Hi Mike
On a recent EV-cast you mentioned research you were involved in looking at real-world CO2 performance of actual EVs in the UK. You explained you were linking the actual time of charging against real-time grid CO2 (which I see elsewhere on this site - nice work!) and combining that with actual wall kWh consumed against miles driven.
Is the research published somewhere, or the raw data available? It's a topic I am very interested in.
Many thanks
Andrew
PS Are the grid CO2 figures calculated on a well-to-plug basis? Are the various vehicle Wh/km and CO2/km figures derived from comparable sources? I have found that US EPA sources are more pessimistic on conventional vehicle CO2 emissions than UK/EU sources, so if you use EPA Wh/km on the EV side, you should use EPA on the other.
Equally, if you use measured Wh/km from everyday driving, then CO2 should be on the same basis. Do
you agree? What basis are you using?
I guess overall I really like your page comparing EV CO2 to conventional vehicles, but I fear it overstates the goodness of the conventional vehicles by:
- not automatically including the well to pump factors for liquid fuels (few people are going to multiply mentally by 1.205)!
- using non-comparable basis for Wh/km vs CO2/km, that favoura conventional
If you agree, would you be prepared to adjust your presentation?
Andrew
Andrew Bissell, January 24, 2010
The full research is being published in the book. This will be available in early February.
The research is based on driving a selection of different vehicles - both electric and combustion engine powered. The amount of electricity required to recharge the electric cars is measured with a watt meter, whilst the amount of fuel required to refuel the other cars is measured at the pump.
A carbon figure is then attributed to the fuel used the combustion engine cars and the electricity used in the electric cars. In both instances, the figures are based on well-to-wheel figures, although 'tank to wheel' figures for combustion engine cars are also shown.
All my workings are shown in the book, with enough detail to allow anyone else to repeat the tests should they want to. A video is also being prepared that will be released online when the book is available.
With regards to the figures on this site for the UK 'How Green is the Grid', the CO2 figure is based on a 'well to plug' measurement - so that includes the carbon footprint of digging coal and pumping natural gas out of the ground, generating the electricity and taking into account the transmission losses for power from the power station to the consumer.
With regards to the section on 'how eco-friendly is an electric car' you are absolutely right in that it is showing a 'tank to wheel' measurement for the combustion engine cars and a 'well to wheel' measurement for electric cars - in other words, it is showing combustion engine cars as being better than they really are.
The dilemma I faced when putting these figures together is that the tank-to-wheel CO2/km figures are published and well known by consumers within the EU. Unfortunately, whilst they are well known, they are not well understood. If I showed well-to-wheel figures rather than tank-to-wheel figures, I would be critisised for showing the wrong figures for the combustion engine cars, which could cause more harm than good.
I am considering other ways for me to show the figures in a clearer way that reflect the true carbon impact of a combustion engine car. So far I've tried a couple of different approaches but have not yet come across the perfect solution. When I've the solution, you will see the web page updated and improved.
why there's no enough recharging station of electric cars?
wendell, January 31, 2010
That depends on where you live. Some countries and some cities have had charging point networks in place for many years. London and Paris, for instance, both have well established electric car charging points in place and have a growing number of electric car owners using them.
Most countries are planning nationwide networks of charging points and some countries, especially Israel and Denmark, where hundreds of thousands of charging points and battery swap-out stations are being installed.
The EV Charging Network in the UK is a band of volunteers who have established their own network of charging stations covering the whole country. They list both public and private charging points across the country and because of their efforts there are charging points available in most cities and major towns across England.
How do you calculate battery KW?
Dave, May 13, 2010
To calculate the watt-hours, take the battery amp-hour figure and multiply it by the voltage.
For instance, if you have a 48v 200ah battery, you multiply 48 x 200 = 9,600 watt-hours. To convert this into kilowatt-hours, divide the figure by 1,000. (9,600 watt-hours = 9.6kWh).
what is the mileage of such car per charge. how many hours it has to be charged?
then what is the the price tag?
mohansanjeevan, May 13, 2010
The figures vary considerably from one car to another. The lower cost electric cars typically have a range of 30-50 miles (50-80km) and take between 6-8 hours to recharge in Europe or 8-10 hours in the US (because of the lower 110v system in the US, compared to 220v in Europe). Prices start from around $12,000 / £9,000 although many countries have subsidies available.
The bigger, faster cars will typically have a range of 80-100 miles (130-160km). Recharge times are similar to the smaller cars, although some manufacturers are offering a faster home charging system for use in the US to speed the charge times up. Prices start from around $35,000 / £25,000 although expect this price to fall.
what is the cost of replacement for this type of battery and how long is it's life?
Lois, June 3, 2010
It really does depend on the exact car. A small electric car with lead acid batteries - such as the G-Wiz or an NEV - is likely to require new batteries every three years or so. The replacement cost is in the region of £900 ($1450) if you do it yourself or between £1400-2000 ($1900-3000) if you get someone to do it for you.
With the more expensive lithium-ion batteries, they are either designed to last the lifetime of the car (in the case of the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i-MiEV) or you lease the batteries on a monthly basis - typically at a price that significantly undercuts the cost of putting fuel into your current vehicle.
This means that you don't get any big expensive battery replacement costs when the batteries require replacement.
what licences do you need to operate an electric car ? do you need specile road insurace / tax ?
jon good, June 19, 2010
An electric car can be driven on the same licence as any other car. There is no difference in the insurance requirements.
Road tax will depend from country to country. Many countries, such as the United Kingdom, provide free tax for electric cars.
HOW DO YOU RECHARGE YOUR BATTERY IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT?
gary mebane, June 21, 2010
Good question! Unfortunately, there isn't a single simple answer.
Many people who live in apartments have been able to arrange for a charging socket to be installed in the car park area, where there is suitable parking with the apartments. This can quite often work very well and several people who live in apartments have been surprised by the positive reaction by neighbours.
Other people have made arrangements with local businesses to allow them to plug in and charge up outside of normal business hours. Some make arrangements at work to charge up their car during the day from a work car park. A few people rely on public charging points, but so far, this approach has been not particularly successful.
Unfortunately, many people find there just is not a solution that works for them at the moment. In London, the mayor has said that within five years there will be enough local charging points across the city to allow anyone to own and use an electric car. To back this up, there is a plan to install a further 20,000 charging points across the city. Other countries and other cities have similar ideas.
We're at the early days for this industry and this is just one of the problems that has yet to be sorted out. It will be, but in the meantime, you may need to use a little ingenuity to find a solution that works best for you.
Hello Mike,
yesterday I have read your book. Fantastic book for car owners to learn all about driving and owning an electric car. Also for politicians it would be good to read and learn to know all that is involved in electric cars.
In the Netherlands electricity cost around 20 Eurocent per kWh and a litre gasoline cost 1,50 Euro. Still the driving costs of an EV are lower.
In the Netherlands the hype is now nearly over since the government has to lower their spending budgets. I hope EV become nevertheless affordable for private persons to buy and own one. With a price of 30 000 Euro for an EV and 15 000 for a full option Toyota Aygo people go for the fuel car.
Wish you success and hope to meet you one day.
Regards Wil
Wil Joosten, July 5, 2010
Thank you for your positive comments about the book. It is much appreciated.
For sure, many of the early electric cars from the mainstream manufacturers will be expensive in the early days, but these prices will come down.
The prices are much more affordable when you lease an electric car rather than buy one outright: the cost of leasing an electric car is comparable to leasing a petrol car and then paying for fuel each month.
Specialist electric car manufacturers such as REVA and Aixam already have electric cars available at more competitive prices, and the next generation of REVAs in particular should be very exciting indeed. I drove a pre-production REVA NXR a few months ago and it is a very good little car and should sell at a very competitive price.
Hi,
What is the range of the i-MiEV when driving at 67 to 70 mph? I need a range of about 40 miles.
Best Regards
Sven Forsberg
Sven Forsberg, July 11, 2010
We're conducting a number of tests on the i-MiEV at the moment in different conditions. However, from our experience of using the i-MiEV for the past seven months, you should comfortably get a range of 40 miles with sensible driving, even in the middle of winter.
Hi Mike
I do believe in the efficiency of LiIon batteries and R&D made on them to power current and upcoming EVs. However, I've recently found this article on possible lithium shortage as I was doing a research on the panoply of battery technologies for the future.
Just GOOGLE these words and read the PDF file : "The Trouble with Lithium by William Tahil".
By the way, keep up the good work. Both your book and website are highly helpful and useful.
Pascal Houde, August 16, 2010
There has been a lot of talk and discussion about the potential shortage of lithium in the long term. Realistically this is not going to be an issue in the next five to ten years and I would not be at all surprised to see batteries in general being made obsolete by other technologies in ten years time anyway.
Meanwhile, there are other battery technologies that are refusing to die and go away. I've seen some of the latest developments in lead acid battery technology that have amazed me recently. Do you like the idea of a battery with a 30 year lifespan that costs less than £100 per kilowatt-hour? NiMH batteries also have some future potential as well: in longevity stakes they are outlasting lithium battery packs in testing.
So I don't think we need to worry just yet about a potential shortage of lithium.
Governments around the world perceive high tax amounts on gas sales. Don't you think that's also one of the reasons why we still don't see much electric vehicles on the roads?
Pascal Houde, August 16, 2010
No. I think the reason there have not been many electric vehicles on the road in the past has actually been a technology issue: the vehicles have been too slow and too heavy and with too limited a range for them to be a practical alternative.
Electric vehicles have had some niche markets where they have sold well, and these have been where the performance, weight and range have not been an issue: airport vehicles, milk-floats, golf carts and the like are all examples of these.
The second issue that we haven't seen the vehicles on the road is that there has not been the incentive to change before. Fuel has been relatively cheap, so why change? That is starting to change, and more people are concerned about the environmental and political issues of burning fossil fuels.
2011 is going to be the year when electric vehicles really make their first real impact on the market. I drove a Nissan LEAF recently and it is a superb car that is great to drive and with some real driver and owner benefits over a comparable fuel powered car. Nissan will sell tens of thousands of those next year. I currently drive a Mitsubishi i-MiEV and likewise, it is a superb car that is just so much better to drive than an equivalent fuel powered car such as a Toyota Aygo or Fiat Panda.
For sure, Governments around the world make a lot of money on fuel tax. In the future, I suspect we'll see road toll charging schemes as well as fuel tax. If you drive a fuel powered car, you'll pay twice - the fuel duty and the road toll charging. If you drive an electric car, you'll only pay once. Trials for these schemes have already taken place in the US and in Europe and I suspect it is only a matter of time before we see a country somewhere adopting this scheme.
Thanks for the quick response!
I live in Montreal Canada, this means I also speak French and let me help you correct something I noticed in your book. This way, you could fix the next edition ;)
page 152 of your book, second paragraph : "...Camile Jenatzy drove another electric car - Le Jamais Contende - ...". Instead, you should read "La Jamais Contente". This means "The Never Happy".
Here is 2 links of interest I would like to share with you.
I am a member of a carsharing service in Montreal called Communauto. 50 Nissan Leaf will be purchased by Communauto in 2011.
http://communauto.com/communiques/2010/vehicules-electriques/index_ENG.html
And last winter, Mitsubishi conducted a study in a surburban city near Montreal.
http://www.auto123.com/en/news/green-wheels/50-mitsubishi-i-miev-electric-vehicles-to-be-tested-in-boucherville?artid=114794
I guess the study is over now. Maybe you could have the results from Mitsubishi.
Yours sincerely,
Pascal Houde
Pascal Houde, August 17, 2010
Dear Pascal
Thank you for pointing out the error in the book. Much appreciated. I have fixed the manuscript already!
Your car sharing scheme sounds very exciting. I've driven the Nissan LEAF and it is a very good car indeed. Thank you for letting me know about the Mitsubishi study. I'm talking to my contact at Mitsubishi on Friday so I will ask her about the results.
All the best
Mike
My wife and I have just had a 2kwhp solar array installed on our roof.That's ok for domestic usage during the day, but I am interested in installing a 410 watt off grid system for potential g-wiz trickle charging. Given that we don't travel far (10 mile max) or often (3x month)would you say that would be sufficient for the job? What amp hour capacity would we need in that case? Many thanks,
Andrew.
andrew stevenson, September 15, 2010
During the summer, a 410 watt off-grid system should generate around 1.6-2kWh of energy per day - which would be enough to travel around 8-10 miles a day. In the winter months, it could be as low as around 350-450 watts per day.
Most of the year round, your proposed system would probably provide enough charge to do exactly what you want. During the depths of winter, you would probably want to put it on charge after a longer run or in particularly cold weather just to give the batteries a boost.
How much does the range decrease for the MiEV during the winter?
Best Regards
Sven Forsberg
Sven Forsberg, October 17, 2010
I have a pre-launch version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. In the depths of winter, range can drop by around 25%.
Hi Mike, I see in your answer to Sven Forsberg that "In the depths of winter, range (of the MiEV) can drop by around 25%." That answer doesnt help me much since I dont know the temp at your home in the depths of winter.
Ho much do you think the mileage would drop at about -20C - -25C, which is not uncommon where I live (Norway).
Sjugurd, November 17, 2010
I live in the United Kingdom. The coldest we got it last winter was -18°C and the coldest temperature when I was driving the Mitsubishi i-MiEV was -11°C. I wouldn't like to speculate what the range would be like in -25°C...
However, there are a number of electric cars in Norway - The THINK City used to be built in Norway and the Kewet Buddy still is and both cars sell in Oslo. REVA have also sold a reasonable number of electric cars in Oslo. A few months ago I spoke to REVA's European President and asked him about the range of his cars in Norway. I was told that the cars cope pretty well in the cold winters with around 70% of the range they have in the summer. He also told me that the next generation REVA - the NXR - was sent to Sweden last winter to undergo winter testing.
I have bought an iMiev from Mitsubishi Fife about 140 miles from home. Any thoughts on the best way to get it home. Can we tow it to charge up the battery enough using the regenerative braking to do the journey without an overnight stop? Are there maps of fast charging points in Scotland or even functioning charging points? Callum
Callum Burnett, December 28, 2010
First of all, congratulations on your purchase. I've owned and used an i-MiEV for the past year and it is a very good car indeed.
There is a UK network of charging points that you can find at http://www.ev-network.org.uk. I would strongly recommend you sign up to that, and if you can offer your own charging point for other electric car owners in your area, so much the better. However, these aren't fast charging points, they're standard charging points.
Realistically, you are not going to be able to drive your car 140 miles back home: the fast charging facilities simply do not exist to make it practical yet, and the range of the car in really cold conditions is not as good as it will be once we're back into positive degrees!
Mitsubishi say that the i-MiEV should not be towed. If the car is transported anywhere, it must have all four wheels off the road when being moved. This would mean you would need to transport the car on a transporter or on a vehicle trailer.
I would arrange for Mitsubishi to deliver the car to you. Your local dealer probably has the facilities to do this themselves, or will know local contractors who can deliver the car on their behalf.
In your carbon calculator is the figure for wind output just the 2.5 Gw that is monitored via neta or the 5.2Gw that is operational in the country?
I am trying to build a 7mw wind cluster on our farm, thus the intrest.
easycarex
Callum burnett, January 6, 2011
Thanks for the question. The figures shown on the site are monitored via neta in real time.
In other words, it shows the amount of power being generated and used from wind power at that time, as opposed to the total operational capacity in the United Kingdom.
I have reserved a Nissan Leaf, and am concerned about my daily commute to work. I Live in hemel and get on the M1 daily to London which is apprx 20mile motorway drive and an additional 5 miles city driving. With a round trip of 50 Miles with 40 miles being on the motorway will the nissan cope with this daily journey and especially in the winter with 70% reduction in battery performance. I need the car to be able to do this journey for at least a 7-8 year period. Can it cope?
Ash
Ash, March 18, 2011
I have not done that level of testing with the Nissan LEAF as yet. Nissan has promised me a test car this Spring so that I can carry out these tests myself. However, I would suggest that the LEAF should be able to cope with this route.
Incidentally, you won't get a 70% reduction in battery performance in the winter. 30% is a more likely reduction.
Hi Mike,
Your numbers under "How eco-friendly is an electric car?" show the Leaf to use 53% more electricity than the i-MiEV. Was there an error in your calculation or is the Leaf really that bad for efficiency?
Thanks,
Keith
Keith Ruddell, March 23, 2011
The LEAF isn't bad for efficiency, but it is a bigger, heavier car and so you would expect it to use more electricity compared to a small city car.
It is like comparing a Ford Focus to a Fiat 500 or a Smart ForTwo - the Ford Focus is a bigger car, so therefore uses more energy to move it along.
Both electric cars are extremely efficient. To put this into context, you could probably drive around 15-20 miles in a Nissan LEAF using the same energy that you would use to dry one load of clothes in a tumble dryer...
Hi Mike,
I am investigating the technical aspects behind powering an EV via a Solar Panel.
I am aware that these sort of things already exist, for example the British Gas/Nissan Leaf Deal.
I am more interested within the technical side.
What size Solar Panel would be required?
How long would the charging period be?
Is it feasible to think that the EV could be charged sufficently from the Solar PV Panel all year round?
and
Are there any other factors that need to be taken into account to make it possible for an EV to be charged from a Solar PV Panel?
Stephen Kent
Stephen Kent, May 4, 2011
Here in the UK, it is unlikely that you will be able to have a practical electric car that can be completely powered by solar. In other sunnier countries, that is not the case.
There are a few companies who are working on solar powered cars. In India, REVA have a solar version of their forthcoming NXR on the drawing board: I estimate the size of panel to be 160 watts. In sunny climates, they believe that a range of 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) a year using solar power alone is feasible. In France, Venturi are about to launch an electric buggy with solar panels on the roof, which they believe will give around 1,500 kilometres of solar range per year.
I have done calculations for a G-Wiz, using an 80 watt solar panel. In the summer, this would increase the range by around 6 miles. Interestingly, it would also increase the range by a similar amount in the depths of winter because it could be used to keep the batteries heated, thereby extending the range.
We are going to see solar cars around in the next couple of years, and for some low mileage drivers living in hotter countries, they genuinely could be used for providing pure solar driving all year round. For the UK, however, I don't think that is going to happen just yet. However, there could be another solution.
What about a solar powered electric bike? Most electric bikes run at between 24v-48v and have tiny motors with a maximum continuous power output of between 180-250 watts. The batteries tend to hold between 250-500 watts of energy and they tend to be removable.
This year, Sir Clive Sinclair is launching an electric bike with a roof, crumple zones and a rollover bar. It's called the X-1 and you can find out more at http://www.sinclairzx.com.
How about a version of this with a solar panel on the roof? I'm guessing, but I suspect you could fit a 50 watt solar panel on the roof, which during the summer would give you around 200-250 watts of power: enough to keep the battery topped up all the time, or to double the range of the vehicle each day. During the depths of winter, you would probably only get a range of 5-10 miles, but again, enough for many peoples commute.
Have a solar roof for the X-1, plus a second panel back at home charging a second set of batteries and you could have a hot swap battery system, ensuring that even in the depths of winter, you could probably be almost completely solar powered.
Hi Mike,
I think you failed to realize just how bad being 53% less efficient really is.
Using the JC08 ratings(the only comparable numbers I could find), 200km/24kWh for the LEAF and 160km/16kWh for the i-MiEV, the difference is about 17%. Using 53% difference, the calculated range of the LEAF would only be 112km. That's bad in my opinion.
Your numbers suggest the i-MiEV has a significantly longer range than the LEAF. Is that really the case or was there an error in your calculation?
Thanks,
Keith
Keith Ruddell, May 17, 2011
The ratings I used for the LEAF and i-MiEV were based on my vehicle testing of the LEAF in Portugal and my year long experience of using the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. My findings on the LEAF were then confirmed by Nissan UK and have been compared to real-owners experiences of the LEAF in California.
The Nissan LEAF is almost 50% larger and heavier than the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The motor is almost 50% more powerful. Is it not surprising then that the Nissan LEAF is a lot less economical than the Mitsubishi i-MiEV?
This does not mean the Nissan LEAF is a bad car - far from it - but all electric cars are not created equal. Some are bigger than others. Some are faster than others. If you have a faster, bigger and more powerful car, it requires considerably more energy to move it.
The gasoline version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (sold only in Japan) has an 800cc engine. The Nissan LEAF is not available with a gasoline engine, but if it did, it would probably have a 1.6 litre engine. The difference in fuel economy between an 800cc engine and a 1600cc engine would probably be around 50%.
I have driven a Nissan LEAF 100 miles on a single charge. I have driven a Mitsubishi i-MiEV 92 miles on a single charge. Whilst there is room for some fine-tuning of my figures, they are reasonably representative of what economy you would expect from the different cars.
How can manufacteurers encourage families to buy EV's if they pitch the prices so high? I was considering an EV poss a nissan leaf but 25 grand...i dont think so! Why is it worth while spending that kind of money on an EV?
Anthony, May 22, 2011
Electric cars are still in their infancy, and prices are going to be high to begin with.
However, that won't be the case for too long. Renault are already talking about the prices for their 2012 electric cars being comparable to the price of a diesel car and other manufacturers will no doubt follow their example too: I understand Mitsubishi will also have a lower cost version of their i-MiEV next year.
Incidentally, I also wonder what effect the government £5,000 'subsidy' has had on electric car prices. The manufacturers have been pushing all governments to offer subsidies to make electric cars work and claiming they are needed in order to make the economics viable. Yet the Nissan LEAF costs £5,000 less in places like Canada and the United States than they do here in Europe.
So what's happened to the £5,000 subsidy in order to make the prices cheaper? Or am I being sceptical?
Realistically, I expect the prices of new electric cars to fall over the next three years or so as production volumes ramp up. Right now they are still a very niche product, and consequently more expensive. I don't see them remaining that way for very long.
Dear Mike,
Thanks for your excellent book. I have one comment regarding the page which compares diesel and hybrid vehicles. I agree entirely with your comments on this, but I think you are missing one important factor.
Hybrid cars are much quieter and smoother than diesel-engined cars that do 50mpg+. This was a major factor for my family when we were test driving both. The noise and vibration experienced in 50mpg+ diesel-engined cars, particularly at low speeds, was a major disadvantage compared to the hybrids.
It may be that less economical 6 and 8 cylinder diesel engined cars are smoother and quieter, but it's difficult to see the advantages of such large vehicles these days.
Maybe you could incorporate this quiet/smooth advantage of hybrids into future editions?
Best wishes
T Collier
T Collier, June 2, 2011
Thank you for your comments about the book. Yes, I will certainly incorporate them in future editions.
I think you'll like the next generation of hybrids even more. I've recently driven a couple of prototype hybrids and they are some of the smoothest and quietest vehicles I have ever driven.
Hi
I'm seriously thinking about getting an electric car as my next car, but the problem I've currently got is range.
I drive 40 miles each way to work and currently have no place to charge when I get there, so I think currently the range (taking in to account winter range and motorway driving) is still a bit too low for me.
I was wondering if you had any information on the next generation of electric cars? I'm hoping will have a range of 130+miles (thats what I think would always get me home... I might be wrong though). Are any in the works? (or maybe even an upgraded battery for the leaf?)
Thanks
Mike
Mike Gungaram-Smith, July 5, 2011
Right now, I would suggest that an electric car is not an option for you. As I mention in the book, you need to work out your range, double it and then use that as a basis for your total vehicle range.
That way you never have to worry about cold weather, using the heater or air conditioning, or having to drive extra carefully in order to get the last couple of miles home.
That could start to change next year when Renault launch the Fluence ZE in Europe. This comes with hot-swap batteries on a battery rental scheme - so if your batteries are running low, you pull in at your nearest hot-swap centre and swap the batteries over in around three minutes.
Of course, it will take a while to get enough hot-swap centres installed, but they are on their way.
In terms of longer distance electric cars, most of the longer distance cars are more expensive models - cars like the Tesla Model S, which we will hopefully see on sale in 2012-2013 - will have a range of 200 miles plus. The only exception to this is the REVA NXG sports coupe scheduled for launch in 2013. This should have a range of 125 miles and will retail for less than most electric cars available today.
Hi, what about the telematics(HMI) in the vehicle, will there be any standards for alerts and instrument cluster functions or zones for different displays. I am doing a research on user interactions in electric vehicles and would like to know what you think about this.
Prateek, July 10, 2011
At present there are no standards for vehicle telematics or instrumentation for electric vehicles and each manufacturer is doing their own thing.
Most vehicle manufacturers believe that they can create a unique selling feature for their particular cars by trying to be clever with their own vehicle telematics. Most of them have been applying for patents on various aspects of vehicle telematics in relation to electric vehicles. Only time will tell how successful this approach will be: most of the claims that I have seen from the different manufacturers on their 'new' approach to vehicle telematics was produced over a decade ago by the specialist telematics industry.
With regards to instrumentation, I am sure that standards will emerge. At present, most vehicles on the road have fairly conventional instrumentation which drivers will have no problems adapting to. The exception is the Nissan LEAF which has a very different instrumentation that many people find quite intimidating when they first get into the car.
There is no doubt that user interactions with an electric vehicle are different to user interactions in a conventional car. Users tend to want to know how to drive their electric cars as efficiently as possible and many more advanced drivers want to be able to adapt the driving characteristics of the car depending on the type of driving being undertaken. Aspects such as acceleration and regenerative braking are very different to a conventional car and some users want to understand how these differences relate to their driving style.
Finding the right balance between ease of use and flexibility is not easy and so far, I do not think any manufacturer has found the right mix.
Hi Mike,
thanks for your earlier views.
Could you share your views on the integration of EV telematics and future technologies like vehicle to Grid(V2G), so that one can charge the EV when the prices are lower(late night) and sell back to grid when prices are high(peak time)?
Can this be a marketing strategy to improve sales? Do you think this is near future?
Prateek, July 13, 2011
EV telematics are going to be used for two things: to provide more information for the manufacturers, so they can see the real life performance of the cars; and to provide consumers with more information, such as when electric cars have been fully charged, the range of the car based on current charge and possibly even the carbon footprint of the electricity used to charge up the car.
Much of this consumer information will be presented to the customer either via a smartphone application, or via a web interface.
I personally cannot see Vehicle to Grid being a big hit for many years to come, if at all: using cars as energy storage devices seems a very odd concept to me and whilst it would help resolve some of the issues with peaks and troughs of energy demand at grid level, the benefits to the electric car owner are much more difficult to quantify. This is especially true as by using the electric car batteries will provide additional wear on the batteries thereby shortening the life of the car batteries.
I know little about electric cars and their charge systems?
What I do know is I have a AICD, implanted de-fibilater.
EMF's will play havoc with it and could destroy it. What testing has been done to protect the public like myself.
Thank's George
George, August 7, 2011
This is not really my area of expertise, although it is something that I am interested in as I personally am affected by using mobile phones and so aware of some of the issues.
There has been some studies made into EMFs in relation to electric cars. The Department of Transportation at the State College of Pennsilvania carried out some research a few years ago suggested that EMFs from electric cars are similar to standard vehicles.
The reason for this is that whilst electric cars use higher voltage electricity than conventionally powered cars, the power is all direct current. EMFs are a bigger concern with alternating current, which is why EMFs are much higher with electric commuter trains.
EMFs are also more of an issue with radio transmitters, such as mobile phones and Bluetooth transceivers. More and more cars are now fitted with both as standard and almost every new electric car has a built in mobile phone radio transmitter built into the car as standard.