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 terms 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 political 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 for a personally-owned vehicle for 2-1/2 years as of this writing. A tedious weekly to biweekly 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 carefree EV ownership is regarding periodic maintenance compared to a gasoline vehicle. Here's just 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 and $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 upwards of $200 or so. The 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 upwards of $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 brake in two ways. One way is by pressing on the brake pedal like you would in any car. A set of calipers clamps 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's something that only an EV or hybrid can do. 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 vehicle's 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 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, prolonging their life.
Even better, the brake pedal on many 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 your braking pressure exceeds the capability of regen braking. e.g., harder or emergency braking.
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 entirely possible that your friction brakes could last the life of the car, never needing replacement. In fact, the friction brakes are used so seldom that 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. If you need to slow down faster, you'll use the brake pedal. 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 of those (EV-only) features that I never thought I'd use before actually driving an EV because I'd never experienced it before. 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.
Pedestrian, non-sport EVs can out-accelerate probably 95+% of non-sport ICEVs. Sport EVs that are designed to emphasize performance will out-accelerate all but the fastest specialty and exotic super-cars costing 6 or 7 figures.
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, depending on the car.
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 gain speed. Those gear changes, either manual or automatic, take time. Not much, mind you; modern automatics are pretty fast. But it's not instant. Changing gears increases acceleration time, even if only by a little 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. Because of this wide power band, EVs have no transmission in the usual sense. There's only one "gear", so zero time spent shifting.
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, drive line, 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 160 or whatever? These triple-digit speeds are dangerous since our roads are not designed for it. Hitting an unexpected pothole at 120+ MPH is very different than 60 MPH.
A closed, maintained track is the only safe and legal way to reach these speeds. No one other than a dedicated sports car enthusiast will ever do that. So, an exceedingly tiny number.
Handling
The EV battery pack is 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, 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 the occasion to perform emergency evasive maneuvers to avoid someone that quickly jumped into my lane. 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 an ICEV. 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 everyday gas-powered cars and trucks deliver, at best, around 30% of gasoline's energy potential to the wheels. And that's only in perfectly ideal momentary conditions. Usually it's somewhere between 11 to 27% averaged depending on a multitude of factors. That means the other 70 to as much as 89% of energy potential is wasted mostly as heat (radiated 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 (no engine can achieve 100% combustion). That's a lot of potential energy wasted and not productively used.
Think of this way: You're standing there at the gas pump, watching the dollars pile up as gasoline is flowing into you car. Now image that 75 to 85¢ of every one of those dollars are destined to go right out the tail pipe after you leave the gas station.
Diesel engines are a little better, but not much. And burning Diesel fuel has it's own significant problems.
On the other hand, the type of electric motor used in most EVs is 90%+ efficient. That means most of the electricity drawn from the battery is converted to output to the wheels. Very little is wasted as heat.
Consider this: One gallon of gasoline contains the equivalent energy of 33.7 kWh* of electricity. Most mainstream EV batteries today have around 80 kWh of capacity which is the electrical equivalent of around 2.4 gallons of gasoline. In my mainstream EV6, I have range of around 320 city miles on a single charge with my 77.4 kWh battery. A Honda CR-V, roughly the same size as my EV6, would consume 11.4 gallons of gasoline to travel that same distance. That's 5x more energy consumed by the gas-powered CR-V to travel the same distance.
* We'll discuss what kWh means a bit further down in the section titled "Kilowatts Explained".
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 otherwise stuck (in gear) not moving an inch, the engine will automatically shut down. 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 much 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. And 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.
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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 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. One reason for that penalty is that the cabin heater in an 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. So 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 year 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 and 14 MPG (so, 1/3rd to just over half as efficient) depending on various factors, including weight of the trailer, speed, inclines, aerodynamic qualities of the trailer, etc. The 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 an endurance standpoint, the penalty difference between an EV and an 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 you are a contractor hauling a trailer, the amount of money you can save with an EV like the F-150 Lightning could be quite significant, 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.
Imagine if you had an unlimited-supply gas pump at home that dispenses gasoline costing around 75¢* per gallon. That'd be pretty sweet, yes? That's what a home EV charger is like. 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." Just plug in the car, a process that takes 15 seconds, then go inside.
* My approx. cost per gallon equivalent, based on electricity rates in my city. Yours will vary. Could be more, could be less.
Never again stopping to buy gas. Just let that sink in for a minute. I'll wait...
You already read in the section just above how much money you can save per year. Now let's talk about the home charging experience itself.
To charge, you simply open the charging door, much like the gas tank door on an ICEV, then plug in the charger cable. Then just walk inside your home and let the car charge. Unplug the next morning before you leave. No waiting. What could be simpler?
About the chargers themselves: There's two types of home chargers: Level 1 and Level 2, sometimes abbreviated L1 and L2.
Level 1 Charging
An L1 charger uses a standard 120 Volt circuit, which you almost certainly have in your garage. Yes, I know that not everyone has a garage, and I'll discuss that further down in this section.
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 5-8 miles of range per hour of charge. Most garages should have a 20A circuit. It's a code requirement.
The main downside to L1 charging is the slowness. There's not enough time to fully charge a nearly depleted battery in a single night. But you can get a pretty decent partial charge, which could still be sufficient. e.g., L1 could be useful for people who don't drive more than 50 to 75 miles max per day. I don't generally recommend L1 charging if you can arrange for L2 charging. But if it's your only option, then it's certainly doable, depending on your daily mileage. A lot of EV owners have only L1 charging at home and they do just fine.
The big upside to L1 charging is low up-front cost. You typically don't need any electrical work done. Just having a 120 Volt outlet somewhat nearby is enough. An L1 charger draws about as much power as a space heater and maybe costs a couple of hundred dollars to buy.
Level 2 Charging
An L2 charger uses a higher power 240 Volt circuit and higher amperage and is therefore much faster (5 to 6x) than L1 chargers. You can easily fully charge a depleted battery overnight with time to spare. This is great because you can make better use of limited off-peak hours if your power utility offers that.
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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 (and possibly the capacity of your electric service panel). Most EVs max out at 11 kW AC charge rate. Some are higher. (Note: EVs can charge at well over 100 kW on public 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 (three or more hours).
** This is when the 240 Volt cable from your service panel is wired directly to the charger. There is no outlet.
A potential downside to L2 charging is having the electrical work done. Running a 240 Volt circuit from your service panel to your garage for either a hardwired connection or an outlet generally requires an electrician, which could be costly. But if you know what the hell you are doing, being aware of code and permitting requirements, then you can run the circuit yourself. And the chargers themselves tend to cost a little more.
Some EVs and chargers can be programmed to start charging at a certain hour. This is extra handy for residences that have time-of-use electrical rate plans. It'll let you plug in earlier in the evening but delay actual charging until the cheapest rate kicks in without having to trudge out to the garage late at night.
What if I don't have a garage or even own a home?
A garage 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 that has an outlet or where one could be installed. Preferably one where you can cut the power when not in use.
Alas, this makes home charging impractical for apartment dwellers unless one can rent an onsite garage or dedicated parking spot and install an EV charger. Some properties offer EV charging to their tenants, but it's not very common -- yet. That'll certainly improve over time.
But people renting a house do have options. At the very least, it's possible to charge using L1, as that requires no special power outlet. It's possible to pick up 50-75 miles of range per night. Not bad. If the laundry machines are in the garage (or very close), then it's possible to piggyback on the high-powered dryer outlet. There are smart 240 Volt splitters that allow that. Even at 24 Amps*, you can charge an EV in a single night.
* Most dryer outlets are rated at 30A, which provides 24A of usable charge current.
For those that are simply unable to charge at home or work, then, sadly, EV ownership might not be ideal at this time, at least from a money-saving and convenience perspective. Relying on public chargers for all charging needs is possible but dramatically suboptimal. Any savings incurred by not buying gasoline would be spent on more expensive public charging.
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 than a punchy headline.
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 after that 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, at least for a long, long time.
2. Few EV owners charge their car every night as it is. EV owners generally charge only when they need to, usually every few days. e.g., we charge about once a week.
And there's no specific "charge day" when EV owners are all plugging in any more than a "gassing up your car day." The principle of random distribution will see to it that charging will organically occur, more or less, throughout the 7-day week. You can easily prove that principle to yourself: 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. You'll see that it's fairly evenly distributed. That's what buying gasoline and EV charging looks like.
3. Most EV owners charge overnight when grid load is already at its daily low. The electrical grid is designed to handle peak loads, which are usually in the late afternoon and early 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 to offer off-peak rates as a load management measure. I would hope 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 many EV owners, we usually charge to 80% (not 100%) 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. Another anti-EV myth busted.
Gas-Electric Hybrid
One answer to range anxiety* is the gas-electric hybrid. These vehicles have both a gasoline engine and an electric motor.
There are three flavors of EV.
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BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). No ICE, has a battery only.
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PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle). Has an ICE, and you can plug in the car, like an EV, to charge up the battery.
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HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle). Has an ICE, but there is no plug-in capability. This car gets its charge only from the ICE.
* Really, it should be called charger anxiety. Most of today's EVs have a range of at least 280-300 miles and a few upward 400 miles, not all that less than ICEVs. The anxiety (for now) stems from the lack of chargers -- not lack of range.
About the BEV
All electric, no gasoline engine. This is what the entire rest of this article is about.
About the PHEV
The neat thing with a PHEV is the "dual fuel" capability. You can drive a shorter distance (20 to 50-ish miles depending on model) on electric then automatically switch to gasoline when the battery goes flat. 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. But there are ways to deal with that.
People that like the idea of an EV but are still not comfortable with the state of public charging today, a PHEV could be the answer until public charging improves.
Another advantage to the PHEV is that because the battery is much smaller, more hybrids can be made from the same number of batteries, thereby providing a faster route to lowering carbon emissions.
About the HEV
If an HEV can't be plugged in, then what's the point? Good question!
The point is the electric motor provides the motivation, that extra kick, 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. While you're at a steady cruise, when the engine is more efficient, it keeps the small battery topped off, ready for use next time the engine needs a little help.
Since HEVs mainly use the gasoline engine, HEV batteries are even smaller than PHEVs (and way smaller than a BEV).
Hybrid Downside
While hybrids have their pros discussed above, they have their cons as well.
Hybrids, both PHEV and HEV, have the big disadvantage of including an ICE with all its attendant needs -- gasoline, oil, far more regular maintenance, etc. IMO, that's a significant detriment.
We need to reach tailpipe carbon-zero for automobiles -- not merely carbon-reduced.
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 offset over the life of the car because, once built, the car, again, emits zero tailpipe emissions.
And those metals only have to be mined once since they are recyclable. After a hydrocarbon is burned, however, its 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, further reducing gasoline's total efficiency.
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 quite 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 an ICEV. So even if we charged our EVs exclusively with electricity generated only from a gas-fired power plant, it's still cleaner than burning gasoline in an ICEV.
But there's more...
2. To the extent that fossil-fuel power plants are combined cycle, then efficiency increases from 33%-43% to upwards 60% or so. That's 2x better than the approx 20% average efficiency of 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?
Depending on how much you drive, you could recover a significant portion of an EV's purchase price over the life of the vehicle, just in gasoline savings! Nevermind the additional savings by not having to do all the maintenance an ICEV typically requires.
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% (from now) over the next year or two (at the time of this writing, mid-2024). This decline, along with additional competitive pressures, has caused EV prices to fall.
For existing EV owners, that means more depreciation and less resale value. Some anti-EV naysayers tout this as a reason not to own an EV. But most early EV buyers 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 buyers (you're welcome) for taking that plunge, helping to bring costs down for everyone else. My EV is worth half what I paid because I paid the early buyer "penalty." But I plan to keep it for probably 8-10 years, so it doesn't matter because the depreciation curve will already be pretty flat by then.
But regardless, 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.
What about a used EV?
As EVs are becoming more common, a healthy used market is developing, bringing more affordable EV ownership to more people. Don't let the word "used" scare you, either. Because of Tesla, we have 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. And unlike ICEVs, the battery modules in an EV can be examined using software that reports on their status. You can't do that with a gasoline engine or transmission unless you tear them apart, at which point you'd rebuild them.
There are also federal tax incentives that can knock up to $7,500 off certain new EVs and up to $4,000 off certain used EVs. Some states, counties, and local power districts may have additional incentives.
Leasing an EV
If you aren't ready to commit to EV ownership then you might considering leasing one, just like any other car. With a lease, you can likely negotiate a no-money-down deal and then only pay for 24 months or whatever. If you find that after two years that driving ab EV is pretty cool then you'll have options to purchase it. Or trade it in for something else.
It's just another thing to consider.
Politically Divisive
I suppose 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 and progressive-minded people are far more outspoken about climate change and the role that EVs can play in helping to mitigate that.
Apparently, that last point, polar opposition, is enough of a reason all by itself for a majority of right-wingers to oppose EVs, even 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?
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 fairly and 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.
Some communities hold an "EV experience event" where you can see a bunch of different EVs, talk to their owners, and maybe drive some of them. You might even rent one for a day or two. It'll be a driving experience that you've likely never felt before.
I will never go back to owning an 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 what you'll use when publicly charging on road trips.
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.
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 month.
Most EVs can charge from 10 to 80% in 30 minutes or so. My EV6, due to its 800V architecture, can charge in about 20 minutes at a compatible charger. But we rarely have to charge even that long because we already 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 minutes. Even when we owned ICEVs, we never drove more than that between stops. Really, how many people drive more than 150-200 miles (upwards three hours) without stopping? A few maybe? Not many. And doing so is not particularly safe, either.
Where are public chargers located?
Most DCFCs are in the parking lots of big box stores, strip malls, regular malls, even some gas stations. 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. In Fla, where we used to live, fast DC chargers are located along the turnpike in the service plazas.
Some hotel chains, restaurants, supermarkets, and places of employment have a bank of L2 chargers in their parking lots. Sometimes they are free, provided by the business as a competitive offering. Other times there's a more modest fee, less than the DC chargers.
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. Most have a credit card reader as well so you don't have to use an 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 others 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, like a gas station.
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 someone's daily car is an econobox and they want a larger, more comfortable 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, 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 certainly admit that learning the ins and outs of public charging isn't without some effort. 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 how much it costs in gasoline to drive a specific distance.
That concept is exactly the same for EVs. It's just a different "fuel" (electricity), that's all.
The term "kilowatt hour," abbreviated kWh*, is a specific amount of electric energy. Just like a gallon is a specific amount gasoline. 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.
Nerd Alert! I'm gonna geek out a bit here.
Why is there an "hour" in the term "kilowatt hour"? What does that even mean? Gasoline doesn't have any "hours" in "miles per gallon"!
A kWh as an amount of (electrical) power just like a gallon of gasoline is an amount of power. Each of those will take you 𝑛 miles per amount.
Gasoline is a physical thing, like water. It has weight (just over six lbs per gallon) and occupies space in the tank. The amount of gasoline in the tank drops as you drive because it's drawn away via the fuel line and injected into the engine where it is consumed. All pretty obvious.
But electricity is very different. It doesn't occupy space in the same sense that gasoline does. A fully charged battery doesn't weigh any more than a "dead" one. A battery has the same number of electrons inside whether fully charged or completly spent. The difference is where* inside the battery those electrons are located.
* In a charged battery, a chemical reaction builds up extra electrons at the anode (negative electrode). As you draw power from the battery, these electrons flow through the car's motor, providing motion, and return to the cathode (positive electrode). Inside the battery, positively charged ions move through the electrolyte to balance the charge. As this chemical reaction continues, it'll eventually peter out, meaning the battery is spent. Recharging the battery reverses the chemical reaction, pushing electrons back to the anode and restoring its ability to supply power again.
n.b. That ▲ description is highly simplified but adequate. The precise electro-chemical process is beyond the scope of this article.
So, with no weight or volume changes to measure, all we're left with is measuring how long a battery will last based on how much power we draw before it's spent. We can easily calculate that because we know the battery's full capacity and how much power we're drawing at any given moment. And from that, in the case of powering a car, we can determine our endurance in miles.
A kilowatt is 1,000 Watts. A kilowatt hour is 1,000 Watts continuous for one hour. We use the kilo prefix so we can keep the number's magnitude manageable.
Very simple 3rd grade math: Let us assume we have a battery with a 10 kWh capacity. If we connect a 1,000 Watt (1 kW) space heater then it'll run for 10 hours. If we connect two such space heaters, they'll each run for 5 hours. If, instead, we connect a smaller 500 Watt (0.5 kW) space heater, then it would run for 20 hours. Pretty simple, eh?
Just like gasoline: The faster you draw gasoline from the tank, the less time it'll last. But since gasoline is a physical thing that we can measure in gallons then we don't bother with using hours.
Interesting aside: Airline pilots in flight refer to remaining fuel by weight and/or remaining flight time, not gallons.
e.g. The battery in my EV6 is has a usable capacity of 77.4 kWh (actual capacity is a few kWh higher). That's about the average capacity for most EVs right now. The car can tell how much power I'm drawing from the battery as I drive along. e.g. At 70 mph highway driving, I can usually achieve 3.7 miles per 1 kWh of power. So, by multiplying the capacity (77.4 kWh) times the miles I can travel using 1 kWh (3.7), the result is about 286 miles from 100% to 0% on my battery. In city driving, I can achieve at least 4 miles per kWh and often more. That's about 310 miles of endurance or better.
Of course, I'd never let the battery reach zero percent, just as you'd never let your ICEV run out of gas.
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 the same way. It doesn't take long to get the hang of kWh vs gallons.
Gasoline vs Electric Costs
Now, follow along as we compare "fuel" costs for an EV and an 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, 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 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. About 34¢ per gallon equivalent of gasoline. When is the last time you paid 34¢ per gallon of gas? On the highway, it would be Δ7.75 -- even still, an enormous savings.
Different EVs have different m/kWh ratings, as just as different 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.
Obviously, the savings depend heavily on your local electrical and gasoline rates. Places with higher electric rates and lower gasoline rates won't see as much savings. Conversely, lower electrical rates (especially overnight rates) and higher gasoline rates will yield greater savings.
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 are hundreds (thousands?) 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 they also claim that EV weight is tearing up our roads 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, thus must also chew up tires faster.
My EV consumes tires about as fast as the two dozen ICEVs I've owned before it.
And that second point, EVs tearing up our roads? Bunk!
It's simply not true and here I'll go over why. We'll get into the weeds a bit here but I'll keep it readable. If you aren't particularly interested in road wear arcana then just proceed to the next section. But you might learn something interesting about road ware that you didn't know.
As far as the roads are concerned, the difference in weight between any two passenger vehicles including light-duty trucks, EV or ICEV, is negligible. These are all vehicles that generally weigh no more than 3 tons or so.
The difference between any two vehicles in this weight class is utterly insignificant regarding road wear compared to what causes the most road wear.
Straight box trucks (similar in size to U-Haul rentals) and especially tractor-trailers (the typical 18-wheeler) do far more damage on a per-vehicle basis than any car or light-duty truck than what its mere weight alone might indicate.
How is that?
Road wear is determined using the "fourth power law" applied to the axle load -- the weight each axle is carrying. That means that when a weight loading on an axle is doubled, the stress on the road increases 16 times! Not simply doubled as you might think.
In short, the stress/damage caused to the road increases exponentially, not linearly, to the weight on the axle. So at larger weights, the stress/damage index increases very rapidly.
The loaded weight of a 26 foot straight truck can reach 32,000 lbs, give or take.
The legal maximum weight of a non-permit tractor-trailer rig is 80,000 lbs. Even an empty tractor-trailer (deadheading) weighs approx. 35,000 lbs. And with a permit, carrying special loads, weights can reach the low to mid six figures – hundreds of tons.
Here is the axle weight loading and the stress it places on the road. We'll assume an even weight distribution among the axles for all vehicles except 18-wheelers.
1 (ton) raised to the 4th power equals 1 (unit of stress) This is our baseline.
Here's the full list from 1 to 10 tons weight load per axle. ^4 means raised to the 4th power
Axle Stress
Tons Index Notes
1^4 = 1 Baseline from which comparisons are made
2^4 = 16
3^4 = 81
4^4 = 256
5^4 = 625
6^4 = 1,296
7^4 = 2,401
8^4 = 4,096
8.5^4 = 5,220 8.5t is the max weight per axle in a two axle tandem, typical for semis
9^4 = 6,561
10^4 = 10,000 10t is the max weight on a single, non-tandem axle
To obtain the total stress index for a vehicle, multiply the index by the number of axles. e.g. The stress index for a vehicle weighing a total of 4 tons would be 32. Each axle has 2 tons of load (16 stress) times two axles for a total stress of 32.
For a tractor-trailer, there are typically five axles, four of which are carrying the bulk of the cargo load. So at maximum weight of 8.5 tons per cargo-bearing axle, that would be 20,800 on the stress index plus another 1,296 for the steering axle.
That's just over about 22,000 on the stress index so just over 11,000 times more road stress/damage than a typical 2 ton car.
Another way of saying that: A car weighing 2t can travel about 11,000 miles causing the same total stress/damage to the road that a fully loaded tractor-trailer causes in 1 mile. That's pretty interesting, yes?
Here's a graph plotting the curve of applied road stress as a function of axle loading weight. This is just a visual representation of the list of numbers above.
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/lease one?"
I would proffer that a majority of folks, even today, could get along just fine in an EV. There are dozens of EVs from numerous manufacturers, both traditional ICEV makers and all-electric companies like Rivian, Lucid, Polestar, 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? That'd be sweet.
Really, it's the edge cases where EVs aren't optimum right now, such as...
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Frequently towing a trailer over long, one-way distances.
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Driving long distances, over 150 miles, in cold weather, especially on a daily basis.*
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Not having a dedicated place to park at night that could be equipped with an EV charger. And not having a charger at work.
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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.
* If this is your primary hesitation then a PHEV might be a good choice for you.
** Caveat: Poorer folks spend proportionally more of their income on gasoline and vehicle maintenance even if they drive less. A small, used, not-fancy EV could be purchased fairly cheap. If that person has the ability to charge at home (this is key), they too, may save money in the long run. Obviously, everyone's circumstances are unique. But at least it's worth looking into.
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. Just do it, as the Nike ads say.
You already read in considerable detail all the pros/cons about EVs above. So here's a brief recap, in one tidy list.
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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 charged-up.
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Far less regular maintenance, including no periodic oil change.
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Brakes will quite 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 make 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 3 to 5x.
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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 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 residential use 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 repairs, and helping to mitigate 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.
Diesel fuel is an eye-wateringly enormous cost to shipping and trucking firms. In 2022, semi-trucks alone (not counting straight trucks) consumed a combined 29 billion* gallons of diesel with an average price of $4.85** per gallon. That totals $141 billion(!) spent on fuel that year. Diesel is a little cheaper at the time of this writing, but semis are also driving more miles. Either way, it's a truly staggering amount of money. That cost, of course, is passed along to the consumer when buying goods. What a catastrophic waste of money.
Just imagine all the other good that $141 billion per year (minus the cost of electricity) could do if it weren't spend on diesel! It just boggles the mind.
* According to truckinfo.net
** According to epa.gov
Large organizations' business practices aren't generally motivated by the same kind of political ideology as are individual citizens. The imperative to cut costs and make higher profits is what drives their policies and decision-making, not political tribalism or denialism.
The main reason commercial and industrial users haven't adopted EVs even faster than they already are is due to availability. There's simply not yet enough manufacturing capacity to satisfy their needs. ICEV's have been around for a century and have a well-established manufacturing capacity. EV manufacturing capacity needs to catch up. It takes time, but it's getting there.
Consider this: If there were no economic advantage for these companies to migrate to 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. Companies that make intensive use of vehicles are transitioning to EVs because it makes good business sense to do so, aside from whatever environmental advantages also happen to exist.
As you can see, the line is pretty flat until the weight loading per axle surpasses about 3 tons. After that, every additional ton makes a larger and larger difference.
There are a lot of 18-wheelers on the road. If you've driven on any stretch of interstate highway, you can readily see how numerous they are.
So now you know! The vast majority of road damage, well over 90% easily, is caused by big rigs. And not by EVs or any other passenger car or light truck.
TO BE CLEAR, I am not throwing shade on big rigs, the people who drive them, or their importance to our economy. I'm stating neutral facts, nothing more.
n.b. The stress index is mostly meaningful when used as a comparison between two different axle loadings.
The fourth power law is not perfect. There are many things that affect its accuracy. But it has held up pretty well.
My data comes from The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pavement design guidelines.
The vertical scale is the stress index (damage caused to the roadway).
The horizontal scale is the weight in tons on a given axle.
But those batteries!
Yes, EV batteries are heavy. But what naysayers don't mention is the offsetting factor due to the EV not having an engine, transmission, related drive-line parts, 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 have 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 ICE sport cars do benefit from softer, grippy, faster-wearing tires. Compared to ICEVs in general, however, nearly all EVs are "performance" cars.
The weight is only one reason, and not even the biggest; it's the softer tire. But neither of those reasons compare to the main reason.
In fact, the #1 reason any tire wears out faster is due to under-inflation. Since the demise 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. And since an EV needs no oil change, then the tires might never be checked.
Most tires lose on average about 1 PSI of air pressure per month. As a result, the majority of people are driving on underinflated tires, sometimes severely so.
And you can't tell just by looking at the tire, either. By the time under-inflation is actually visible, it's probably lost maybe 10 PSI, which is a lot of air. That causes far more rapid tire wear and dangerous heat buildup, 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 maintained their tires properly, the USTMA (Google it) would cry a river.
I have a small pancake air compressor in the garage. I check and top up 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?
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