Plugging your car into the wall rather than fuelling up at the gas station may sound unnatural, but many believe that this will be the new standard for personal transportation in the near future. The technology for these vehicles is still developing, but they already offer major benefits in terms of both fuel economy and emissions.
An EV's engine runs off a stored electric charge. While electricity rates vary by region, EVs cost only a few cents per mile to power.
In the short-term the savings on energy may be offset by higher upfront and maintenance costs, but as EV technology develops and oil prices rise with global demand EVs could gain a clear financial advantage down the road.
Zero Local Emissions = Climate Neutral?
EVs produce zero localized emissions or pollutants. However, they aren't climate neutral.
Along with the resources and energy used in production, electricity generation in the US still comes primarily from dirty sources such as coal: in March of 2009 about 45% of electricity in the US came from coal and almost 22% from natural gas.
As more renewable sources are added to the grid, EVs will become even more environmentally friendly.
Smart Grid development is necessary for large-scale adoption of EVs without increasing electric generation capacity, to enable communication between EV chargers and the grid. This will allow EVs to charge during off-peak hours (when electricity demand is lowest) and feed stored energy back into the grid when demand is highest.
The biggest disadvantage of today's EV is its limited range.
This isn't an issue for the average person on the average day, only on longer trips. Once the battery is depleted it takes hours to recharge, which is awfully inconvenient on a road trip. Over time both battery storage and recharging technology are likely to continue improving.
Hawaii became the first state to install a complete network of rapid EV recharging stations, and MIT has developed a technique that charges EV batteries 100 times faster. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which combine the EV and traditional gas-powered engine, may hit the mass market before full-fledged EVs.
Another negative note on EVs is that the energy required to heat and defrost cars in cold climates drains their batteries. Preheating while still plugged in and strong insulation already make this less of an issue, though, and scientists are working on further solutions.
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