Electric Cars and How They Work

Electric cars have a lot of potential for reducing pollution and cutting costs for automobile owners, but you may be wondering about electric cars and how they work just as well as gasoline-powered cars. To understand all about electric cars and how they work you need to know the differences between an electric and gasoline-powered vehicle, the types of electric motors available, and how all of the parts work together to make an electric vehicle run properly.

Appearance of electric cars

The first thing you might notice when you research electric cars and how they work is that they look almost the same as gasoline-powered cars on the outside. Electric cars have similar body styles and components to those of gasoline-powered or hybrid vehicles. However, you will also notice that there is no tailpipe on an electric car. This is because electric cars do not use gasoline and, therefore, do not produce emissions. The internal appearance of an electric car is much different than the internal appearance of a gasoline-powered car. When you open the hood, you will see an electric motor and a battery pack instead of a traditional gasoline engine. Other parts, such as the transmission, are the same as those in gasoline-powered automobiles.

Electric car motors & batteries

The next thing you need to know if you want to know about electric cars and how they work is the types of motors and batteries used in this type of vehicle. There are three main types of electric motor used in automobiles. These motors are the AC Induction, Permanent Magnet, and DC Brushless. The type of motor used in a car will depend on the car's desired performance and cost-effectiveness. For example, the AC Induction motor is the most expensive, but it has the highest acceleration speed.

There are also three types of batteries used in electric cars. Lead acid batteries are a good choice because they are the least expensive option and can also be recycled. Nickel-metal hydride batteries are expensive, but they provide better performance than lead acid batteries. Lithium ion batteries are ideal for performance, but the price tag makes them too costly to use universally.

Electric car charging

The batteries included in electric cards need to be charged in order to continue generating electricity. There are two major methods of charging the batteries used in electric cars. One is using an electrical current to charge the battery. The other is using a magnetic field to charge the battery. Using a magnetic field to create a charge is much safer than using an electrical current. Using an electrical current to charge the batteries is called conductive charging and using a magnetic field to charge the batteries is called inductive charging.

Another way that electric cars can be charged is with the use of regenerative braking. In typical gas-powered vehicles, any potential energy in the motor is converted into heat. When regenerative braking is used, the motor's forward power is actually used to charge the batteries. While not all of the potential energy can be recovered using this method, it is still more efficient and cost-effective than allowing it to be converted to heat.

Electric car options

Buyers may choose a regenerative braking system for an additional cost, or regular brakes may be chosen. Another option that can be chosen is the type of transmission that is used. Manual transmissions are a better choice if efficiency is your concern, but many people choose the automatic transmission. Having a manual transmission requires that you learn how to drive a stick shift and use the clutch when braking or shifting gears. Many people learned how to drive in cars with automatic transmissions, so it may be difficult to learn to drive a car with a manual transmission.