Electric Vehicle Use Electricity example essay topic

The issue of electric car has been arising nowadays. But many of us never really find a true example of the uses of electric cars in everyday life. From the article "Electrical Engineering", an Australian built his own electric car from a second hand Porsche. The article proves that having a private electric cars is no longer a dream. But do all people know the good things and the bad things about having a private electric car? Now, what electric vehicles really are?

Simply put, electric vehicles are vehicles that are powered by an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. Electric vehicle use electricity as the "fuel" instead of gasoline or some other combustible fuel. The electric motor in an electric vehicle converts electricity, usually from a battery pack, into mechanical power to turn the wheels. Major auto manufacturers are producing high-performance electric vehicles not only in the form of cars but also in a wide range of styles and sizes, including, mini-vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Electric vehicles today come as small as bicycles and motor scooters and as big as buses.

In Melbourne for example, we are using electric powered trams as public transport. Many people fancy electric vehicles because they had many advantages compared with petrol fueled vehicles. The benefits are: o Quiet, Clean Driving Experience - On a personal level, electric vehicles offer a quiet, fume-free, smooth driving experience. Since the motor does not operate when the vehicle is at a stop, an electric vehicle has no "idle" noises. When an electric vehicle is under power, the sounds are the soft sound of the motor and the tires rolling over the roadway. o High Performance - First-time electric vehicle drivers are consistently surprised by the quality of the electric vehicle driving experience. electric vehicles provide fast acceleration by delivering power instantly to the wheels.

By providing high torque at low speeds, they give a feel of smooth and quick responsiveness. Well-designed electric vehicles, like those produced by major auto companies, travel at speeds equivalent to conventional vehicles and offer all the same safety and high-performance features. o Lower Operating Costs - The per-mile fuel cost of operating an electric vehicle can be less than one-third that of a gasoline-powered car. The exact amount of savings depends on the local electricity rate which varies from utility to utility. In addition, electric vehicle owners say goodbye to many familiar maintenance costs-no more tune-ups, oil changes or muffler replacements. o No Gas Stations - One of the conveniences electric vehicle drivers like the most is that " refueling" can be done easily and safely at home overnight, at work, or at public locations like shopping centers, where electric charging units have been installed. o Environmentally Friendly - Electric vehicles are today's zero-emission vehicles. They have no tailpipes and emit no pollutants. Instead of gasoline from oil refineries, electric vehicles get their " fuel" from electric power stations.

Although power plants using fossil fuels do have emissions, power plant emissions generated for electric vehicle use are typically much lower than emissions from the comparable use of gasoline-powered cars. For power plants using renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydropower, no air pollution at all is created. o Energy Security - Australia and many other developed countries imports more than half the oil it uses, and the percentage is continuing to rise. electric vehicles help lessen the country's dependence on imported petroleum and reduce the national security concerns associated with that growing dependency. Currently, the drawbacks of the electric vehicles are the cost of buying and operating the vehicle and also the limited distance capacity of one time charging. Many people afraid that they will not find a electric socket or station to charge their vehicle when they are travelling far distances. How far does an electric vehicle can travel? As with gasoline-powered vehicles, the answer is affected by how and where the vehicle is driven - speed, stop-and-go, hilly terrain, etc. - and on how much the auxiliary systems like heat and air conditioning are used.

With an electric vehicle, the answer also depends on the type of batteries. In general, the first-generation electric vehicles now starting to be produced have driving ranges between 40 and 120 miles on a single battery charge. While this obviously is less than gasoline-powered cars, several points are important to remember: o Most people drive far less than 50 miles on an average day. o Many vehicles in fleets operated by companies or government organizations are assigned to routes that could easily be handled by today's electric vehicles. o The driving distance for electric vehicles will become longer as advanced types of batteries, fuel cells, hybrid systems and other technologies continue to be developed. Costs for charging an electric vehicle will depend on the time of day the owner charge the vehicle, the utility rates, and the type of the electric vehicle. What's almost certain is that people will pay substantially less than you pay to refuel a gasoline-powered car. The average monthly fuel cost for a typical electric vehicle driver is expected to be less than $15, compared to $50 for gasoline.

As with gasoline-powered cars, the heavier the car and the more aggressively you drive it, the lower the owner's fuel economy will be. Many utilities offer special electric vehicle charging rates with large discounts for charging during "off-peak" hours-generally from evening until noon. While the cost of gasoline can fluctuate significantly over a relatively short time, electricity costs are much more stable and are expected to decrease over the next several years as the industry is deregulated. In conclusion, electric vehicles (i.e. electric cars) have better features almost in all aspects than the conventional petrol powered vehicles. Many people really fancy having their own electric cars, but currently, technology and social aspects are still preventing electric cars to become fully replacing the petrol ones. Although the technology is still not efficient enough, currently we can just sit still waiting for the technology to be developed by the R&D companies.

What we must do for now on is to reshape our usual thinking of how a vehicle should be as it is doubtful that electric cars will ever enjoy the range or performance advantages to which auto users have become accustomed with petroleum-fueled engines. When we have really sufficient understanding of these occurring problem, only then we can be said to be ready for the electric vehicles..