I get a charge out of this
Sometimes you can’t see the forest because of the trees. It’s all around us, you just have to look. We’ve heard these sayings throughout our life, but what do they mean? Our lives are constantly changing and it can be a good thing if we can accept the changes around us and move on with our lives. The roads are getting busier as more and more people are driving then there were 20 years ago. Even our vehicles have changed to allow us improvement in our way of life. How much have you noticed?
I spotted this charging station for electric vehicles outside of a restaurant recently. I had never seen one before in a location like this so I was intrigued. What a great idea. With so many more energy efficient vehicles on the market these days, it does help if our society can embrace these changes to allow the consumer a chance to accept these vehicles.
There are more and more hybrid vehicles on the roads today then there were ten years ago. Drivers who may remember the gas shortage of the 70’s would remember how the automakers started to make vehicles with smaller engines so the consumer could save on fuel. With modern technology, we’ve come a long way. Now, not only do we have vehicles that provide better fuel economy, but they also provide better performance. Consider it the best of both worlds.
I’ve thought about an electric vehicle and as a driving instructor, what a great way to save money on expenses and help the environment. The only down side on a personal note was the initial expense of the vehicle. My current budget wouldn’t allow it and the length of the charge wasn’t long enough for the mileage I would put on the vehicle on a daily basis while instructing. With limited charging stations, it’s not in my immediate plans…yet. I’m hoping that more and more businesses will take this step to help their community and their environment by setting up charging stations like this one.
Once the automakers can make an electric vehicle that can be more easily obtained and maintained, you’ll see more and more of them on public roads. What a great thought that is. Less pollution, less fossil fuels being used and less operating costs. If performance can also be matched to what the other vehicles are able to do, it’ll attract more drivers to these types of vehicles. Would it attract you as a buyer? Again, it is a winning combination. Thanks to the local business who thought about provided a free charging station. Well done.
I doubt this is a free charging station. Electricity is not free. It needs to be generated, and generating it costs money. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
We know that there are no exhaust emissions from electric cars, but there are still emissions from coal-fired plants that produce electricity … so the idea that there is no pollution at all with electric cars is not actually true.
Where we live, the government has a monopoly on supplying electricity to homes and businesses and the cost is subsidized. When a company can lose money on purpose and not have to worry about going out of business, you can bet there will be very little innovation. How can anyone compete with that? Lack of competition, investment and innovation all adds up to costs staying high. Taking that into consideration, it is unlikely that there will be a high demand for electric vehicles. It doesn’t take an economics degree to realize that supply and demand rules. That means costs will stay high and – for now at least – we won’t be seeing the streets crowded with voltage powered vehicles.
I’d be happy to save money on fuel, since I do a lot of driving. Hybrids might have a chance, but the government needs to get out of the electricity business if we are to see any big changes. It’s not as if they run anything efficiently … imagine if the government was in charge of driving instruction?
There is a lot of bad information about concerning electric cars. When comparing pollution figures there hasn’t really been an accurate report yet which compares the CO2 per mile based on the transport of crude oil, refining it and the electricity it takes then the transportation to the pumps and the tailpipe emissions. An electric motor will turn 98% of the batteries energy into motion compared to a fossil fuelled car which turns about 27% of the energy stored in the fuel into motion and wastes the rest as heat.
The charging points are usually free to charge with a small annual subscription and the fast ones will take a car like the Nissan Leaf to 80% charge in 25 minutes. Most electric car owners charge overnight on off peak electricity which works out about 1.5p a mile and leaves them with a car which can do 100 miles before a charge.
I am an ADI and have had Prius hybrid for over 2 years now. It returns over 50MPG, not bad from a reasonable sized auto car. Based on the fact that 100 miles a day is 36,000 miles a year and I only do 12,000 I will consider a Nissan Leaf as my next car. With 12,000 miles of electricity costing less than £200 in a year and servicing almost not required as the electric motor has 1 moving part and no gearbox I could afford to hire a fuel burning car for the very occasional long journey. A conventional engine and gearbox has about 800 moving parts. We have a green tarif on our home electricity so an EV in my hands would use renewable energy.
There are Nissan Leafs beginning to hit the used market so this makes them more affordable although new they compare favourably to a top range VW golf (which they are often compared to in build quality) or Prius.
Anybody interested in the subject of EV’s should start by searching out Robert Llewelyn’s Fully Charged series on youtube.
I’ve had the opportunity to drive a Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the Chevy Volt. Besides the obvious benefit of saving fuel, another benefit I find is the gamified aspect that are often found on board. By showing the driver when they’re accelerating and braking effectively to maximize the battery charge, it also helps prevent unnecessary wear-and-tear on the car, and can even help reinforce better driving behavior overall.