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Frequently Asked Questions
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1. What is the purpose of this website?
A. To promote the use of electric vehicles in the State of Maine as an affordable and sustainable mode of transportation into an uncertain future, and to advocate for an electric vehicle industry in Maine. more here
2. Why do you NOT include hybrid vehicles in this website, aren’t they electric vehicles too?
Although hybrid vehicles are partially electric, they are still primarily gasoline-powered vehicles, and we focus on non-gasoline-using battery-powered electric vehicles on this website, which are sometimes called BEVs.
3. Why don’t you include electric golf carts on this website?
Our focus is on street legal and highway-capable vehicles.
4. How are electric cars powered?
The electric motors in electric cars are powered by onboard batteries. These batteries are recharged from any source of electricity that matches what that vehicle requires. In most cases, electric vehicles can simply be plugged into any standard household 110 volt AC outlet through a regular extension cord because they have a battery charger built in.
On the other hand, some larger and more expensive vehicles, such as electric sports cars and electric trucks often require special heavy duty battery chargers which can be located in your garage, or in public places, such as at shopping malls. All specialized chargers require heavy duty wiring that should only be installed by a licensed professional.
A recent development is that some electric vehicles are now being tested that use ultracapacitors for their onboard energy source, instead of batteries. They too can store electricity, but often special chargers are needed to recharge them. It is not currently known if they will prove to be viable and superior and might eventually supercede batteries in electric vehicles. A longer driving range and faster charging times could be the result if they prove to be as reliable as batteries.
5. What are the options for alternative energy powering battery electric cars? Solar, wind, or microhydro?
Yes, all of the above. Any power source that is available to your vehicle, and that has enough power can be used to recharge your car’s batteries. Sophisticated public charging stations have become commonplace in Southern California, for instance, while 110 volt outlets are found everywhere.
Although solar panels are sometimes incorporated into multiple public charging stations, some people instead have them on their roof or in their backyard so they can use renewable energy to power their electric vehicle. Alternative energy sources for recharging allow a totally pollution free ride becuse you’re not using any grid electricity from a commercial power plant that pollutes.
6. What is the infrastructure needed to power electric cars?
The batteries are in the car, of course. In most battery electric cars a battery charger is built in so you can simply plug into any 110 volt outlet, but larger electric vehicles require a separate, more powerful charger. Some of these chargers are very expensive, even costing into the thousands of dollars, but those who have paid a hundred thousand dollars for their top-end electric car should not find them prohibitively expensive. ’
7. What is your question? It could be right here.
- A Reader’s Question Answered
- What are the differences between Battery Electric Cars and Hybrid Cars?
- by Bill Drinkwater, EVMaine.org
- The Answer:
- Battery Electric Cars are cars that have only an electric motor for propulsion that is powered by onboard batteries. They are mechanically simple, low maintenance, zero pollution, low-cost-to-drive and convenient to charge. They do not require buying or burning gasoline, ethanol or any other polluting, carbon-based fuel. Although todays Low Speed battery electric cars are a bargain, larger, highway-capable battery electric cars are still relatively expensive, until mass production brings their prices down in the near future.
- Because battery electric cars run on electrons, instead of gasoline, they are not subject to price increases at your local gas station, or to increases in state or federal gas taxes, nor are they subject to either Big Oil or the vicissitudes of the international oil market. Most can be charged at night by simply plugging into the electric grid (the nearest 110 volt wall outlet), or they can be charged from any alternative energy system such as solar panels on the roof of your home or a wind turbine in your backyard.
- Battery electric cars have a very high energy efficiency which is equivalent to about 150 to 250 miles per gallon of gasoline because their electric motors are inherently more energy efficient than internal combustion engines and because electric cars are built with lighter materials so they weigh less than a comparable-sized gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle.
- Electric vehicles produce zero pollution, and are federally classified as ZEVs (Zero Emission Vehicles).
- Full size battery electric, highway-capable cars and trucks will become available in the U.S. market starting in 2008.
- A small battery electric car can easily be built from scratch by anyone using basic hand tools, or assembled from a kit because they are much simpler than today’s complex gasoline-burning cars. In addition, conversions of regular, gasoline-burning cars to battery electric drive are now commonplace by both individuals and by specialized electric conversion companies. In addition, a variety of brand-new battery electric vehicles will soon appear on the American market, mostly from foreign countries.
- Solar-Powered Battery Electric Cars are a specialized type of battery electric car that are of extremely light weight construction and are super energy efficient. Their special lightweight batteries are constantly recharged by solar panels on the vehicle’s large and mostly flat surface area that produces anywhere from one to one and a half kilowatts. These are all experimental vehicles that carry only the driver. They are mostly designed and built by engineering students at universities, technical schools and a few high schools. They participate in solar car races that are held around the World. In fact, this year the biennial 3,000 km Darwin to Adelaide race in Australia features some new rules to help push this 20 year old race toward fostering the commercialization of solar-powered vehicles which includes making some of the drivers sit upright, and reducing the allowable solar panel area by one third.
- A Commercial Solar-Powered Car: French company is the first that is trying to commercialize a solar-powered car. As soon as new, more efficient solar cells and lighter weight batteries become commonplace and less expensive, solar-powered electric cars will almost surely appear on our roads. They produce zero pollution and are the most energy-efficient vehicles ever made. Most of these cars are propelled by only about 1,000 watts, the amount of electricity used by a hair dryer. The top speed achieved by one of these vehicles was 105 mph! See our solar vehicles page for more info.
- Battery-Powered Electric Motorcycles: Yes, these are now on the market. They work just fine, have a more limited range than gasoline-powered bikes, but are VERY expensive for now.
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- Hybrid Cars are highly complex, gasoline-burning, although low polluting, vehicles that also include an electric drive system to increase the overall miles per gallon of the vehicle. However, because they are never plugged into an outside source of electricity, the car itself and otherwise-wasted braking energy are used to recharge the onboard batteries. Another advantage of hybrid cars over other gasoline-powered cars is that these hybrids do not idle at stoplights or while stopped in slow-moving traffic, thereby substantially reducing inner-city pollution. The engine or motor actually shuts off completely whenever the car stops, and the car automatically restarts when the driver presses on the accelerator.
Hybrid cars are more expensive than non-hybrids by about 2 to 7 thousand dollars, on average, and because they have the complexity of two propulsion systems they are subject to expensive maintenance and rising gasoline costs as dictated by the usual culprits - the big oil companies and the volatile international oil markets.
Two new hybrid SUVs that are coming on the market from General Motors in 2008 will include TWO electric drive motors in addition to their fossil-fueled engine, plus two transmissions! This increased complexity, and its potential for higher maintenance costs should receive serious consideration when thinking about buying such a vehicle.
- The ‘Green Car’ Syndrome: The reason that hybrid cars are extremely popular is because owners want to make a positive environmental statement, and they are willing to pay a few thousand extra to do that. Also, hybrid cars look and behave like a regular car, therefore the owners can claim that they are ‘green’. while making sure that they are not having to sacrifice anything.
- Plug-in Hybrid Cars are the same type of gasoline-burning and electric hybrid cars as above, except that they can be plugged into an external source of electricity to recharge their considerably larger battery pack for a longer driving range on the batteries alone. The result is appreciably better average gas mileage than a regular hybrid can deliver, up to 150 mpg or more has been achieved in some research vehicles. However, their primary propulsion system is still a gasoline engine, albeit a low-polluting one, and they remain extremely complex machines, making the owners vulnerable to potentially very high maintenance costs. Plug-in hybrids will soon be available in the U.S. market and many fleet owners, as well as members of the public, are enthusiastically waiting to purchase them.
- Technical Problems: The reason that plug-in hybrids are not yet available from manufacturers is mostly because there have been some pesky technical problems with the lithium ion battery packs in these cars.
- Other Hybrids: There are also other, mostly experimental, hybrid vehicles that have dual propulsion systems other than the usual gasoline/electric drive combination, diesel/electric being the most common. I know of none of these types that are yet in mass production.
- Hybrid Motorcycles: Yes, these are about to make their appearance at least as concept vehicles in the big auto shows, but they are just another gimmick to squeeze even more money out of motorcycle riders, who already pay astronomical fees to dealers to work on their bikes.
- What about Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles? Many major techincal and infrastructure hurdles remain before hydrogen can become an everyday vehicle fuel. There really isn’t time to wait for hydrogen fueled vehicles to be ready for prime time in another 20 or 30 years, We must eliminate our polluting ways now or suffer severe, and possibly abrupt, catastrophic Climate Change. That is according to the latest Climate Report from the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is part of the United Nations.
Send your questions and comments to:
webmaster@evmaine.org
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