speeds
Weight.
Difficulties with charging where there is no infrastructure
To recharge without infrastructure, you need an electricity generator, for example, on liquid fuel - you can not just bring electricity into the canister.
Battery fire
The battery can ignite very quickly. Probably, its ignition occurs faster and more dangerous than the ignition of the fuel tank of a car on liquid fuel.
Self discharge
Requires constant charging. EV, unlike a car on combustible fuel, cannot simply be left for a couple of months in the middle of a field or forest.
Capricious battery
The battery can not be overheated or supercooled without consequences for its resource. In addition, it is recommended not to charge or discharge it to the end, which reduces mileage to the next charge.
Battery degradation
Battery degradation schedule for Tesla Model S / X:
When fully charged battery loses its ability to recover
If the battery is 100% charged, then regenerative braking will not work for a while until a buffer available for charging appears. In fact, everything is not so scary, as usually, the battery is not fully charged (up to 80% -90%).
Long charge
Charging the EV takes many times more time than refueling a car with an internal combustion engine. When planning a long trip you need to consider charging delays. Tesla navigator paves the route considering the Tesla Supercharger along the way and shows how much time will be spent on each. For example, to get to Tesla Model 3 long range from Vancouver, BC, Canada to Los Angeles, CA, US, you need to spend about 4 hours at charging stations in total and instead of 19 hours you will need to go 23.
Different charging standards and payment methods
A large zoo of all kinds of plugs, sockets, power and payment methods at charging stations. For liquid fuel, everything is much simpler - two types of "pistols", payment by credit card on the column.
Cold hood
Snow in the winter on the hood of a gasoline engine can melt itself. On an electric car, this will not work.
The article may contain inaccuracies and even errors. If you have any useful additions and links to sources, write about them, please, in the comments or in the dialogue for me - this way the publication will be supplemented and refined. Thanks a lot in advance.Go