How many miles or km per hour? How do you make it faster and safer? What can people do if they need help? What is an AFV? How many AFV's are used today? What Are Alternative Fuels Made of? How are AFV's powered if they don't use gasoline? Are AFV's new? Why should people use AFV's? Why Should We Use Electric Vehicles? Where Can I Recharge Electric Vehicles? Where Can I Find More? What is the Federal Government Doing for EV Use? What is the State Doing for Electric Vehicle Use? How fast can they go? How far can they go? What happens if I run out of electricity? Can EVs climb hills? What if I want to take a long trip? What kind of maintenance does an EV need? How fast can they go? Top speed is determined by the amount of voltage applied to the motor, and the gearing of the transmission. Electric vehicles cover the full range of speed performance. There are neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) that only get up to 25 mph. Most basic conversion will reach at least 55-65 mph. High performance street conversions may reach 85-90 mph, or even more. How far can they go? Range is determined by many things. Vehicle factors include curb weight (not gross vehicle weight), battery pack voltage, and battery type. In general, lighter cars and bigger battery packs get higher range. But of course, if the battery pack gets too big, the car gets heavier. Driving conditions include terrain and pavement, weather, traffic flow, and driving style. Typically, a basic compact car conversion using at least 96V worth of 6V flooded lead acid batteries can get 60 - 80 miles range under good conditions. Cold weather can reduce range somewhat, but this is not a major factor if the car is driven daily. Hills, poor traction, stop-and-go traffic, and inefficient driving habits can reduce range by as much as half in severe situations. Some high performing conversions, such as the Voltsporsche, or lightweight kit cars, can get 80 - 100 miles under good conditions. In range competitions, some of these cars have reached 120 miles or more. These are normal street cars without special competition setups, but they are driving under optimum conditions. Daily life is rarely optimum. The best range, without resorting to super expensive exotic batteries, will be achieved in a light car with a combination of an AC drive system and flooded lead acid 8V golf cart batteries. This type of vehicle could get up to 150 miles, depending on driving conditions. Daily range can be extended by opportunity charging. Some EV drivers plug in all day at work, which greatly extends their total available range for the day. For more detailed information about range issues, see the Tech Papers Batteries Collection and Driving An EV. What happens if I run out of electricity? First of all, your EV should have some kind of state-of-charge gauge, like a gas gauge, so you always know how much energy you have left. Second, EVs tend to be used for the same routes day after day. If you are driving your regular route, and the car is in good condition, then you know you have enough energy to get home. Finally, an EV doesn't run out of energy all at once, like a gas car does. Instead, as you reach the last portion of charge, you will begin to notice a slight sluggishness. This will be noticeable sooner on uphills, but not until later if your drive is flat. It will gradually increase over several miles. If you reach the point where you need to pull over, you still are not "out of juice". If you park the car and let the batteries rest for 5 or 10 minutes, they will recover some of their charge. You can then drive for another mile or so. If necessary, you can repeat this several times in order to get home, although it is not a good idea to do it too often. Try that trick with a car that's out of gas! Can EVs climb hills? Electric motors have a lot of torque (power). They can climb hills, even steep ones. The trade-off is range. The more hills, or steeper hills, that you climb, the less range you will have before you need to recharge. Another issue is duration of climb. A long continuous climb puts a lot of stress on components, primarily the motor and speed controller. However, the same climb that would overheat the car if done as a continuous grade might be accomplished easily if done in stages. This might mean simply switching from a route straight up the hill to one that zigzags and had intermittent flattish portions. What if I want to take a long trip? At this time, EVs are not suited for long distance travel. Each kind of vehicle has its own niche. A minivan can't match a sports car for handling, but a sports car can't carry a whole family on a camping trip. An EV is perfect for the kind of local driving most people do most of the time. Most households also have more than one vehicle. Long trips are times to get out the other car. Even if you don't have a second car, renting one for the occasional trip can be more affordable than owning one. What kind of maintenance does an EV need? Very little. That's part of the beauty of it. Check the batteries once a month or so to be sure they don't need water, and the connections are clean and tight. Keep your tires properly inflated for good performance. Maintain the clutch, brakes, and suspension as you normally would. Change the brushes on the motor (a minor operation) at about 80,000 miles. That's it. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/evtech.shtml http://www.electroauto.com/info/faq.shtml www.energy.state.md.us Electricity is unique among the alternative fuels because mechanical power is derived directly from it, whereas the other alternative fuels release stored chemical energy through combustion to provide mechanical power. Motive power from electricity is produced by an electric motor. Electricity for powering vehicles is commonly provided by batteries, but fuel cells are also being explored. Batteries are energy storage devices; fuel cells unlike batteries, convert chemical energy to electricity. Electricity can be used as a transportation fuel to power battery electric and fuel cell vehicles. When used to power electric vehicles or EVs, electricity is stored in an energy storage device such as a battery. EV batteries have a limited storage capacity and their electricity must be replenished by plugging the vehicle into an electrical source. The electricity for recharging the batteries can come from the existing power grid or from distributed renewable sources such as solar or wind energy. Electricity is produced at power plants located throughout the country, transmitted to substations through high-voltage transmission systems, stepped down to lower voltages, and then is carried to homes and businesses. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) describes the electric vehicle infrastructure as being 98% in place. The remaining 2% involves developing the connection from the grid to the vehicle and determining how recharging vehicles might affect the grid. Some utilities have developed special time-of-use meters and off-peak electric rates to separately monitor EV electricity use from the home and provide incentives to recharge at night when the overall load is down. Electricity to power vehicles can also be made from renewable resources using solar or wind technologies. There are a few manufacturers making specialized electric vehicles, such as buses and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs); however, there are no light-duty vehicles being produced by the major auto manufacturers at this time. NEVs are small, low-speed (less than 25 mph) vehicles that are often used in limited on-road fleet applications. NEVs are zero emission vehicles, but do not satisfy EPAct requirements for regulated fleets. Urban electric vehicles (UEVs) are regular passenger vehicles with top speeds of about 60 miles per hour (mph) and a per-charge driving range of at least 50 miles. They are the same as traditional full-size passenger vehicles but in smaller packages that are ideal for urban applications. Unique benefits of UEVs include easier parking and driving characteristics. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has classified UEVs as regular passenger vehicles. Thus, they are subject to the same Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as full-size electric and gasoline-powered passenger vehicles. The long history and development of EV technology has been key in the development of hybrid electric vehicles and is also playing a major role in fuel cell vehicles. EVs meet all federal motor vehicle safety requirements. The batteries are sealed and all high-voltage circuits are protected from casual contact. High-voltage circuits are also marked, color coded, and posted with warnings to ensure safety. What Is Electricity? How Is Electricity Produced? What Vehicles Can Use It? Straight Answers on Alternative Fuels www.energy.state.md.us EVs are zero emission vehicles, meaning they produce no tailpipe or evaporative emissions that contribute to air pollution and global warming. However, electricity production is not pollution-free unless it is produced from renewable sources including hydro, solar and wind power. The cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour usually compares favorably to that of gasoline, but varies depending on location. Check out the latest edition of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuel Price Report (http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/resources/pricereport/price_report.html), or contact your local utility for regional electricity prices. In an EV, an energy storage device, typically a battery pack, is used to store the electricity that powers the vehicle’s electric motor. EV batteries must be recharged by plugging in the vehicle to an electrical power source. Some EVs have on-board chargers; others plug into a charger located outside the vehicle, but both must use external electricity to recharge the battery. Most homes, government facilities, fleet garages, and businesses have adequate electrical capacity for charging EVs. Special hookups or upgrades are usually required. Fleets can often take advantage of lower electricity rates if recharging is performed overnight. The DOE maintains a database of regional alternative refueling stations (including electric recharging locations) at http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/infrastructure/locator.html California has by far the most electric recharging stations, but several New England States have some as well. Maryland law allows low-speed vehicles (NEVs) access to roadways. A low-speed vehicle is defined as a four-wheeled electric vehicle that has a maximum speed capability that exceeds 20 miles per hour (mph) but is less than 25 mph. A low- speed vehicle must be registered with the state Motor Vehicle Administration and comply with federal standards. The State Highway Administration or any local authority may prohibit the use of low-speed vehicles on any controlled access road in its jurisdiction. Low-speed vehicles can not be operated on roads in which the maximum speed limit exceeds 30 mph, and except in certain situations, may not cross a highway for which the maximum speed limit exceeds 45 mph. A tax credit for the purchase of qualified electric vehicles was originally provided under the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992. The tax credit was extended through 2007 by the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004. IRS Form 8834 can be used to calculate the credit for qualified electric vehicles placed in service. The credit amount equals 10% of the cost of the vehicle up to $4,000. This credit is scheduled to be reduced to 75% in 2006 and expire in 2007. To qualify for the credit, the vehicle must be powered primarily by an electric motor drawing current from batteries or other portable sources of electricity. All dedicated, plug-in-only electric vehicles qualify for the tax credit, which is available for business or personal vehicles. A tax deduction of up to $100,000 per location is available for qualified electric vehicle recharging property used in a trade or business. For more general information on electric vehicles, you can visit Electric Drive Transportation Association: