A Focus on Pure Electric Driving and its Features
This is the 2nd installment in the series on "Demystifying the Differences between All Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids." Enjoy!
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Image Caption | PHEV cars and models are more abundant than all-electric cars, see above, and this technology can be a great way to transition away from all-gas vehicles.
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Earlier this month, we dove into plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology, its features and the enthusiasts within this culture. The Chevy Volt community is one of the most enthusiastic groups on the Interwebs and they love to drive on electric power — competing and sharing experiences on how not use gas. As shown in many forums, many Volt owners have moved on to electric cars, also known as battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
So this edition will focus on pure electric car features (BEV), but before we move on there, let’s provide a quick PHEV technology overview (or visit the article).
Plug-in vehicles remove range anxiety due to gas assist
More model types (minivan, sedan, SUV) are available to choose from, but many have limited electric range options, under 17 miles. (The Chrysler Pacifica PHEV is an exception at 32 miles; a great get-around town vehicle).
PHEVs use a much smaller battery pack
PHEV battery pack charging is done at Level 1 & Level 2 rates
Regenerative braking available for some models, see callout below.
Solid, peppy acceleration
A plug-in hybrid can achieve twice the fuel economy of standard plug-in, such as the Toyota’s Prius, according to analysts.
Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Differences
The first word that comes to mind is simplicity due to the technology behind drivetrain, one or two electric motors and a battery pack. A similar analogy can be a smartphone with its battery, processor (motor) and inlet for charging.
Battery Range
The big difference between a plug-in hybrid and an all-electric vehicle is the complete reliance on a battery pack and electric motor for your travels. Simple enough. And, most important, you should focus on how far the battery pack can travel or its EPA or WLPT (Europe) rating, not how big the battery pack is.
For example, the Audi eTron crossover can travels 204 miles (EPA-rated) on a full charge with a 95 kWH battery pack, while the top Model S and its 100 kWH battery pack can achieve just over 400+ on a full battery pack.
Not all battery packs are created equal. The best advice on range is to get as much as you can afford, because driving electric is addictive and you want to leave behind your gas car on road trips, grocery trips and all trips.
EV 101
Kilowatt Hour (kWh) - The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules and is measurement metric. The kilowatt hour is commonly used as a billing unit for energy delivered to consumers by electric utilities and 10 kWh can approximately provide 30-35 miles of range, depending on a car's acceptance rate and amps from a charging source.
Battery Pack - Electric vehicles use lithium-ion battery packs (as of 2019) as the power source to the electric motors within the car architecture. The size of the battery pack and electric motor(s) deliver a driving range (via miles) for each vehicle, and larger battery packs provide longer range. Battery packs vary by automaker and the same size battery pack from one doesn't necessarily translate into the same amount of miles.
Charging
The best setup for electric car ownership includes a home charging station (or plug). For homeowners or multi dwelling unit residents, there are two options. The first is Level 1 (110VAC) in the U.S. and Europe’s Level 1 is 230 volts, nearly twice the lowest voltage in North America — essentially, there’s no Level 1 charging in Europe. The Level 1 can achieve 4 to 6 miles per hour using 120 VAC. The second home charging option is a Level 2 (208/240VAC) charging station or outlet, which has more power and produces more range, see image below.
A Level 2 circuit delivers up to 3.4 to 19 kW and can add 10 to 60 miles per hour, approximately, to a battery pack.
Image Caption: In Europe, the standard household electricity is 230 volts, nearly twice the voltage as what is used in North America. For this reason, there's no “level 1” charging in Europe.
A Level 2 outlet is quite common in the U.S., such as a washer/dryer type of outlet, and this can be used to host a charging station or be used a charging source. We’ll talk more about charging stations in the future, but charging stations take AC power from the house and convert it to DC power for the battery pack — Tesla technology has a charger onboard that converts it to DC and eliminates the need for a dedicated charging station.
Surveys also show public charging isn’t being used in this first wave of electric car ownership, but this is changing as a younger demographic finds its way to EV technology and, of course, live in multi-unit dwellings — more on this coming up from Plugged In.
The big takeaway around daily charging is identifying charging stations near your home and the commute to work — see PlugShare for charging stations. For commuting, an EV owner may only need a Level 1 charger during the night, with its 3 to 4 hrs of miles per hour. Many consumers are choosing battery packs with more than 230 miles and a total roundtrip of 30 miles doesn’t necessitate a Level 2 charging solution. In many cases, Level 1 charging can be sufficient but use cases vary.
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In Oregon, charging station density is impressive and the map doesn’t include home chargers — your own private “electric fuel” station:
In 2020, charging has replaced range anxiety as the top reason for not considering an all-electric car. In a recent Plugged In article, we revealed a dealership pilot program in Oregon with Chargeway that is providing charging station kiosks (maps) in the showroom to answer questions by potential customers about charging availability.
This is what happened:
According to the article and white paper, “EV sales in dealerships with a Chargeway beacon had risen by 2 to 10 times compared to those at dealers with similar inventories of EVs but no beacons.”
This tool at dealerships, along with Apple Maps, PlugShare and Google Maps will help educate consumers on the abundance of charging stations.
Regenerative Braking
This feature, also known as one-pedal driving, is one item that flies under the radar with all-electric driving but is one of the most relaxing elements with the electric car experience. Regenerative braking comes from the electric car motor architecture and provides braking ability for an EV when a driver decelerates or removes his or her foot off the accelerator pedal. This allows the electric vehicle motor to act as a generator and convert much of the kinetic energy lost when decelerating back into stored energy in the battery pack — minimal with normal driving, mountain driving, a different story.
Besides the small amount of energy added back to the battery pack, this feature eliminates the use of the brakes for around 70% of the time during local driving and depending on driver preferences — how aggressive you want the regeneration setting.
Maintenance
The idea of minimal maintenance for electric cars is based on the reduced number of components within an electric car and this does translate in a comparison versus plug-in hybrids, too. The Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Automotive division cites “that an electric vehicle has one moving part, the motor, whereas the gas-powered vehicle has hundreds of moving parts. Fewer moving parts in an electric vehicle leads to less routine maintenance and is more reliable.”
Additionally, a recent study by Applied Energy, part of Reed Elsevier Science, calculated the total cost of ownership (TCO) using an average annual mileage and maintenance costs for multiple countries and found, “costs were cheaper for electric vehicles due to less wear on brakes and fewer moving parts.”
Reduced brake wear, due to regenerative braking, is a feature cited by many EV owners, where Tesla owners have claimed to go 60,000+ miles before getting new brake pads — for me, it was 45,000 miles.
Incentives
Last but not least, incentives for EV vehicles and charging stations are out there but depend on the state or local area. Utilities are ramping up incentives for off-peak charging — at night with variable rates in some locales — and many European countries have installed rebates upfront, so the car buyer receives the money immediately versus the tax credit being used in the U.S.
For the U.S., there will be opportunities to access the tax credits with Ford and VW, as they start to deliver the Mustang Mach-E (2020) and the VW ID.4 (2021), respectively. The all-electric vehicles will receive a $7,500 tax credit, consult you tax advisor on how these will work for you.
These are the main features of pure electric driving versus a plug-in hybrid, but we didn’t want to leave out the acceleration. Acceleration between pure electrics and plug-in hybrids are comparable and do give you some instant acceleration, say, compared to a Kona Electric SUV and the Pacifica PHEV, 7.6 seconds 0 to 60 and 8.0 seconds, respectively. The king of acceleration is the Tesla brand and every interested consumer should test drive an Tesla before deciding on what brand.
Speaking of Tesla, our next guide will be “Why is Tesla the Number 1 Electric Car.” Stay tuned.
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Current Number of Charging Stations in the U.S. (From Jan 2020)
Comments on PHEVs via the West Mi. EV & Plug-in. Hybrid Enthusiasts:
Rich C
8/22/2020, 2:10:58 AM
A cautionary warning: while phev vehicles are super convenient they don't have great resale value... That is our experience. The reason is fear of battery issues after any electric vehicle has five years of service. From our experience an American made phev that cost much more than its hybrid counterpart lost 6 to 7k more in value after six years. Buyers are ok with a potential replacement of a 2Kw or 3KW hybrid battery but are fearful of having to replace a larger 8 to 12kW phev battery... Whose failure would render a car worthless. Consumers will buy a plugin hybrid used from a company with a long track record, i.e. Toyota, because the company has demonstrated their batteries can last over 10 years.