Running on Empty: Cars that Never Need Gas

[sansatman]

"There are hybrids. There are electric cars that plug into a wall and get their juice from whatever mix the electric company is offering. And then there are electric cars that are charged by solar panels on the roof of one's house. They never need gas, and the power is free after the set-up cost.

We wondered: How tough is it to do this? Are electric cars hard to find? Is it difficult to get a rooftop solar collector set up? Here are the stories of two guys whose vehicles run on empty."


http://www.sierraclub.org/wecandoit/home/electric_cars.asp

[PoiBoy]

1. That's awesome and very encouraging...!!!

Thanks so much for the link, and welcome to DU..!!!

:hi:

[AdHocSolver]

2. Electric vehicles can save money as well as the environment.

With economies of scale from mass production, the cost of an electric vehicle would be less than a comparable internal combustion (IC) engine powered car. Why?

An electric motor contains a few dozen parts. An IC engine contains hundreds of parts. An IC engine needs a fuel system, a cooling system, a complicated lubrication system, a complex, energy wasting transmission system, and an exhaust system.

As for maintenance, an IC engine needs oil changes, coolant changes, tune-ups, and periodic muffler replacement. An electric motor needs none of that.

To run efficiently, an IC engine has to run at a high operating temperature. However, when run continuosly, it burns fuel and produces a lot of heat so it needs a cooling system to remove the excess heat. This wastes fuel. In addition, the friction of so many moving parts requires an elaborate lubrication system to prevent destruction of the engine.

A gasoline engine produces very low torque. However, it can run at high RPM. So it needs a complicated transmission and clutch system to convert the high RPM at low torque to a higher torque at low RPM, to be able to get the vehicle moving from a standstill. Then as the vehicle gains momentum, the transmission shifts gears to run the vehicle at a lower RPM as the torque requirements drop.

An electric motor can be designed to produce high torque even at low RPM so a simple transmission is all that is required. There are few moving parts so that no elaborate lubrication system is required. Since the electric motor does not have to be run constantly to keep it at an optimal operating temperature, no elaborate cooling system is required. It needs no muffler.

When an electric vehicle is stopped, its motor is shut down, so it doesn't waste any power. When you compare the two engine types, the gasoline engine is a pretty stupid power source from an engineering, cost, and environmental standpoint.

What about performance? The Tesla all electric car goes from zero to sixty MPH in about four seconds.

The car companies make a lot of their profit from auto maintenance. Oil companies make a lot of money from oil changes. All that would disappear with widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Mass production would drop the cost of manufacture of electric vehicles, and the cost of maintenance to the consumer would drop significantly.