Range & Reality
Electric vehicles have traditionally been limited by the distance they’ll allow you to go. Today, this is arguably becoming less and less of an issue. By outlining an actual days driving, it might be possible to put this in a bit of perspective. It’s true that recharging isn’t as simple as refuelling so a common question is ‘what do you do if you run out?’ But people forget that you have a fuel gauge, even if it goes by a different name (’State of Charge’ or SOC).
If you want to drive on Irish roads in an EV tomorrow, then you’re looking at a 75-80km stated range for either ten or sixteen grand (respectively, the REVAi and the MegaCity and they both hit about 80kmph). One problem for manufacturers, buyers and dealers alike is that these numbers are less than guaranteed and people know this.
It’s important, first of all, to face up to these concerns. Yes, headlamps and the radio affect the range. But the fact that people tend to bring this up underlines a kind of pessimism. Why? Because headlamps and radios aren’t really your main concern in an EV. You keep your range in tact by driving efficiently, especially up serious inclines. Needless to say, zealous use of the A/C will also get you into trouble and you probably shouldn’t wait in a car park for an hour with the heat on and the stereo blaring.
Such range diminishing factors are rare enough but convincing people that an EV can suit there needs is a very tough game. You can point out that even a 50km range only rules out serious commuters (as the crow flies, it’s generally no more than 15-20km from Dublin city centre to its outskirts beyond the M50) and you can even provide some great stats:
93% of all car journeys are less than 25 miles.
97% of all car journeys are less than 50 miles.’
Professor Julia King, government advisor, King Report 2008 UK.In the EU, 50% of all car journeys can be served by a 30 mile range (that’s there and back).
Plugged in Final Report 2007
But most people know this already. What they’re really afraid of is being caught out - this is ‘range anxiety’. If you live 10-15km from work, an EV will do the ‘commute-work-commute’ part of the day. But what else can you expect from it? What about a lunchtime errand, picking up the kids from school or making it to something in the evening (and back)? Yes, it all might come to less than 75km, but what about the contingencies – hills, nighttimes, coldness, your new U2 album…
The answer might surprise a few people. In doing some work for GreenAer, my colleague and myself managed to push the car very close to its limit one day. We didn’t get 75km out of it. But then again, we didn’t run to a halt either. The very last journey was the only worrying part. Everything was still fine by the time I got home (A). But when my colleague made her own way back (near B), she reported driving very slowly up one particular hill. The REVAi has a red indicator light that tells you when you’re driving too inefficiently to maintain the stated range. With about 5-10% left in the battery, keeping the red light off can mean going very easy on the accelerator indeed.
I’m writing this because I’d like to illustrate just how much driving we actually did before that final journey. In a nutshell, I drove to work (B), did a number of trips in and out of town (C, D) and then my colleague dropped me home (A) and made her own way home in the car. This was all based on a full overnight charge and nothing else.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this city, I think it suffices to say that it’s not without its hills or its traffic. And this was a cold day. We used the heaters (sparingly) and the radio was on most of the time. I’d say the headlights were in operation for the last 15km.
So here is the breakdown in detail. You’ll have to add on a few kilometres since I’m not disclosing exactly where either of us live and it should also be taken into account that I did do a quick test drive for someone in Mount Street and this means showing what the car can do when driven aggressively. The maps are all at different zooms but in case you don’t recognise much of it, keep an eye on the M50 (sometimes in blue at the bottom left) and Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The distances are straight from Google Maps.
| Going into office Cabinteely - Blackrock 5.0km |
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| Lunck and back Blackrock -Rowan Park - Blackrock 3.2km |
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| Collect and back Blackrock - Monkstown - Blackrock 2.2km |
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| Into town and back Blackrock - St. Stephen’s Green - Blackrock 19km |
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| ANd again, almost Blackrock - Mount St. - Blackrock 19km |
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| Dropped home Blackrock - Cabinteely 5.0km |
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| Final Part Cabinteely - Monkstown 5.6km |
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| Total Distance | 52.6km |
Now, I think it should be clear that this is an example of a relatively unusual day’s driving. Plenty of people do a lot more than this as standard. A study recently put the amount of Dubliners doing more than 45km at 20%. But being part of the other 80% doesn’t mean you’ll never find yourself running in and out of town twice on top of a pile of unexpected errands. The REVAi performed well in this regard and, for what it’s worth, it was a series of unexpected events that led us to make these journeys. I had planned for commute-lunch-commute and that fell through. But it was still ok.
Finally, this can be done on lead-acid batteries with a single charge, so consider the effect of two recent developments which GreenAer will have ready by Mid 2009:
- The new Lithium-Ion Power Pack with a 120km range
- The new fast charger capable of fully charging in an hour
The fast charger won’t be as simple as the current household plug set-up, but it is apparently easy enough to install in a public charging station. Fair enough, our county councils will be a little while yet putting the stations in, but it does give us a tantalising glance at the possibilities for 2010 (or even this year if Dun Laoghaire Country Council follow up on their promise). If you were willing to lease the new Lithium-Ion Power Pack then this day’s driving would barely deplete half the charge. That translates to something like three more trips in and out of the city centre.
I believe it’s safe to say that in 2008, a lot of us wouldn’t have faced the kind of problems we imagine with regard to range. So in 2009 we can look forward to a genuine electric option. It won’t get you down to the country quite yet, but any family looking to economise on the second car now has a wonderful alternative. It can take the kids (most EVs, including the REVAi, have two small back seats), it might save a fair bit of money and it doesn’t spout a single bit of local pollution. While driving electric isn’t for everyone, I think it might well be overly pessimistic to see this purely as a function of someone’s carbon-guilt. As I hope I’ve pointed out here, it’s quite capable of handling the distances many of us drive, even on an unusual day.
Read more on how an electric vehicle can save you money.
It may be silly question - but can the wheels of the car recharge the battery whilst they are moving? Like a dynamo??
Yep, it’s a exactly like a dynamo. Once there no more power being put into turning the wheel, it starts to charge the battery; it tuens the inertia into energy. Great for long hills into red lights (kinda calming as well).