Six Myths About Electric And Hybrid Cars
#1: Electric Vehicles Put A Huge Drain On The National Grid
OK, there’s no denying that if you’re plugging in an electric car to recharge its batteries, you’re going to use electricity, which means that someone has to generate it. It’s also true that if there’s too much demand on the national grid all at once, then there’ll be problems with “brown-outs” (signalled by lights dipping and flickering when the new load comes on the scene – those who have lived in off-the-grid houses will know all about this). Notice those key words “all at once”? The amount of power demanded by electric vehicles – at least at this stage – is peanuts compared to the demand of air conditioning in summer in the middle of the day, especially during a super-hot summer like the one we’ve been having. In the USA, electric vehicles only account for 10% of the electricity demand. If everybody tried to (a) turn on their air-conditioning in the home and (b) charge their vehicles all at the same time, then yes, this would put too much of a load on the national grid. The answer? Charge your vehicle during off-peak times in the evenings and overnight when industry isn’t calling for as much power and air-conditioning systems aren’t working so hard.
#2: Electric Vehicles Haven’t Got Much Range
Some people are reluctant to purchase an electric vehicle because they have mental images of being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead battery and no way to recharge it. It’s true that if you regularly drove long expanses of open road in the middle of nowhere, you could get yourself in a mess. However, most of us aren’t driving around the Outback or around the farm on a regular daily basis: most of us are driving around the city. Most electric cars have a decent range of at least 100 km and some have a lot more. The typical city commute tends to be shorter than this – a lot shorter. Even if you live in a dormitory suburb. On top of this, the 100-km range is at the lower end of battery life and ranges for electric cars these days. The technology is improving as well, and some of the big names in electric vehicles (Tesla, Chevrolet and Nissan) are scheduled to release EVs that can get well over 300 km per charge.
#3: Electric Vehicles Are Expensive Luxury Items
This one is not quite a myth and not quite the truth. Yes, electric vehicles have a certain cachet and the early examples had quite a large price ticket. Some still do, especially the fully electric vehicles (as opposed to hybrids, which are on a pricewise par with their petrol and diesel fuelled equivalents). However, there’s a pattern that economists and sustainable energy boffins have noticed that happens with every new green technology – and even some that aren’t quite so green per se. The pattern goes like this: (a) A new technology comes on the scene. It’s hot, it’s new and it’s sexy, and everyone is drooling and excited about it. (b) The well-heeled jump on board and the new technology becomes a status symbol. (c) The manufacturers start introducing cheaper versions for the mass market (which, incidentally, are improvements over the older versions). (d) Everybody’s got one and the wealthy are looking for the next hot item. You’ve possibly already seen this happen in your lifetime with other technologies: think of cell phones. Some readers will remember back in the 1980s and 1990s with those brick mobile phones. They were one heck of a status symbol. Now it seems that the majority of teenagers have a phone that makes the old status-symbol bricks of the 1990s look pathetic. The same has happened with heaps of automotive technology, too, where what was once a luxury item is now standard: this has happened to seat belts, automatic transmissions, car stereos, cruise control, ABS brakes and airbags. Heck, even the car itself was once a luxury toy for the wealthy. The same is starting to happen with EVs and hybrids. They’re beginning to head mass-market. Given the desire for cleaner, greener technologies by many governments giving things an extra push and we’ll soon see the price tag of new EVs come down, as has already happened with hybrids.
#4: EVs and Hybrid Vehicles Are Dinky Little Hatchbacks
I wouldn’t call the Nissan Pathfinder a dinky little hatchback. Nor the Mitsubishi Outlander . These both come in hybrid variants. What about electric vehicles? Well, Audi Australia has an all-electric SUV planned for release by 2020, and that’s just one company. Yes, you can get small electric and hybrid hatchbacks. You can also get hybrid sedans and stationwagons. Land Rover has even put out some hybrid 4x4s (some of which did the rather rugged Silk Road in a publicity stunt a couple of years back). Electric 4x4s won’t be too far behind, especially as battery range improves.
#5: Hybrid and EV batteries Have Short Lives
One of the big worries about hybrids and EVs is that they would cause environmental headaches thanks to the batteries running out and needing to be disposed of – and batteries can be a disposal nightmare. However, if you keep the battery nicely topped up and don’t drain it completely out of charge all the time, it has a nice long lifespan and won’t need to be $$$replaced$$$$.
#6: There’s A Conspiracy To Get Rid Of Electric Vehicles
No. In spite of the documentary that came out in 2006 entitled Who Killed The Electric Car?, there isn’t some petrodollar-backed conspiracy to shut down production of electric cars. Yes, GM recalled its EV1 back in the 1990s and ceased production. However, you just have to look around you and look at any good car review site (ours, for example!) to see that there are plenty of hybrids and EVs out there, with more set to enter the market.