Electric Cars
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are finally catching on -- the last few years have seen a big increase in EV sales.
In 2022, 6% of new cars sold in the US were EVs, amounting to 800,000 cars. Worldwide, 2022 EV sales were 14% of all new car sales, or 10.5 million.
2023 saw bigger numbers. 7.6% of new cars sold in the US were EVs, amounting to 1.2 million cars, a 50% increase over 2022. Worldwide, 2023 EV sales were 16% of new car sales, or 14 million, a 33% increase over 2022.
The topics shown just below are discussed in no particular order; each of them more or less stand on their own.
Kia EV6
Intro
A lot has been written about EVs in these last few years so I thought I'd offer my opinion as well. Being a tech geek that likes to write, my comments will discuss the general and technical aspects of driving an EV, the charging experience, and my overall ownership impressions.
So, let's dig into the various aspects of EV ownership. Yes, this may be a bit long and detailed, but after reading this, you should get a pretty solid appreciation for the advantages, and the few disadvantages, of an EV over gasoline cars.
Note: You will see the term ICE and ICEV many times in this article:
ICE = Internal Combustion Engine; a gasoline engine.
ICEV = A gasoline-fueled vehicle
Set aside any preconceived and possible politically-inspired notions you may have about EVs and just read.
Or as Morpheus said to Neo, "Free your mind".
Goodbye Gas Stations
We have not bought gasoline (in the US anyway) for over a year as of this writing. A tedious weekly to bi-weekly habit that I've had since I was 16 years old, well over a thousand times by now -- buying gasoline -- is over. Just like that.
I have to say, this profoundly strange and welcome new feeling, a consequence of EV ownership, is one I never anticipated. Being immune to gasoline price fluctuations is pretty dang nice, too. Electricity prices are far more stable and far less expensive per mile (more on all that later).
Less Maintenance
It's hard to overstate how care-free EV ownership is regarding periodic maintenance compared to a gasoline vehicle. Here's a (partial?) list of vehicle maintenance items that we no longer have to perform since buying our EV. All this is time and money saved, and hassle avoided.
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Oil changes: An oil and filter change costs between $40 and $100, every 5000 to 7500 miles, depending on vehicle.
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Engine check: While "tune-ups" in the classic sense aren't usually needed on modern vehicles, it's still wise to check various engine and ignition components periodically. That includes spark plugs, fuel injectors, pumps, filters, valve timing, etc. This service can cost between $100 to $500 depending if things need replacing.
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Fluid check-up and flushes: Engine coolant, transmission, rear-end. All these items need to be checked periodically and for some of them, flushed and refilled. Transmission flush costs $80 to $250. Rear-end is $70 to $150. Radiator $130 to $210.
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Various belts: Most modern vehicles now have a single serpentine drive belt that should be changed every 60 to 100k miles. Cost can be upward $200 or so. Timing belt has a similar change interval but can cost a bit more to replace given the additional labor complexity.
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Fuel filter: Change interval varies widely, check your owners manual. Cost can be upward $200.
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Brake pads and resurfacing rotors: A brake job can run between $250 to over a $1000 depending on what all needs to be done. Figure on the lower end of that range for a pads-only replacement brake job. But if rotor or drum replacement is necessary due to warping or excessive surface wear that cannot be dressed on a lathe then the cost could exceed a $1000. Rotors and drums can be expensive.
EVs have brakes, too, but they last a lot longer. More on that below.
EV "Regen" Braking
So EV brakes last longer? Why is that?
An EV can slow down in two ways. One way is by pressing on the brake pedal like you would in any car. A set of calipers clamp down on a metal disk located on the axle at each wheel and thus slows the car. This is called friction braking.
The other way is called regenerative braking and that only happens in an EV or hybrid. Regenerative braking is a wonderful EV feature that does two cool things that friction brakes cannot do.
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Regenerative means the electric motor is also a generator. When the EV is slowing down via regenerative braking, the kinetic energy that would have normally been wasted as heat using friction braking is instead converted back into electricity by the motor and stored in the battery. So the very act of braking actually recharges the battery by a small amount. Not much, but it's something.
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Regenerative braking doesn't use the friction brakes. So to the extent that you can slow down using regen braking only then you are saving the wear and tear on the traditional friction brakes.
Even better, the brake pedal on most EVs is smart and uses blended braking. That means when pressing the brake pedal gently, as if coming to a nice, controlled stop, the EV will fully utilize regenerative braking first. The friction brakes are invoked only if you are braking strongly such as a rapid slow-down or emergency stop.
In normal driving, even in stop and go city driving, it's entirely likely you can complete the trip without the friction brakes ever engaging. Imagine that! It's possible that your friction brakes could last the life of the car, never needing replacement. In fact, the friction brakes are used so seldom, most EVs have a programmed cleaning protocol where the friction brakes are periodically used instead of regen braking to help keep the rotor and pads clean of rust and other debris.
1-Pedal Driving (1PD)
Because EVs have regenerative braking, that enables a new way to use the accelerator (can't call it the "gas" pedal, lol).
In a gasoline car, lifting off the gas pedal causes the vehicle to slow down due to engine braking, wind resistance, and road friction. This much you already know.
But in an EV, lifting up on the accelerator can invoke automatic regenerative braking without touching the brake pedal. Many EVs let you set how strong this lift-off regenerative force is from none (pure coasting) on up to strong called 1-pedal driving and several steps in between.
In 1PD mode, you can let-up the accelerator and bring the car to a complete stop without ever touching the brakes. And, yes, the brake lights do come on. By moderating how much you let-up the accelerator, you are controlling how strongly the car slows down.
On my Kia EV6, lifting completely off the accelerator in 1PD mode produces a strong deceleration effect. Stronger than what one would normally command from the brake pedal under non-urgent conditions. This gives a wide range of braking power from gentle to strong, allowing one to pretty much never need to move the foot over to the brake pedal. (But not foot-stomping emergency braking -- for that, you need the friction brakes)
1PD is the one feature that I thought I'd never use before actually driving an EV. Now I love it and use it exclusively in city driving. For highway driving, I use a lighter regen braking force.
Instant Acceleration
I think it's fair to say that most of us like to "punch it" occasionally. Maybe we're trying to get up to speed on a short highway entrance ramp, need to pass someone and get back over quickly, get out of a tight jam, or just want a little thrill when the light turns green.
EVs are the clear winner here. Most pedestrian EVs can out-accelerate all but the fastest common-brand (non-exotic) sport cars. And some sporty EVs that are designed to emphasize performance will out-accelerate all but the fastest specialty super-cars costing 6 or 7 figures.
My Kia EV6, a capable but not particularly extra sporty dual-motor vehicle, will out accelerate probably 98+ percent of ICEVs on the road.
Why is that? (Note: This is a simplistic explainer. Gear heads may nit pick on my word choices and what I have to say.) Gasoline engines have what's called a power band. That's a range of engine speeds (in RPM) where it delivers the most torque (a measure of rotational strength). Below that power band, like when idling at a red light, the engine isn't nearly as strong. It has to ramp up RPM to reach its power band or maximum torque. That takes a second or two.
Now add a transmission to the mix. Because gasoline engines have a comparatively narrow power band, a transmission is required to allow the engine to stay within its power band as the car continues to speed up. Those gear changes, either manual or automatic, takes time. Not much mind you, modern automatics are pretty fast. But it's not instant. Changing gears increases acceleration time, even if by a tiny bit.
Also, gasoline engines are less efficient. The faster they ramp up and the faster they run, the less efficient they are. More fuel is wasted and not translated to output motion. That, too, increases acceleration time.
Electric motors are different. They kind of have a power band but not in the same way as a gas engine and it's wider, reaching all the way down to zero RPM. Electric motors are also far more efficient. A far greater percent of input energy potential is translated to output to the wheels.
None of this is to say that most EVs can outrun gasoline sport cars in a contest of top speed. Top speed is not where today's EVs shine, although that's changing with new motor and battery tech. But they can definitely out-accelerate most gas cars on a 0-60 or 0-100 MPH contest.
But how important is top speed anyway? What difference does it make if one car can only do 120 and another can do 150 or whatever? These are speeds you can only do legally on a closed track. No one other than a dedicated sport car enthusiast will ever do that. So, an exceedingly tiny number.
Handling
The EV battery pack is pretty heavy. But that weight is close to the ground giving an EV a low vertical center of gravity. And that weight is nicely centered on a 2D horizontal plane as well helping to avoid a front- or rear-heavy car. That's an important characteristic for good handling. The car may "feel" heavy (because it is), but it's surprisingly sure-footed and well-balanced nonetheless so there's no body leaning or roll and has excellent tire grip.
I've had a couple of occasions to perform emergency evasive maneuvers to avoid someone that quickly jumped into my lane and I was quite surprised and pleased at how well the car reacted.
Very Quiet
EVs are quiet, refreshingly so. Here's a list of what contributes most of the noise in a typical gasoline vehicle. Obviously, this can vary widely between different types of vehicles (sedans, sport cars, pickups, minivans, SUVs, etc). None of these components are present in an EV with the possible exception of the fan and cooling system on some models.
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Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), 22 to 30%
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Transmission, 12 to 15%
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Exhaust system, 25 to 35%
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Fan and cooling system, 7 to 15%
Lacking these sources of noise in an EV, other items start to surface as the dominant noisemakers. That mainly includes tires and wind noise. Since these noises are now more apparent, EV makers are focusing on how to reduce them. Sleek, aerodynamic designs help lower wind drag/noise and advanced tire tech like sound-deadening foam inserts and specialized rubber compounds are being developed.
The end result is a car interior that's notably quieter than most gasoline cars. It might not be quieter than some luxury cars but it'll sure beat the average car on the road. Our EV is the quietest car we've ever owned.
EVs are also quiet on the outside. So quiet, in fact, that EVs are required to artificially produce a sound at low speeds, like when in a parking lot, and when backing up. That sound is produced by the VESS (Virtual Engine Sound System) and alerts nearby pedestrians to your presence.
Gasoline vs Electric Efficiency
The engines used in most regular cars and trucks deliver only around 30% or so of gasoline's energy potential to the wheels. That other 70% is wasted mostly as heat (from the engine and hot exhaust out the tail pipe), drive train friction and inefficiencies (more heat), and a little bit as unburned hydrocarbons due to incomplete combustion. That's a lot of potential energy wasted as heat and not productively used.
EVs, on the other hand, are around 80% to 90% efficient -- upward 3x or 200% higher. A significant increase. That means most of the electricity drawn from the battery is converted to output to the wheels. Very little is wasted as heat.
With gasoline, we have MPG and $PG. With EVs, we have miles per kilowatt hour (m/kWh) and cost ($/kWh). More on this a bit farther down.
These different units can make it difficult for people to quickly and easily mentally compare between EV models or EV to ICEV efficiency. So the EPA came up with the term MPGe (Miles Per Gallon equivalent). It lets you quickly determine how efficient a particular EV model is compared to a similar gasoline powered car. It's not a perfect indicator but it's good enough for making rough comparisons.
I discuss elsewhere in this article exactly what kWh means and how to think in those terms concerning an EV.
MPGe explainer on Car and Driver (opens in a new tab)
Stalling by Design
Many modern gasoline cars have a "start/stop" (S/S) feature. The idea is that when you are idling at a red light, standing still in traffic, or just otherwise stuck (in gear) not moving an inch, the engine will automatically shutdown. When you lift your foot off the brake, the engine quickly comes back to life.
Maybe you've noticed this? It's startling and disconcerting when the engine cuts-off and restarts -- you think something might be wrong. The A/C stops blowing cold (because the engine runs the compressor) which isn't so pleasant on a 90+ degree day.
This supposedly saves fuel by turning off the engine when it's not needed. But in my experience, S/S is a useless, overrated gimmick. It's not really hurting anything but it's not helping, either. It only activates when at a complete standstill and only while in a forward gear. If you're idling while in "park" then S/S does nothing. How often and more importantly how long are you at a standstill while in gear? Waiting at a red light is probably about it, so not that much. The amount of gasoline I saved per year with S/S on my previous car (Toyota Highlander) might fill a mop bucket.
But it's definitely true that idling burns a lot of gasoline. An by "idling", I mean all contexts including those when S/S doesn't activate such as creeping along in heavy traffic without touching the accelerator, or just sitting in a parking lot, not in gear, with the A/C or heat going while you're on the phone (people do that a lot these days). S/S does nothing in these circumstances. For 2021, the latest year I have figures for, that's about 6 billion gallons of gasoline wasted while idling in private automobiles. Six billion gallons!
That's such a large number that without context it's hard to imagine the enormity. So let's put that into more relatable terms.
How much is six billion gallons of gasoline? Here's several examples.
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About 9,100 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Sheesh, I hate sports analogies
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About 645,000 semi tanker trailers, the kind designed to haul gasoline
- Enough to run 12 million average cars for an average number of miles for one year
- Enough to run an average car about 168 billion miles. That's about 6.7 million times around the earth. Or 900 round trips to the sun and back, if that were possible.
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Costs about $21 billion dollars at $3.50/gallon
All wasted just idling. Wowzers.
None of this happens with an electric car. There's no S/S. There's no idling. There's no gasoline engine! When you aren't moving, whether parked or waiting at a red light, the electric motor is off and consuming no power. And your A/C and heat continue to work. You could sit in a parking lot all day, A/C or heat going, playing with your phone -- without spewing out exhaust.
Cold Weather
♫ Baby It's Cold Outside ♫
It's true that range suffers when it's cold out. But the thing is, that's true of ICE vehicles as well though just not to quite the same extent.
That's a temporary penalty that disappears once the temperature rises again, not a permanent one. A big reason for that penalty is the cabin heater in a EV uses electricity to operate.
The cold weather penalty isn't as dramatic with an ICE vehicle because 1) cabin heat is free; it's a byproduct of the engine and 2) there's already an efficiency penalty baked-in regardless of weather. Simply meaning that an ICE vehicle, even when operating at ideal temps, is significantly less efficient for the reasons discussed elsewhere in this article. Adding in cold weather introduces a smaller penalty.
But, yes, EVs do suffer a greater endurance hit in cold weather, generally around 15 to 35% give or take depending on model and temperature vs. 10 to 15% for ICE vehicles. This is one of those few EV disadvantages. EVs with a heat pump have less cold weather loss. The heat pump provides "free heat" to the cabin like an ICE engine. Not as much so supplemental resistive (electric) heat may be necessary. But it helps.
But how much does this minor penalty really matter? Unless you regularly drive more than 150 miles in a single round trip then is the cold weather penalty really a problem? Charging at home* means it's possible to leave every morning with a "full tank". So cold weather range loss isn't the deal-killer some are making it out to be. And you can safely preheat (or cool) an EV inside an enclosed garage. Don't try that with a gasoline-powered car.
* With the proviso that your residential situation allows for home charging. e.g. A garage or at least a dedicated parking spot and the ability to install a charger.
Is abating that exaggerated fear really worth spending $2,000 or even $3,000 per yer on gasoline? That's a decision each person must make for themselves based on their individual and unique circumstances. But for us, it was a no-brainer.
Towing
This is not an anti-truck rant. Just some facts and commentary on towing.
About 25% or so of pickup truck owners tow something more than once a year. So around 3/4ths of truck owners tow something once a year, or less, including never. And since the majority of the towing that does happen is with a pickup or larger truck, then the percent of all people (including those that don't own a truck) towing something more than once a year is even less. It's a pretty safe bet that most people have never towed anything. So towing is not a concern for most people. Some, yes. But not most.
Similarly as with cold weather, much is made of the fact that EV efficiency plummets when towing something. But again, this is true for ICE vehicles as well.
e.g. The Ford F-150 pickup with a 3.5L ecoboost V6 engine, a pretty popular vehicle, normally gets around 24 MPG on the highway under ideal conditions. When towing, that drops to between 8 to 14 MPG (so, 1/3rd to just over half as efficient) depending on various factors including weight of trailer, speed, inclines, aerodynamic qualities of the trailer, etc. Point is, efficiency suffers when towing, regardless if the tow vehicle is gas or electric.
To be sure, filling up with gasoline on a road trip is quicker and easier than EV charging especially when towing because EV charging stations aren't generally pull-through like gas stations are. But from a pure efficiency standpoint, the penalty difference between an EV and ICEV is pretty minor.
But that really only matters when towing outside your local area. For local towing, less than 100-150 miles or so of tow driving per day, a full battery will suffice. And by charging at home, you'll save a ton of money by not buying gasoline especially when towing. Towing in local city driving conditions wastes even more gasoline, getting on the low end of the MPG estimate. If you do a lot of local towing, say are you a contractor hauling a trailer, the amount of money you can save with an EV like the F-150 Lightning could be quite significant -- potentially thousands of dollars per year not spent on gasoline.
And that F-150 Lightning, with 9.6 kW of power including a 240 Volt outlet, can power job site tools. No more noisy, stinky gasoline generators and no more hauling gasoline around to power them.
However, if you frequently tow a trailer or boat for long, one-way distances then you would be an edge case where an EV would not be recommended. At least for now.
Charging at Home
In the computer world, a "killer app" is an application that is so incredibly useful that it, all by itself, could make buying a computer worth it. For the personal computer, that killer app was Visicalc, an early spreadsheet program and predecessor to Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel.
The "killer app" or maybe "killer feature" of owning an EV is the ability to "refuel" at home. By charging at home, you'll never again need to visit a gas station unless you just gotta get some lottery tickets or beer. If you drive a lot, you can leave home each day with a "full tank".
Never again stopping to buy gas. Just let that sink in for a minute. I'll wait...
You already read just above how much money you can save per year. Now let's talk about the home charging experience itself.
There's two types of home chargers: Level 1 and Level 2, abbreviated L1 and L2.
Level 1 Charging
A L1 charger uses a standard 120 Volt circuit which you almost certainly have in your garage.
There are two common current ratings for 120 Volt outlets:
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A 15A outlet yields a max charge rate of 12A* or 1.44 kW, adding around 4-5 miles of range per hour of charge
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A 20A outlet yields a max charge rate of 16A* or 1.92 kW, adding around 5-7 miles of range per hour of charge
The big downside to L1 charging is the slowness. You cannot charge a nearly depleted battery in a single night. L1 could be useful for people who don't drive much because you can usually add about 50 to 75 miles max per long night of charging. I don't recommend L1 charging for this reason. But if it's your only option then it is doable.
Level 2 Charging
A L2 charger uses a higher power 240 Volt circuit and are therefore much faster (5 to 6x) than L1 chargers. You can easily charge a fully depleted battery overnight with time to spare. This is good because you can fully charge during limited off-peak hours.
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A 50A outlet yields a max charge rate of 40A* or 9.6 kW, adding around 28 to 38 miles of range per hour of charge.
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For a hardwired connection** you are limited only by the rate that your EV can accept an AC charge. Most EVs max at at 11 kW AC charge rate. Some are higher. (Note: EVs can charge at well over 100 kWh on DC chargers. More on that in the next section.)
* The National Electric Code (NEC) allows drawing only 80% of the rated capacity of a circuit for a continuous load. A "continuous load" is a load that lasts for 3 or more hours.
** This is when the 240 Volt cable from your service panel is wired directly to the charger. There is no outlet.
Running a 240 V circuit from your service panel to your garage, for either a hardwired connection or an outlet, generally requires an electrician. If you know what the hell you are doing then you can run the circuit yourself.
Some EVs and chargers can be programmed to start charging at a certain hour. This is extra handy for residences that have time-based rate plans. It'll let you plug-in early but start the charge when the cheapest plan kicks in without having to trudge out to the garage late at night.
What if everyone charges at home at the same time? The grid can't handle that!
Heh, more anti-EV FUD. Yes, on its face, that's technically true. But as with many things, the fuller truth tells a far more relevant story.
So let's dissect that assertion to reveal the fuller truth...
1. As a society, we're a long way from merely a simple majority of EV ownership, never mind universal ownership. Even after the last ICEVs are sold, itself a long way off, it would be another 10-15 years before most of the existing ICEVs are finally off the road. So, decades from now. Frankly, I don't believe that'll ever happen. We simply don't have the societal or political will to do that. So we're not even close to "everybody charging at the same time." and won't be for a long time.
2. Few EV owners charge their car every night. EV owners generally charge only when they need to, usually every few days. e.g. We charge about once a week. But we will top-off the night before a trip to STL.
There's no specific "charge day" when EV owners are all plugging-in any more than "gassing up your car day". The law of random distribution will see to it that charging will organically occur, more or less, throughout the 7-day week. e.g. Roll a 6-sided die for a little while. The more you roll it, the closer you will come to each number appearing 1/6th of the time. So it's fairly evenly distributed.
3. Most EV owners charge overnight when grid load is at its daily low. The electrical grid is designed to handle peak loads which is usually in the late afternoon and evening. Some power providers (like BEC*) incentivize overnight EV charging by offering significant discounts per kWh. That helps to spread out and flatten the peaks. More power providers are starting offer off-peak rates as a load management measure. I would expect CW&L* to eventually offer this as well.
* For you non-mid-Missourians reading this:
BEC=Boone (county) Electric Cooperative
CW&L=Columbia Water and Light
4. It's not necessary to charge at full L2 speed. Charging at lower power for longer can deliver the same total power while reducing moment load. e.g. We charge our EV at a medium current setting. That's still plenty fast to get a full charge by the next morning. And, like most EV owners, we usually charge to 80% unless we're heading out of town the next day.
5. Finally, grid expansion is on-going, for many reasons: More data centers (a biggie), more homes and businesses, and more people in general. It's not just for EVs.
As you can see there's a number of ways to mitigate grid overloading available to us. We're not going to overload the grid as some anti-EVers are claiming.
What if I don't own a home?
A garage itself isn't strictly necessary. EVs are rated to be charged outside, even in the rain. And yes it's perfectly safe! But you at least need a dedicated parking spot. Alas, this makes home charging impractical for apartment dwellers unless one can rent a garage or dedicated parking spot, or if the property is progressive enough to include EV chargers. Good luck with that. Landlords aren't exactly a beneficent breed.
But people renting a house may have options. At the very least it's possible charge using L1 as that requires no special power outlet. If the laundry machines are in the garage then one could piggy-back on the dryer outlet. There are smart 240 Volt splitters that allow that.
For those that are simply unable to charge at home then, sadly, EV ownership may not be ideal at this time. Relying on public chargers for all your charging needs is possible but dramatically suboptimal. Any savings by not buying gasoline would likely evaporate.
Gas-Electric Hybrid
One answer to range anxiety is the gas-electric hybrid. These vehicles have both a gasoline engine and electric motor.
There are two flavors:
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PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle). You can plug-in the car, like an EV, to charge up the (much smaller) battery.
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HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle). There is no plug-in capability. This car gets its charge only from the gasoline engine.
The promise with a PHEV is that you can drive a shorter distance (say, 40 to 50 miles) on all-electric then switch automatically to gasoline for longer trips. No more range anxiety! To the extent the PHEV owner's daily driving is all or mostly completed under electric power from home charging then they'll use very little gasoline over time. So little, in fact, the gasoline can spoil. That's a concern that needs attention.
If an HEV can't be plugged in, then what's the point? Good question! The point is the electric motor provides the motivation at exactly those times when a gasoline engine is at its absolute worst efficiency. Such as stop and go driving, accelerating to a higher speed, and starting to move when a light turns green. When you're at a steady cruise, the engine keeps the very small battery topped off, ready for use next time the engine needs a little help.
The PHEV "dual fuel" capability is an advantage for care-free road tripping. Buy gasoline anywhere, just like before. Another advantage to the PHEV is that more hybrids can be made from the same number of batteries thereby providing a faster route to lowering carbon emissions. That's because the battery pack in a PHEV is much smaller, averaging about 15 kWh in capacity vs. 83 kWh for a full BEV (Battery-only EV). HEV batteries are smaller still.
But that's just a stop-gap in my opinion. We need to reach tailpipe carbon-zero for automobiles -- not merely carbon-reduced.
Furthermore, the advantage of a PHEV (having an electric motor and a gasoline engine) is also its big disadvantage for all the reasons that ICEVs are a problem -- gasoline, oil, maintenance, etc. IMO, that's a significant detriment. And apparently most EV buyers feel that way, too. Most shoppers that are considering an EV want a BEV -- battery-only, not a hybrid.
Environmental Concerns
Pure EVs, of course, produce no tailpipe emissions. There's no tailpipe in the first place. But what about mining all the metals needed to make the batteries? Of course it's true that mining such metals imposes a carbon footprint. But that carbon is significantly more than negated over the life of the car because, once built, the car, again, emits zero tailpipe emission.
And those metals only have to be mined once. After a hydrocarbon is burned, that's it, it's life is over. New hydrocarbons must come from crude oil that's "mined" (pumped) from the ground and refined into gasoline. And refining itself is an energy intensive operation.
When an EV reaches end of life (old age, wrecked, whatever) the batteries themselves are mostly recyclable. Approx 80 to 90% of the components in an EV battery pack can be recycled and used to build a new battery pack. It's true that we aren't recycling them today at the rate we need to but that's not an intrinsic deficiency of the technology. Those are policy and business decisions that will develop as both supply and demand increase.
But even before they are recycled, an EV battery pack can be reused by serving a second life in a grid-tied storage array, "power wall", or similar use. That's because a battery pack that might not have enough capacity for EV use (where energy density is paramount) can still have plenty of life remaining where energy density isn't as important. Grid-tied storage is useful on solar or wind farms to store electricity generated while the sun shines or the wind blows for use when they're not shining or blowing. That also helps to flatten the power production curve of wind and solar farms, making it easier on the grid.
"What about the electricity used to charge the car? That's not green."
OK, let's talk about that. To the extent that fossil fuel inputs are used to generate electricity, then yes, driving an EV is less green than it could be. But it's still, even today, much greener than burning gasoline.
That's true for several reasons. Let's discuss why.
1. Older style single-cycle natural gas-fired power plants are already more efficient than a ICEV. So even if we charged our EVs 100% of the time with electricity generated from a gas-fired power plant, it's still cleaner than burning gasoline in an ICEV.
2. To the extent that fossil-fuel power plants are combined cycle then efficiency increases from 33%-43% to upward 60% or so. That's 2x better than the 30% efficiency of most gasoline car engines.
How is that? Natural gas fired power plants have turbine generators that produce electricity. But that also generates a lot of heat that's normally wasted up the smokestacks. But in a combined cycle power plant, that waste heat is instead redirected to run steam-powered generators. Hence the term combined cycle. They can be 50% more efficient than single cycle plants while using no additional fuel input.
Click here for a combined-cycle video explainer
Brief, only one minute long.
3. But it doesn't stop there. With each passing year, more and more of our inputs are renewable such as wind, solar, hydro, and other tech being developed. As these non-carbon inputs to electricity generation increase then the greener that EV charging becomes.
e.g. For 2023, approx. 22% of the inputs to electricity generation were renewable. If you include nuclear, which isn't renewable but still emits no carbon at the point of generation, then non-carbon inputs reach 40%. So, even today, 40% of the electricity used to charge an EV came from not burning fossil fuels. As that number rises, the better it gets.
And yes, we need to expand the grid to handle all this promised EV charging in the coming years. Not just for EV charging but also for new homes, businesses, and data centers (a biggie). And we're doing exactly that. Grid expansion projects have been and are ongoing as I write this. It'll take time but we're getting there, day by day. Is expansion happening fast enough? Probably not. But that's mostly a planning and policy problem, not a defect in the technology.
Even if "being green" doesn't interest you (but, really, why wouldn't it?), I believe I've made a good economic and performance case for owning an EV aside from any "pesky" environmental reasons. Just the savings and convenience alone of charging at home and not buying gasoline (that killer app) should be convincing.
I mean, I ask you, who the hell wants to spend four figures per year on gasoline? Who wouldn't be excited to cut that to zero?
Environmentally speaking, the best time to mitigate our carbon profligate ways was 100 years ago. The second best time is right now.
EV Prices Are Falling
Battery prices have plummeted by 90% since 2008 and are on pace to decline by an additional expected 40% over the next year or two (at the time of this writing, mid 2024). This decline, along with additional competitive pressures, have caused EV prices to fall.
For existing EV owners, that means more depreciation and less resale value. Some anti-EV naysayers consider this a bad thing. But most early EV adopters know this and aren't particularly bothered. It's like any new tech. Expensive at first but then costs come down as they gain widespread appeal. You might want to thank those early adopters for taking that plunge, bringing costs downward for everyone else. My EV is worth half what I paid because I paid the early adopter "penalty". But I plan to keep it for probably 8-10 years so it doesn't matter.
Cars are not an investment, excepting some classic cars from 50+ years ago. Lower prices make EVs more affordable to more people who will then be more likely to make the switch. This is good news.
As EVs become more common, a healthy used market will naturally develop, bringing yet even more affordable EV ownership to more people. Don't let the word "used" scare you, either. Because of Tesla, we have a over ten years of EV battery longevity data to analyze and the results are quite positive.
You can google "ev battery capacity over time" (no quotes) and see many articles. But the upshot is that degradation is of tiny to no consequence. It's certainly not a reason to avoid buying an EV new or used.
There are also federal tax incentives for buying an EV that can knock up to $7,500 off the bottom line. Some states, counties, and local power districts may have additional incentives. There's also tax incentives for certain used EVs.
There's never been a better time to own or lease an EV.
Politically Divisive
I guess no well-rounded discussion of EVs would be complete without at least mentioning the elephant in the room. Somehow, EVs, of all things, have become politically divisive.
Some examples...
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A recent CNN poll reveals that 71% of Republicans would not consider an EV compared to 17% of Democrats.
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A study by UC Berkeley that examined DMV new car registrations nationwide at the county-level in the 10 year period between 2012 and 2022 found that about one-half of EV sales occurred in the 10% most Democratic counties and one-third in the top 5%.
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Polar opposition: Liberals/progressive minded people are more outspoken about climate change and the role that EVs can play in helping to mitigate that.
Apparently, that last point, polar opposition, above is enough of a reason for a majority of right-wingers to oppose EVs, given all the significant, factual, and manifest non-environmental advantages discussed in this article. I mean, do right-wingers like spending four figures per year on gasoline?
Frankly, I'm flummoxed why so many right-wingers are climate change deniers in the first place. The science is clear, there is no dispute among good faith investigators. Since when and why-oh-why is climate concern a political issue?!? It simply beggars belief.
I'm not going to wade into the hip-deep, tick-filled weeds to further explore why. I'm not even sure I know all the uninformed, crackpot reasons though I have a good hunch as to some. You can google that as well as I can.
Except for this last section, this entire article simply discusses the pros and the (relatively few) cons of EV ownership based on factual articles from reliable sources and my own pretty solid understanding of our mechanical world and how things work. In light of these facts, I find it incredible that someone, in what can only be described as a spasm of misguided political allegiance, would reject EVs for reasons that are Clearly. Not. True.
Enough said on that.
Closing Comment
The biggest convincer for buying an EV is to simply visit an EV dealer, or ask an EV-owning friend, and drive one. You might even rent one for a day or two. It'll be an experience that you've never felt before, I assure you.
I will never go back to owning a ICEV. My only regret is waiting as long as I did to buy an EV in the first place.
Footnotes
Public Charging and Road Trips
These go together like hand and glove.
I ain't gonna lie. Public charging, at least right now, is the Achilles heel of EV ownership. It's (cough)..... not great. Put more bluntly, it's the single worst part of EV ownership by a country mile. But as long as your road trips are along the interstate highway system and to some extent US highways then you'll be ok. Not great, but ok. We did a 3,000 mile road trip to Miami and did fine.
Now then, having said all that, let's talk about public charging and how it's not really all that horrible.
Public chargers are very fast compared to home charging. If L1 charging is a garden hose and L2 charging is a fire hose, then a DCFC, sometimes called Level 3, is a city water main.
These chargers push massive DC power straight into the battery without any AC to DC conversion. We call them DCFCs (Direct Current Fast Charger). And that's usually what you'll use when publicly charging on road trip.
The best example is the Tesla Supercharger network. For many years, only Tesla owners could use the Supercharger network. But now Tesla is opening their Supercharger network to non-Tesla owners. Not all EV makes are compatible yet, but were getting there.
There are also numerous non-Tesla charging networks. The largest of these is Electrify America (EA), followed by several other major players. It's not that bad and it's getting better by the day.
Most EVs can charge from 10 to 80% in 30 mins or so. My EV6, due to its 800V architecture, can charge in under 20 minutes at a compatible charger. But we rarely have to charge that long because we stop every 120 to 150 miles for other reasons of creature comfort. So we charge while we're already stopped, taking maybe 10 to 15 mins. Even when we owned ICEVs, we never drove more than that between stops. Really, how many people drive more than 150-200 miles, upward three hours, without stopping? A few maybe?
Where are public chargers located?
Most DCFCs are in the parking lots of big box stores, strip malls, regular malls. Occasionally you'll find L2 chargers at a destination where you might spend some time. IKEA has L2 chargers in many of their locations. Spend a couple of hours shopping and pickup 50 miles of range.
Some hotel chains, restaurants, and supermarkets have a bank of L2 chargers in their parking lots. Sometimes they are free, provided by the business as a competitive offering.
EA's DC chargers tends to be located in Walmart and Target parking lots. Sometimes you'll see DCFC chargers at regular gas stations.
Most public charging networks have a phone app where you locate a charger, determine its charging speed, cost, and status, and pay through the app.
There's also an app called PlugShare that aggregates many charging networks into a single app, allows you to rate the station and see other's ratings, and includes other details. PlugShare is quite useful. Another app called ABRP (A Better Route Planner) can help you locate charging stations and plan your stops along your route that is customized to your car, it's efficiency, and other metrics. That, too, is quite useful.
Honestly, we really don't need as many public chargers as we did gas stations. That's because most EV owners charge at home, unlike gasoline cars where no one has a gas pump at home. We only need a public charger for our occasional road trips. And as long as we're on an interstate, public charging is manageable. In the past 12 months, I've used a public charger maybe 4-5 times, whereas with an ICE car, I would have bought gas 35 times or more, easily.
While we do need more public chargers, it's crucial that they are more reliable, covered, and offer pull-through access.
It is true that charger availability is a problem on lesser highways, such as some state highways and rural roads. Taking a nice road trip along these usually more scenic and relaxed roadways can be dicey. Renting a car for these trips might be the way to go, at least for now. Even owners of ICE cars occasionally rent a car for road trips. Maybe they want a larger car or SUV for the trip or just don't want to rack up the miles on their personal car.
I mean, have you ever rented a truck because you needed one for a rare circumstance when your car wouldn't do? I have, several times, even before owning an EV. Renting an ICEV for the occasional road trip is no different. As the charging network improves then this will become less of a concern.
It's something to consider.
I'll be the first to admit that learning the ins and outs of public charging isn't without effort. And I probably would not recommend it for some older folks if they are hesitant to change a life long habit on how refueling works. But if you approach this as a traveler, that is, with an open mind and excitement or at least curiosity for a new experience, then you can learn all this. It's not that difficult.
Kilowatts Explained
Before we discuss home charging and public charging, we need to talk about the basic unit of measure for EV "fuel". My apologies if this seems simplistic to some of you more technical types. Skip past this block if you want. But a lot of folks aren't familiar with this. And it's important to know what kilowatts are if you are thinking about an EV.
We all know what a gallon of gasoline means. We all (should) know roughly how many miles we can drive per gallon (mpg). We're all painfully aware of how much a gallon costs, too. So based on that, we can easily determine using simple math the how much it costs in gasoline to drive a specific distance.
That concept is exactly the same for EVs. It's just a different unit, that's all.
The term "kilowatt hour", abbreviated kWh* , is a specific amount of electric energy. Just like a gallon is a specific amount of liquid, gasoline in this case. You can think of these the same way.
* The "W" is styled in uppercase because "Watt" was a man's name. BTW, "Diesel" (as in the fuel) was also a man's name.
Just as your ICEV can travel a certain distance on one gallon of gasoline, so too can an EV travel a certain distance on one kWh of electricity.
And just as gasoline is bought by the gallon (or fraction thereof), so too is electricity bought by the kWh (or fraction thereof).
So these two units work exactly the same way.
Gasoline vs Electric Costs
Now, follow along as we compare "fuel" costs for an EV and a ICEV.
For this comparison, the EV will be a Kia EV6 (my car) and the ICEV will be a Honda CR-V. These two vehicles are more or less the same size.
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In my EV6, I get 4 miles per kWh in city driving.
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The CR-V is rated at 28 mpg in city driving.
Let's work through the math:
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Gasoline costs $3.50/gallon and residential electricity costs 13¢/kWh summer/non-summer avg (as of this writing) in Columbia, MO.
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Cost to drive the EV6 100 miles: 100 m ÷ 4 m per kWh = 25 kWh of electricity used = $3.25 in electricity
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Cost to drive the CR-V 100 miles: 100 m ÷ 28 mpg = 3.57 gallons of gas used = $12.50 in gasoline
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$12.50 (gasoline) ÷ $3.25 (electricity) = Δ3.85
As the math clearly shows, the ICEV costs almost 4 times more than the EV to travel 100 miles in city driving.
For highway driving the factor is closer, only Δ2.92. An improvement for the ICEV but still a pretty wide cost difference.
These numbers can be tweaked to fit your circumstances. e.g. If you have lower overnight electric rates, you could save more by charging during those wee early hours. For our friends who get their power from BEC (Boone Electric Coop), their overnight rate is 4.9¢ per kWh as of this writing. At that rate, their city driving cost factor is Δ10.2!! That's less than 1/10th the cost per mile to drive an EV in the city. On the highway, it would be Δ7.75 -- even still, an enormous savings.
Different EVs have different m/kWh ratings as just ICEVs have different mpg ratings. But any EV will be several times cheaper than gasoline for the same distance traveled. So the numbers above will yield a reasonable estimate of what you could expect.
From here, it's pretty simple to figure out how much you could save per year by not buying gasoline. Just estimate your average monthly or yearly gasoline costs and divide by one of those Δ factors above. That's about how much you'll pay in electricity when charging at home. You can easily save $1,000/year and quite possibly $2k or even $3k, depending on your overnight electric rate and how many miles you drive per year.
Fuel Savings Calculator (opens in a new tab)
Table of Contents
Tires and Wear
Due to the additional weight of an EV compared to a similar-sized ICEV and especially their extraordinary performance characteristics, EVs do need their own specially designed tires. But this isn't unusual. Trucks have their own range of tires. Sport cars have their own range of tires as well. Every vehicle needs a tire that meets the specific metrics of that vehicle. That's why there's hundreds of different tire models.
Vehicle weight, size, power, intended terrain, average prevailing weather and temperature, desired longevity, desired comfort, noise, etc. are all metrics to be considered. Tires are one of the most complex engineered components of any vehicle. So it makes perfect sense that EVs, as a class, would need a range of tires designed for them.
Anti-EV'ers like to point out that EV tires don't last as long because of vehicle weight. And that the weight is also tearing up our highways faster. That first claim is partially true (but as usual, there's a lot more to it). The second claim is pure bunk.
About that first point:
It's true, EVs as a class are heavier than similarly-sized ICEVs. But the truth of that statement doesn't really matter as much as you'd think. That's because people aren't all driving "EV-sized" ICE cars. The most popular ICEV's are medium to large SUVs and pickup trucks. Except for the medium-sized SUVs, those vehicles tend to be heavier as well.
And that second point, EVs tearing-up the highways?
That's simply not true. As far as the roads are concerned, the weight of all models of typical-use passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks, EV or ICEV, are a non-issue. These are all vehicles that weigh less than 6,000 to 8,000 lbs. The difference between any two vehicles in this weight class is utterly insignificant regarding road wear. To claim otherwise is hogwash.
Tractor-trailers (e.g. the typical semi or 18-wheeler and larger) do far more damage on a per-vehicle basis that any car or light-duty truck. e.g. The unloaded empty weight of a non-permit tractor-trailer rig is approx 35,000 lbs. Loaded with cargo, which they usually are, they can weigh up to 80,000 lbs. And with a permit, carrying special loads, weights can reach the low to middle six figures.
Yes, EVs batteries are heavy. But what naysayers don't mention is the offsetting factor due to the EV not having an engine, transmission, and a fuel tank full of gasoline. Those things together make up some of the difference. All other factors being equal, most passenger EVs might weigh a few hundred lbs more than a similarly sized ICEV. Hardly notable.
Some notable reasons an EV tire might wear more quickly has more to do with tire materials and composition, and less-so vehicle weight. Further down we'll discuss why EVs are so much quieter than an ICEV. One of those reasons is the nature of an EV tire. Since EVs have instant and strong acceleration, tire grip is of maximum importance. Grippy tires are softer thus wear out faster. Most non-performance ICEVs don't need such grippy tires. But compared to ICEVs in general, just about all EVs are "performance" cars. ICE sport cars also benefit from softer, grippy, faster-wearing tires.
The weight is only one reason and not even the biggest, it's the softer tire. But neither of those reasons are a significant contributor to wear.
In fact, the #1 reason any tire wears out faster is due to under-inflation. Since the death of full-service gas stations decades ago, people don't get their tires checked nearly as often as they should. About the only time tires get checked these days is during the periodic oil change. Tires lose on average about 1 PSI air pressure per month. As a result, the majority of people are driving on under-inflated tires, sometimes severely so.
And you can't tell just by looking at the tire, either. By the time under-inflation is actually visible, its probably lost close to 10 PSI, which is a lot of air. That causes far more rapid tire wear and dangerous heat build-up, too.
Other reasons tires wear out prematurely include:
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Aggressive driving. A lot of hard acceleration, braking, and cornering
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Misalignment
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Failure to periodically rotate tires
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Braking issues causing uneven braking pressure among the tires
Maintain all these things faithfully and your tires will last a long time -- EV or ICEV. If everyone kept their tires properly maintained, the USTMA (Google it) would cry a river.
I have a small pancake air compressor in the garage. I check and top-off our tires, including the spare, every couple of months and always before a road trip.
When was the last time you checked the air in your tires?
Is an EV Right for Me?
For most of us, the question isn't "Is an EV right for me?". It's more like "Which EV is right for me and when should I buy one?"
I would proffer that a significant majority of folks, even today, could get along just fine in an EV. There are dozens of EVs from numerous manufacturers , both from traditional ICEV makers and newer all-electric companies like Rivian and Tesla, to accommodate most needs today (cheaper, smaller, larger, luxurious, and pickups) and it's only getting better. Maybe an electric minivan will come along?
Really, it's the edge cases that are challenging right now, such as...
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Frequently towing a trailer over long, one-way distances.
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Driving long distances in cold weather
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Not having a dedicated place to park at night that can be equipped with an EV charger
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Financially strapped, someone who can already barely afford an ICEV, even an old beater
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Have special physical mobility needs, such as a van that can accommodate a wheelchair
Maybe you're an edge case that I didn't consider above?
If none of the above applies to you then you're likely a good candidate for an EV. You gotta just do it, as the Nike ads say. Be that someone!
You already read in considerable detail all the pros/cons about EVs above. So here's a brief recap of all those pros, in one view.
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Save in the low four figures per year by not buying gasoline. Who doesn't want that?
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No time wasted visiting gas stations. If you drive a lot you can leave home every day with a full charge.
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Far less maintenance including no periodic oil change
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Brakes will likely last the life of the car due to regenerative braking and 1PD
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Instant acceleration. Out accelerate probably 90+ percent of ICE cars on the road with just a pedestrian EV.
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Low center of gravity and good tire grip makes for excellent handling
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Very quiet, inside and out
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Far more efficient use of energy input potential, upward 200%. That's 3x!
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Help mitigate climate change by not burning fossil fuel
You'll notice the first seven of these bullet points are not even environmentally related. EVs are simply better in so many other, non-environmental ways, too.
But the environmental aspect is certainly critical! If we, as a global community, are to stand any chance of meeting climate/carbon goals then eliminating the vast majority of ICEVs, among other mitigating measures, is necessary. But it's going to take a while before EVs truly replace ICEVs. If you can't find or afford an EV that does what you need at this time then, sure, wait a while until that improves. And it will improve.
But at some point, if you, dear reader, expect to be driving beyond the next 20 years or so (e.g. you have many years of life ahead of you), then you must make that change. Eventually you'll be effectively forced into it. Well, that is, if as a society, we take climate mitigation seriously. Alas, I'm not convinced we will. But that blood won't be on my hands.
Commercial and Industrial EVs
EVs aren't just for regular people anymore. EVs of many types are being adopted by an increasing variety of commercial and industrial users. These large organizations have figured out that EVs are good for business for many of the same reasons they're good for regular, everyday people. Saving money, better performance metrics, reduced maintenance, and mitigating climate change.
Here's a few facts and figures. There's plenty more just a google search away.
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USPS is on target to have 66,000+ EV mail delivery vans in their fleet by 2028
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Amazon currently has 15,000 or so EVans and expects to have at least 100,000 by 2030
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Fedex currently has 200,000+ EVs in their fleet
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Numerous truck makers are building electric class 8 (think "18-wheeler") tractors. This part of the market is still in its infancy but it's growing fast.
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Electric construction/earth mover vehicles are coming online: Excavators, wheel loaders, mining trucks (those enormous dump trucks), skid-steer loaders, forklifts, and many more.
Large organization business practices aren't generally motivated by the same kind of political ideology as are individual citizens. The imperative to make higher profits is what drives their policies, not political tribalism or denialism.
Consider this: If there were no economic advantage for these companies to using electric vehicles there would be no market or appetite for them. Yet there is. This can be attributed partly to government incentives (the carrot) and to regulatory pressures (the stick). But in the US where laissez faire capitalism usually prevails, much of the transition is voluntary. Vehicle intensive companies are transitioning to EVs because it makes good business sense to do so, regardless of whatever environmental advantages happen to exist.