Why Switch to an EV?
As gas prices skyÂrockÂet, the interÂest in EVs is also skyÂrockÂetÂing. TesÂla reportÂedÂly has seen a douÂbling of orders in the past few weeks. OthÂer EV manÂuÂfacÂturÂers have not reportÂed in, but their demand has probÂaÂbly gone up as well.
PowÂerÂing an EV is much cheapÂer than powÂerÂing a gas car. Before the recent price increasÂes, the averÂage AmerÂiÂcan spent an averÂage of $131-$176 per month on gas. In the past month prices have gone up anothÂer 50%, so AmerÂiÂcans are now spendÂing $197-$264 per month on gas.
An elecÂtric vehiÂcle usuÂalÂly costs about $25-$35 per month to powÂer but can be powÂered for free at no cost pubÂlic chargÂers availÂable in many locaÂtions. ChargÂing at off-peak hours or using powÂer from rooftop solar also brings down the cost.
Why are EVs so cheap to powÂer? Is elecÂtricÂiÂty that much cheapÂer than gas? The main reaÂson is that EVs are much more effiÂcient than gas cars. Gas cars use about 12–30% of their enerÂgy for propulÂsion. The rest is wastÂed as heat and noise. A cool, quiÂet EV uses about 77% of its enerÂgy for propulÂsion. This makes for an inexÂpenÂsive source of transÂportaÂtion, as well as a cliÂmate friendÂly vehicle.
PeoÂple are interÂestÂed in savÂing monÂey on gas and proÂtectÂing themÂselves from future gas price surges, but many do not know about othÂer huge advanÂtages of EVs.
ReducÂing CarÂbon Emissions
25% of ColÂorado carÂbon emisÂsions come from transÂportaÂtion, with anothÂer 11% from oil and gas. If we could elimÂiÂnate these emisÂsions, we could go a long way towards net zero, and save 20,000 lives a year lost from breathÂing car exhaust.
EVS are not zero carÂbon. They require carÂbon for manÂuÂfacÂturÂing and the elecÂtricÂiÂty that powÂers them often comes from fosÂsil fuels. HowÂevÂer, because of their greater effiÂcienÂcy, they use much less elecÂtricÂiÂty than a gas car uses gasoÂline. A TesÂla ModÂel 3, for examÂple, has the enerÂgy equivÂaÂlent of a 132 mpg gas car.
Graph showÂing 2020 carÂbon emisÂsions broÂken down by sector.
In addiÂtion to effiÂcienÂcy, the cleanÂness of the grid deterÂmines how much carÂbon an EV creÂates. In ColÂorado, sadÂly, over a third of our powÂer comes from coal. An EV in ColÂorado proÂduces about ½ of the emisÂsions of a gas car (takÂing into account manÂuÂfacÂturÂing emisÂsions). HowÂevÂer, our grid is becomÂing cleanÂer over time. An EV bought today will proÂduce fewÂer emisÂsions each year. To figÂure out how clean an EV could be with 100% renewÂable enerÂgy, we can look at WashÂingÂton State, which uses about 90% renewÂable enerÂgy. An EV in WashÂingÂton proÂduces about 1/5 of the emisÂsions of a gas car. Of course, you can immeÂdiÂateÂly get Washington’s 1/5 rate if you install solar on your roof or buy elecÂtricÂiÂty from solar or wind sources.
An EV proÂduces more carÂbon emisÂsions to manÂuÂfacÂture, but this is quickÂly recouped in 6 – 18 months by the lowÂer elecÂtricÂiÂty emisÂsions. Future EVs will proÂduce fewÂer carÂbon emisÂsions in manÂuÂfacÂturÂing because the EV batÂterÂies of today are 95% recyÂclable and will be used as raw mateÂriÂals for future batÂterÂies, and because batÂterÂies are getÂting more effiÂcient.
SafeÂty
Very few peoÂple are aware of how safe elecÂtric vehiÂcles are. At first glance, it seems strange that a difÂferÂent powÂerÂtrain would make a car safer. EVs are safer for a variÂety of reasons.
EVs are safer in an acciÂdent. The TesÂla cars have the lowÂest probÂaÂbilÂiÂty of injury of any car ever testÂed by NHTSA (NationÂal HighÂway TransÂportaÂtion SafeÂty AdminÂisÂtraÂtion). TesÂla has delibÂerÂateÂly put a lot of work into safeÂty, but othÂer EVs are safer too. The IIHS (InsurÂance InstiÂtute for HighÂway SafeÂty) comÂpared EVs and gas cars that had the same design, but difÂferÂent powÂerÂtrains (like the Hyundai Kona gas vs. elecÂtric). They found that injury claims for EV verÂsions were 40% lowÂer than for gas versions.
EVs are safer in acciÂdents for sevÂerÂal reaÂsons. First of all, the batÂtery is a large, heavy slab under the cabÂin. This means that EVs have extremeÂly low cenÂters of gravÂiÂty and the car is evenÂly weightÂed front to back. As a result, EVs are much less likeÂly to spin out and are easÂiÂer to conÂtrol. The 1000 lb. batÂtery also makes them almost imposÂsiÂble to roll over. The TesÂla ModÂel X SUV was the only SUV that NHTSA had ever testÂed that would not roll over.
The frunk or front trunk is extra storÂage and all crumÂple zone, which you can fill with shrimp or anyÂthing else you want!
A gas car has the engine and many othÂer hard, stiff parts jammed beneath the hood. This means that the front does not crumÂple very well , comÂpared to many EVs, which have virÂtuÂalÂly nothÂing under the hood (only conÂsole parts, 12 v batÂtery, etc.) and a frunk (front trunk) storÂage comÂpartÂment. If an EV has a frunk, the front crumÂple zone is easÂiÂly crumÂpled, and takes the force and accelÂerÂaÂtion of an acciÂdent much betÂter than a gas car’s front.
SimÂiÂlarÂly, a gas car has a large fuel tank in the back, which has to be strong in order to reduce the chances of leakÂing flamÂmaÂble gas durÂing an acciÂdent. An EV does not have a fuel tank, so the trunk area works much betÂter as a crumÂple zone.
There is no fuel tank, so there is extra storÂage under the trunk.
There is a misÂconÂcepÂtion that EVs catch on fire easÂiÂly, which is probÂaÂbly a result of the media reportÂing EV fires and ignorÂing the 150 gas cars per day that catch on fire. In realÂiÂty, EVs are much less likeÂly to catch on fire. AutoinÂsurÂanceEZ found that EVs had 25.1 fires per 100,000 sales, comÂpared to 1,529 gas car fires per 100,000 sales. You are 61 times as likeÂly to have your gas car comÂbust instead of your EV!
LongeviÂty
ElecÂtric vehiÂcles haven’t been on the road very long, but we can get an idea of how long they will last by lookÂing at facÂtoÂry testÂing of the major parts. A gas car has dozens of expenÂsive parts, includÂing the very expenÂsive engine. An EV is a much simÂpler sysÂtem. The major expenÂsive parts are the batÂtery and the motor. Both these are facÂtoÂry testÂed by runÂning them 24/7. A motor will be run conÂstantÂly or a batÂtery will be charged to full and disÂcharged repeatedly.
In facÂtoÂry tests at TesÂla, the motors test at a milÂlion miles and the newÂer batÂterÂies test at 300,000 miles to 500,000 miles, with the newest iron-based batÂterÂies testÂing at a milÂlion miles. If the expenÂsive parts of your EV last 1,000,000 miles and you only have to pay for smallÂer repairs like a broÂken winÂdow motor, that means your EV will last 66 years! Of course, real life might be difÂferÂent from facÂtoÂry testÂing, but the few EVs that are used for high mileage purÂposÂes like rentals seem to be still going strong after hunÂdreds of thouÂsands of miles.
Both EV and gas cars have brake sysÂtems, but EVs use brakes much less often than gas cars because regenÂerÂaÂtive brakÂing does most of the work. The brakes in an EV last for a very long time. Even brake pads rarely have to be changed.
MainÂteÂnance and Total Cost of Ownership
As a gas car ownÂer, you probÂaÂbly see regÂuÂlar oil changes and regÂuÂlar mainÂteÂnance as an inevitable part of ownÂing a car. MainÂteÂnance is expenÂsive and a hasÂsle. An EV, howÂevÂer, has very litÂtle mainÂteÂnance. Many EVs have no mainÂteÂnance schedÂule. MainÂteÂnance for an EV usuÂalÂly conÂsists of tire rotaÂtions or changes, windÂshield wiper fluÂid changes, and cabÂin filÂter changes.
Along with the cheap powÂerÂing of the car and the long lifesÂpan, this makes EVs cheap to own, othÂer than the iniÂtial cost of the car. A TesÂla ModÂel 3, which many peoÂple think of as a luxÂuÂry car, actuÂalÂly has a 5‑year total cost of ownÂerÂship that is less than a HonÂda Accord, and, dependÂing on the cost of gas and elecÂtricÂiÂty where you live, less than a HonÂda Civic.
An EV batÂtery and two motors. An EV is a very simÂple system.
The many advanÂtage of EVs and their low enviÂronÂmenÂtal impact are why peoÂple call EVs the cars of the future. The recent skyÂrockÂetÂing of gas prices has made many peoÂple more interÂestÂed in purÂchasÂing these cars. If you’re interÂestÂed in tryÂing one, you can find a list of availÂable EVs (like this one) and go to dealÂers and EV stores to test driÂve them. If you do, you will see that not only do they have many imporÂtant advanÂtages but they are much more fun and responÂsive than a gas car!
For more inforÂmaÂtion or quesÂtions about elecÂtric vehiÂcles, conÂtact DriÂve ElecÂtric ColÂorado.
This blog post was writÂten by Julia MoravcÂsik, events coorÂdiÂnaÂtor for the DenÂver ElecÂtric VehiÂcle AssoÂciÂaÂtion, head of the AutoÂmoÂtive Group for CitÂiÂzens CliÂmate LobÂby, workÂing with Coltura and 350 ColÂorado, and who is tryÂing on many levÂels to advance eduÂcaÂtion and legÂisÂlaÂtion to supÂport cliÂmate change soluÂtions like EVs and benÂeÂfiÂcial electrification.