Transportation
Electric Vehicles
Our first electric cars
1999 Ford Ranger EV and 2011 all electric Think City EV
Our intermediate all electric 'green' fleet
2013 Ford C-Max Energi and 2014 all electric Ford Focus EV
Our current all electric 'green' fleet
2018 Tesla Model 3 2016 Tesla Model X and Solar Teardrop Trailer
Being involved in the electric vehicle transportation for several years, owning an all electric vehicle since 2007 has given us a different perspective about transportation in this country. During the many opportunities to talk to people at green fairs and electric vehicle shows we have found that people may not grasp why it is so important they should consider changing their mode of transportation and why we have become so heavily invested in this idea. We found it helps to layout the case for electric vehicle transportation. To best do that I have addressed some commonly held myths:
1. Electric vehicles (EV’s) are not suited for my lifestyle. For 80% of us our commute is less than 35 miles a day and most of us have a place to park at night where we could plug in. We often fear change, but the change is not as daunting as you might think. We all take for granted that we can safely transfer a flammable liquid (gasoline) into our cars, capture all the explosive fumes transport it daily with us as we travel all safely and without incident, but we hesitate when confronted with the prospect of plugging in our vehicle each night. The data shows that electric powered vehicles are safer than internal combustion vehicles.
2. EV’s don’t give me enough range. Technology has been available since 1910 to supply a vehicle that can travel over 35 miles on a charge. Current production technology offers a vehicle that can dependably travel over 300 miles on a charge, but a reasonably priced vehicle today offers 35-100 miles range. We are used to pulling up to the pump and purchasing 300-400 miles range of fuel. Electric vehicles are different, when you plug it in each night you are filling up just for the next day or half day if you can charge at home again or at your place of business. In this context, 50 miles is a lot of range. You can see how it will work for you by writing your daily mileage down for a month and see how much daily range you actually use.
3. EV’s don’t work for travelling long distances. Today’s EV’s are best suited for our daily commutes where you will plug them in when you get home or plug them in at your place of business. If you are going on a trip, use your other vehicle (hopefully a plug-in hybrid) or rent one specifically for your vacation. It is not that electric vehicles can’t travel long distances. Last year a couple from Denmark travelled around the world in an electric vehicle, a feat they completed travelling through the most remote areas of USSR, Mongolia, China and our own US south west. They were driving an electric vehicle with 100 miles range, but there are other vehicles better suited for this task.
4. Why would we want to go to electric drive instead of spending our efforts improving gas vehicles? The early part of the 20th century saw the race between electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles to select the most dominant form. Gas powered vehicles eventually won because gas was cheap and for the first time we could travel long distances in an automobile, just by refilling the tank. There is an underlying fact that will guarantee electric drives will be a part of our future. An internal combustion vehicle delivers 20-35% of the energy you put in the fuel tank to the driven wheels. An electric drive vehicle delivers 85 – 95% of the energy used to charge batteries to drive the wheels. Electric drive vehicles deliver roughly 3 fold improvement in efficiency hence the average 30 MPG car becomes a 100MPG electric vehicle. This fact has been well proven out since the 1920’s by train steam locomotives that were replaced with the diesel electric drives all locomotives use today.
5. If I give up my gas powered vehicle will I give up performance? The Tesla sports car is the second fastest production vehicle made, Smith Electric supplies 16 ton delivery vehicles for Frito Lay and FedEx that can travel 100 miles per charge. Performance is not an issue for electric vehicles.
6. Aren’t I just trading problems with oil companies for problems with electric companies? Oil is an imported commodity vs. electricity which is inherently domestic. Buying electricity instead of oil reduces the trade imbalance with countries hostile to the United States and keeps our dollars and workers here at home.
7. How about the CO2 from coal fired electric plants? Our electricity in the Midwest is mostly supplied by coal fired plants. Even the worst coal fired plant releases less CO2 per electric driven mile than the average internal combustion driven mile. EV’s also have the distinction of only getting cleaner as they get older because new coal fired plants are much cleaner than our current aging generators and our grid is becoming greener all the time as renewable solar, wind and hydro generators come on line. There is also a system in testing now that grows algae fed by the CO2 captured from the stacks of legacy coal plants and turns the algae into biofuel a cleaner burning fuel.
8. Won’t we put the national electric grid at risk by adding electric charging to our system? A little known fact is that the refining of oil uses about 6 Kilowatt hours (KWH) of electric energy per gallon according to the DOE. Electric cars generally travel 20-30 miles on 6 KWH of electricity so for every average gas powered vehicle replaced by an electric or hybrid vehicle we save up to 1.5 KWH’s of load on the electric grid plus electric vehicle’s charging load generally happens at night when the grid is idling with lots of cheap surplus KWH’s of energy available.
9. I like the idea of EV’s and hybrids but I can’t afford the purchase price. The EPA projects $9600 savings over 5 years for the consumer between the cost of gas for an average new car (25mpg) and a Chevrolet Volt. Companies that look at the life costs of electric vehicles vs. internal combustion vehicles conclude that the purchase cost differential disappears in 5-6 years or half the life of the vehicle providing a $10,000 - $12,000 savings over the life of the vehicle. A Focus Electric or a Honda Fit Electric will pay back the difference in purchase price between the electric versions and the gas version in 4-6 years for someone driving 10,000 mile per year. Sooner if you drive more miles.
People see electric vehicles through the prism of internal combustion vehicles while the issue has a much wider effect, touching everything we do including how we relate to our world. Our need for oil strains our relationship with the rest of the world in ways that tend to change all our relationships. The oil industry exerts unprecedented influence on our politics, our country and the world and affects almost everything we do. Wars, global warming, public policy, poverty, health issues and class stratification all have straight line connections to the influence of oil on our society. We can change policy and the world around us by what we do here at home or in some cases what we stop others from doing on our behalf.
Improve your Transportation Carbon Footprint
- Walk to places near your home like stores, restaurants and events.
- Bike to where you need to go, you will see more and maybe get to meet the neighbors.
- Use public transportation when possible and share rides or combine trips to reduce extra unneeded miles.
- Consider buying a hybrid or electric vehicle. Owning an electric drive vehicle may seem expensive based on the new vehicle prices for models just introduced, but the reduced cost of fuel to operate them (1/4 the cost of a typical 30 mpg vehicle) will make your life cycle cost less after the 4th to 6th year of ownership. Most people will save $140 per month based on 12,000 miles per year. You will also be helping our country reduce the trade deficit by purchasing locally generated electricity instead of foreign oil. The best solution for most families is to have an electric car for their 'first car (the one they use first for most errands and their work commute) and a their second car is a hybrid to use when you want to go out of town or on vacation.