Electric vehicle (EV) – Basic Knowledge about EV Sector / Electric Vehicle - Part 2

 Electric vehicle (EV) – Basic Knowledge about EV Sector / Electric Vehicle  -

What is meant by electric vehicle?

An electric vehicle (EV) is one that operates on an electric motor, instead of an internal-combustion engine that generates power by burning a mix of fuel and gases.

 How do electric vehicles work?

Electric cars function by plugging into a charge point and taking electricity from the grid. They store the electricity in rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Electric cars accelerate faster than vehicles with traditional fuel engines – so they feel lighter to drive. 

What are the types of electric vehicles?

There are two basic types of EVs: all-electric vehicles (AEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). AEVs include Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).

Do electric cars run on AC or DC?

Electric cars can use AC or DC motors: If the motor is a DC motor, then it may run on anything from 96 to 192 volts. Many of the DC motors used in electric cars come from the electric forklift industry.

Why are electric cars bad?

Electric cars have some disadvantages, such as: Reliance on rare-earth elements such as neodymium, lanthanum, terbium, and dysprosium, and other critical metals such as lithium and cobalt, though the quantity of rare metals used differs per car.

Do electric cars need oil?

Electric cars do not need motor oil as they don't have the conventional internal combustion engine with all the moving parts. ... Plug-in hybrids (and hybrids) still require traditional maintenance as they still employ an ICE in combination with an electric motor to increase efficiency.

What are the 3 types of electric cars?

The 3 electric vehicle types:

Ø  Fully electric vehicles. Fully electric vehicles produce zero tail-pipe emissions which mean that they do not emit any harmful CO2 or other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere while driving. ...

Ø  Plug-in hybrid vehicles. ...

Ø  Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Disadvantages of EV – Major Concern - Heating of EVs 

In cold climates, considerable energy is needed to heat the interior of a vehicle and to defrost the windows.

 With internal combustion engines, this heat already exists as waste combustion heat diverted from the engine cooling circuit.

This process offsets the greenhouse gases' external costs. If this is done with battery EVs, the interior heating requires extra energy from the vehicles' batteries.

Although some heat could be harvested from the motor or motors and battery, their greater efficiency means there is not as much waste heat available as from a combustion engine.

However, for vehicles which are connected to the grid, battery EVs can be preheated, or cooled, with little or no need for battery energy, especially for short trips.

Newer designs are focused on using super-insulated cabins which can heat the vehicle using the body heat of the passengers.

This is not enough, however, in colder climates as a driver delivers only about 100 W of heating power. A heat pump system, capable of cooling the cabin during summer and heating it during winter, seems to be the most practical and promising way of solving the thermal management of the EV.

 In 2008, Ricardo Arboix introduced a new concept based on the principle of combining the thermal-management of the EV-battery with the thermal-management of the cabin using a heat pump system. This is done by adding a third heat-exchanger, thermally connected with the battery core, to the traditional heat pump or air conditioning system used in previous EV models like the GM EV1 and Toyota RAV4 EV.

The concept has proven to bring several benefits, such as prolonging the lifespan of the battery as well as improving the performance and overall energy-efficiency of the EV.