How does the Electric Vehicle work?
Electric vehicles work first by plugging them into a charging station. They store the electricity in rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Electric cars accelerate faster than vehicles with traditional gas engines – so they feel lighter to drive.
How does charging work?
You can charge an electric vehicle by plugging it into a public charging station or into an installed home charger. There are plenty of charging stations around, check them out here: https://www.plugshare.com/
Including one at County Chevrolet! (with more to come!)
Electric Vehicle Range
How far you can travel on a full charge depends on the vehicle. Each model has a different range, battery size and efficiency. The ideal electric car for you will be the one you can use for your normal journeys or commutes without having to stop and charge up halfway through.
What types of electric cars are there?
Electric vehicles work first by plugging them into a charging station. They store the electricity in rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Electric cars accelerate faster than vehicles with traditional gas engines – so they feel lighter to drive.
Plug-in electric
This means the vehicle runs solely on electricity and gets all its power when it's plugged in to charge. This type doesn't need gas or diesel fuel to run so it doesn't produce any emissions like traditional internal combustion engines. (I.C.E’s)
Plug-in hybrid
These vehicles mainly run on electricity but also have a traditional fuel engine so you can use the gas engine also if they run out of charge. When running on fuel, these cars will produce emissions but when they're running on electricity, they will not. Plug-in hybrids can be plugged in to recharge their battery.
Hybrid-electric
These vehicles run mainly on fuel, but also have an electric battery too, which is recharged through regenerative braking. These let you switch between using your fuel engine and using 'EV' mode at the driver's command. These cars cannot be plugged into an electricity source and rely on the gas engine for energy.
EV batteries - Capacity and kWh explained
Kilowatts (kW) is a unit of power (how much energy a device needs to work). A kilowatt-hour(kWh) is a unit of energy (it shows how much energy has been used), e.g. a 100 watt lightbulb uses 0.1 kilowatts each hour. An average home consumes 3,100 kWh of energy a year. An electric car consumes an average of 2,000 kWh of energy a year.
How long does it take to charge an electric car?
There are also three EV charging speeds:
Slow - typically rated up to 3kW. Often used to charge overnight or at the workplace. Charging time: 8-10 hours.
Fast - typically rated at either 7Kw or 22kW. These are typically installed at car parking lots, supermarkets, malls, recreation centres and houses with off-street parking. Charging time: 3-4 hours.
Rapid - typically rated from 43 kW. Only compatible with EVs that have rapid charging capability. Charging time: 30-60 minutes.
How far can you travel on one full charge?
An EVs range is dependent on the battery size (kWh). The higher the EV battery kWh, the more power, the further you travel. The new 2024 Chevrolet Bolt can travel up to 416 kilometres on a full charge.