Electric Cars

Electric cars seem to be everywhere in the news. They do not cause as much pollution as gasoline-powered vehicles. This means they are more environmentally friendly. However, the source of their electricity may not be.

Electric cars are powered by electric motors instead of gasoline engines. The electric engine derives its power from a controller. This controller gets its power from rechargeable batteries. If you look under the hood of a gas-powered car, it has hoses and valves. Conversely, the electric motor has wires and electric motors.

The first electric car was made in Germany in 1888 and was popular for many years. Electric cars started gaining popularity again toward the end of the twentieth century. Today, most major auto manufacturers have at least one electric car in their product line. Others, such as Tesla, produce nothing but electric cars.

Electric cars do not produce greenhouse gas emissions. They are also nearly silent. One drawback is that they are more expensive to design and produce. This cost gets passed along to consumers. Another negative aspect of these cars is the challenge of disposing the old batteries.

Some gas-powered vehicles can go about 350 miles before refueling, but many electric cars have a range of about 65 miles before needing to be recharged. Although, one electric car has a range of 300 miles. Maintenance for an electric car is generally more expensive. The battery packs are scheduled for replacement every seven years and can cost thousands of dollars.

At home, it takes over twelve hours to recharge the batteries on an electric car, although at a charging station, it takes only about 20 minutes.

Electric car technology continues to improve. If we find answers for cost and environmental factors, they may someday be the most prevalent cars on the road.