Electric Vehicles are becoming more common on our roads and a general site in the future. Almost all car manufacturers are producing at least one model of electric car. These cars are not Hybrids but pure electric powered.
The most common car we associate with being electric is the Tesla. They were the first to really break the concept that electric vehicles could be a daily driver not just back and forth to work on short distances. The Telsa electric cars can be driven on road trips the same way as any gasoline powered car. The only difference is you have to find an electric power charging station instead of a gas station.
Electric Vehicles – A few things to consider
There are a few obstacles that anyone considering buying an pure electric vehicle has to keep in mind.
First is the cost to purchase the vehicle. All of these cars are more expensive the gasoline cars and is the cost to you really worth it. Cars with longer ranges tend to be more expensive as an up front cost.
How are you going to be using the vehicle? Are just driving back and forth to work, a few short trips in the city or want to have it for as your main and only set of wheels. This leads us to the next consideration.
Where do I charge my electric car? If you have a home and power outlet in a convenient location to where the car is park you can plug the car in and leave it. This takes to longest to recharge the battery and would probably be left overnight.
For shorter charging times you can install a charging station that would allow you to reduce the charging time to 3 – 4 hours. This requires purchase of the charger and cost to have it installed.
The fastest charging is done at commercial charging stations and usually when someone is traveling a distance beyond the range of the vehicle. You pull in and pay by the hour to recharge your car. There are few cell phone apps that show you where charging stations are located, EV Charge Hub is just one of them.
In any vehicle that is power with electricity not only powers the car drive motors, it also powers all the accessories we take for granted. Cabin heat and windshield defrost are all powered with electricity. This draw on the power source reduces the power available for driving and in return reduces the driving distant range.
Cold weather also reduces battery efficiency and can also shorten the driving range by up to 25%. This is something that has to be taken into consideration when you are planning any trip out in the cold.
As electric vehicle technology increases so will the range and efficiency of all these cars. At this time there are more charging stations being installed and soon they will be as common as gas stations.
When doing some research, I came across an interesting video done by David Common of CBC News. He drove a Kia Soul EV from Toronto Canada to the Detroit Auto show. It gives a very good real idea of some what you can expect on extended trip in an electric vehicle.