Electric Vehicles : A New Revolution In Energy Efficient Transportation
Rising fuel prices, emission of toxic pollutants, need for frequent maintenance are some of the main reasons why conventional vehicles are becoming more of a source for concern than a commodity of convenience. The advent of Electric vehicles offers a viable solution for many of these problems. These vehicles included automobiles, bikes, airplanes, trains, ships and boats or any other transport operated by electricity. While these are still in the process of gaining people"s trust, every day more and more users are enjoying the advantages of possessing one of these. Therefore, it is important to inform people about their mechanics and the pros and cons of switching over to them from conventional automobiles.
Technology behind electric vehicles:
"The power source for these vehicles can be derived from a rechargeable fuel cell, can be produced from a linked generated or taken from some external source.
"This power source generates electricity and feed it to batteries which are connected to a controller.
"The controller is connected to vehicle controls. Based on the acceleration applied, controller will draw power from the batteries and feed it to an electric motor.
"The electric motor is actually the replacement for engines of conventional cars. This motor is responsible for driving the car.
Advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles:
"These vehicles run on renewable sources of energy, hence these are much efficient and help in energy conservation.
"They avoid dependence on fossil fuels. This considerable reduces pollution from emission of toxic byproducts that occur in conventional cars. Today, automobiles and other vehicles are supposed to be the major cause of air pollution. This worrisome aspect can be easily controlled with use of vehicles running on electricity.
"Electricity can be generated from a variety of sources and raw materials. Thus, it is a better use of resources to employ electricity to power transport.
"These vehicles are energy efficient. This means that a fairly large percentage of the input energy is converted into useful output. On the other hand, conventional vehicles suffer from wasteful dissipation of a lot of energy.
"These cars are known to have smoother performance and faster acceleration.
"The per unit distance cost of running an electric car is much less than for a conventional car.
A few disadvantages that need to be taken note of are:
"These cars give poor mileage. They can go only a limited distance before the fuel cell needs to be charged. Conventional cars are more suitable for long distance trips.
"Recharging in itself is a burdensome task. It takes several hours to fully recharge a vehicle. Conventional cars need only a few minutes for refueling.
"Because of the first two points, frequent charging and discharging cycles damage the battery really fast. It is inconvenient and expensive to regularly replace the battery.
Needless to say, researches are underway to combat these drawbacks at the earliest. It seems that electrical means of transport are here to stay and will soon reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Technology behind electric vehicles:
"The power source for these vehicles can be derived from a rechargeable fuel cell, can be produced from a linked generated or taken from some external source.
"This power source generates electricity and feed it to batteries which are connected to a controller.
"The controller is connected to vehicle controls. Based on the acceleration applied, controller will draw power from the batteries and feed it to an electric motor.
"The electric motor is actually the replacement for engines of conventional cars. This motor is responsible for driving the car.
Advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles:
"These vehicles run on renewable sources of energy, hence these are much efficient and help in energy conservation.
"They avoid dependence on fossil fuels. This considerable reduces pollution from emission of toxic byproducts that occur in conventional cars. Today, automobiles and other vehicles are supposed to be the major cause of air pollution. This worrisome aspect can be easily controlled with use of vehicles running on electricity.
"Electricity can be generated from a variety of sources and raw materials. Thus, it is a better use of resources to employ electricity to power transport.
"These vehicles are energy efficient. This means that a fairly large percentage of the input energy is converted into useful output. On the other hand, conventional vehicles suffer from wasteful dissipation of a lot of energy.
"These cars are known to have smoother performance and faster acceleration.
"The per unit distance cost of running an electric car is much less than for a conventional car.
A few disadvantages that need to be taken note of are:
"These cars give poor mileage. They can go only a limited distance before the fuel cell needs to be charged. Conventional cars are more suitable for long distance trips.
"Recharging in itself is a burdensome task. It takes several hours to fully recharge a vehicle. Conventional cars need only a few minutes for refueling.
"Because of the first two points, frequent charging and discharging cycles damage the battery really fast. It is inconvenient and expensive to regularly replace the battery.
Needless to say, researches are underway to combat these drawbacks at the earliest. It seems that electrical means of transport are here to stay and will soon reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
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