When you hear someone talking about hybrid cars, they are actually talking about a car that runs on a combination of gas and electricity (in technological terms, cars with gasoline-electric powertrains).

The batteries are recharged when the car is running on gas or when braking (using something called regenerative braking, which transfers the energy generated while braking back into the batteries, rather than dissipating it as heat as occurs in regular vehicles). Some hybrids also come with a plug-in-to-recharge option.

When going slowly, such as around town, these hybrid electric vehicles actually run solely on the electricity in their batteries, making for far more fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

However, in addition to hybrids, there are true “electric cars” – the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). These vehicles also work on electricity but, in this case, the sole power source is electric batteries. There is no other engine.

BEVs are considered zero emission vehicles because they give off no emissions when they run. They are quiet and have many fewer parts than either hybrids or gas-powered cars. Examples of current BEV cars are the Indian REVA and Tesla Roadster.

There are other types of electric powered vehicles as well, including what are called neighborhood electric vehicles. A golf cart is a prime example of a neighborhood electric vehicle, and golf carts are often used as transportation in over-55 communities.

There are, of course, downsides, to electric vehicles. Electric cars go much less far on a “full tank” of electricity than do cars on a tank of gas or other popular alternative fuels, sometimes less than 50 miles on a charge, and finding a place to “fill up” can be hard. While plugging in at night at home is easy, finding a place to plug on your car while away from home may not be. Not only that, but charging the car can take several hours.

In addition, replacing the battery packs for an electric vehicle is much more expensive than buying a new battery for your gasoline-driven car.

On the other hand fuels costs are extremely low as it costs much less to run a car on electricity than gasoline. Electric cars often average the equivalent of 20 miles per gallon and cost about 3 cents a mile to run. Not only that, but you won’t be spending money on tuneups, oil changes, new mufflers, and the like when you use an environmentally-friendly electric-powered vehicle.

Take Care,

Steve Longoria

Next, click here to discover how EarthShips can mean sustainable living for all!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_H._Longoria

Rather than looking at buying a used electric golf cart or building an
electric golf cart at home instead, you should look at
electric bikes! Whether it is an electric scooter, a regular electric
bike, a diy electric bicycle, or anything else of that type,
two-wheeled electric vehicles have many advantages that a standard
electric car (even a Japanese electric car) will not have. While many
people do not like the idea of biking to work as they fear arriving in
a sweaty mess, electric bicycles (or other two-wheeled electric
vehicles) do the work for you, allowing you to arrive in a relaxed
manner, looking professional and fresh.

Speed is often an issue for people. While hybrid car batteries can
keep the car at a good speed for the city, and they have a gas engine
for higher speeds, electric cars often have limits. Just how fast can
an electric car go? The truth is, electric cars can go fast enough to
deal with the slow crawl of traffic that is the norm in most cities.
Electric bikes are even better! Bicyclists are faster than cars in
most cities because they are more maneuverable and can easily bypass
obstacles that would greatly slow down cars. Whether you’re in an
electric razor scooter, an electric balancing scooter, or in any other
two wheeled electric vehicle, you will be passing cars on your way to
work without any stress. To top it off, they’re so portable you can
park them almost anywhere! So, look for an adult electric scooter
sale close to you!

George Christodoulou,

If you are interested in saving the environment and your money learn how to run your car on water [http://www.run-my-car-on-water.com/] go to

run-your-car-on-water.com for more info.

But, if you are just interested in more electric car information, please visit electricvehiclesite.com

for more information about choosing an electric car to drive.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Christodoulou

Electric motors by design are much more efficient than Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). They achieve efficiencies of well over 90% compared to an average of 20% for ICE. This translates into greater economical incentive since electric motors average 6Km/Kwh (Kilometer per Kilowatt-hour of energy) compared to 2.5Km/Kwh for ICE running on petrol. Efficiency with ICE is a big problem as there is not much scope for improvement. You see, in physics the laws of thermodynamics come into play theoretically limiting the efficiency of these designs to about 40%.

Next is the fact that electric motors are able to deliver full torque at start up, that is at zero Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) which means you get much more power from the beginning itself. ICE however are different because they can only achieve their full torque within a certain range of RPM, which is why you have to shift gears when you’ve reached that optimal RPM range. Thus the Tesla roadster, a fully electric sports car can achieve 0-60mph in well under 4 seconds, and that’s with only about 250 horsepower (hp). For a similar performance with ICE cars, you would be looking at 500hp cars or more.

However the reason why you don’t see electric cars everywhere yet is because there are areas which have to be improved. Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of electric cars is its power source. Conventional ICE burn petrol which itself is very energy dense, meaning it contains a lot of energy, so to speak. As such the energy density of petrol is about 13Kwh/Kg (Kilowatt-hour per kilogram) or 8.9Kwh/L(Kilowatt-hour/Litre). Electric cars currently rely on lithium ion batteries with an energy density of 0.2Kwh/Kg with some of them even attaining 0.4Kwh/Kg. Still, however that is quite low.

All this translates into having to carry a heavy load of batteries so that these electric cars can have a reasonable range. The Tesla roadster for example recently managed to complete the 500km landmark on a single charge. With a 53Kwh battery pack which weighs almost a thousand pounds, that’s an efficiency of 9.5Km/Kwh!

The second problem with the battery technology is its charging time. On a home power outlet, a typical connection of 240 volts at 13 ampere (amp) would take over 17 hours to charge a 53Kwh battery pack. With its high power connector kit of 70amp though, this can fall down to 3 hours. Future models are expected to have a 45 minutes quick charge. A third problem is the life cycle of the batteries which have a limited charging cycle.

However you can expect these shortcomings to vanish in the future with investments in technologies such as lithium-air batteries with capacities of up to 5Kwh/Kg. Big companies such as IBM, Bosch and Panasonic are at the edge of the future battery technologies.

Convenience is another advantage when it comes to electric cars. In our society today, electricity is the universal form of energy. You can charge your car from so many outlets, at home, at charging stations, at work or even at the neighbors’ if you dare. No need to queue at petrol stations. The bonus is that electricity costs only 12 cents/Kwh so essentially you’re looking at a full charge for under $7. Compare that to filling up your fuel tank at about $40 or more.

Electric cars have zero emissions. They have no air intake or exhaust. It is true that the electricity used most likely comes from coal fired power plants but the problem is the way of generating electricity in general, which has other alternatives. So not only electric cars do not pollute the air, they also reduce noise pollution. They are so silent that some authorities are thinking of solutions to warn the visually impaired people who rely heavily on their hearing to move around.

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a top gear episode where the presenters had taken their cars to the Andes and at that altitude engine performance dropped significantly since there was less oxygen in the air. I know it wouldn’t be fair if I mention such a situation as an advantage of the electric car, since realistically such situations rarely occur. But that surely points out that ICE need adequate levels of oxygen to function, electric cars don’t.

The technology of electric vehicles keeps on improving. For example, Michelin’s Active Wheel System, basically in wheel motors, are smaller electric motors found inside the wheels and each of them are able to generate power independently. This is true 4 x 4 power. They are relatively light about 42 Kg each eliminating the need for a heavy front engine, an empty space which can be use to improve safety for frontal impacts. The reduction in weight further increases safety in terms of braking distance.

Lastly with only a few moving parts with electric motors, maintenance is less of a problem since there is less wear and tear, not to mention clogs and fuel deposits that occur with typical ICE. Forget about those dreaded frequent oil changes. Forget about those black particles deposits under the bonnet.

There is a buzzing enthusiasm for electric vehicles not only from the consumer market but also from the manufacturers. The most successful car manufacturers know where the future lies, hence why Toyota’s best selling hybrid- Prius (over 2 million of them around) is making the headlines while General Motors have scheduled production of the Chevrolet Volt within a year from now. Nissan and Renault are expected to follow suit.

Analysts on the other hand estimate that by 2020 10% of all new sales will be electric doubling by 2030. However other experts such as Professor Kevin Morley, former Managing Director of Rover are more optimistic putting the market share of electric cars between 30-40% by 2020. I personally share his optimism, although to some people this figure might seem unrealistically high. So next time you see an electric car, just remember what you are actually looking at is simply a great piece of engineering and you can expect to see a lot of them in the near future.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amish_Poonyth

There are other options for electric cars, each having advantages and disadvantages. What most would consider a true electric car would carry no engine utilizing fossil fuel. Instead, it would carry a bank of batteries and rely on recharging of the batteries while parked and/or utilize solar or another alternate source of electricity.

A diesel-electric hybrid is another option that would closely mirror the gas-electric hybrids currently available. The major reasons they have not been commercially available are the higher initial cost of diesel engines and emissions restrictions. While diesel engine technology has advanced to provide quiet and powerful engines, automakers could not meet Federal emissions standards until a new, cleaner formulation of diesel fuel became mandatory at the beginning of 2009.

The idea of electric vehicles is not new and, in fact has been around since the early days of the automobile. Battery technology was the biggest problem and continues to be an obstacle today. Batteries are heavy in relation to the energy they carry. In order for a car to travel any appreciable distance, a large percentage of the car’s weight is comprised of the battery bank.

Gas-electric hybrid cars use their gasoline engine in conjunction with a generator to recharge the batteries continuously. This onboard charging system allows for continued travel without having to stop to charge the batteries and reduced vehicle weight through the use of a smaller battery bank. The concert of hybrid power began in the early part of the 20th century, as the diesel engine was adapted for use in locomotives by using diesel-electric power.

While hybrid cars give drivers the benefits discussed above, they are still a compromise between fossil fuel and truly pollution free vehicles. The trade-off is a limited range of driving before the electric cars batteries must be recharged. A totally electric car does not create pollutants directly. By using electricity from the utility grid, the electric car does generate a small amount of pollution. A few people who have built electric cars for personal use have also built solar powered recharging systems, thereby eliminating any pollution whatsoever.

Scientists are competing continuously to develop batteries that are lighter weight in relation to the energy stored. At the same time, they must keep in mind the potential for fire or explosion as well as environmental concerns such as the use of toxic materials. The technology for solar electricity production is also becoming more efficient. It is possible that in the future, totally electric cars will be have an unlimited range through the use of lightweight batteries and onboard solar recharging systems.

Hybrid gas-electric cars are available from some of the new car dealers. True electric cars remain the realm of small companies and individuals who convert gasoline powered cars to electricity. Those who drive electric cars have found that the limited range, normally 80 – 100 miles, is not an issue for commuting to work and running errands. Most families have a second car capable of traveling longer distances.

A number of those who converted a car to electricity have detailed their experiences and share them on the Internet. One of them is available at my web site, http://www.altenergyways.com/ecar1.html.

Sam Shock is a generator and refrigeration service contractor with an interest in alternative energy. http://www.altenergyways.com/ecar1.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Shock

I am sure that if you are like me you at least dreamed about such an animal sitting in your garage. It does however, seem like those “things”, electric powered vehicles, are about the ugliest, smallest, most inconvenient, looking car a guy or gal could be caught in. To say that, all electric cars, are in this category though, would also be an inaccurate statement. Certainly, electric car manufacturers, have a thought on this, and could change the looks of their electric powered vehicles to something that we could all be proud to own. I am sure they will in the next few years.

Then there is the price to consider on these new cars. For most of us, they are priced way out of our range. The $35,000 to $50,000 ones are just to much, especially in these times. There are a few coming down below that now, around $15,000.

If that price is still out of range for you and you still want to join the electric car club, you could consider your very own homemade electric car. You would need some time, you would need some knowledge or expertise, you would need some type of shop with basic tools, but most of all, as with anything worth getting, you would need some desire, and as always, you would need some of the green stuff (money) to go green, however much less than a new electric car. We call these the 5 “you would need some’s” to end up with your home built electric car.

Lets start with “you would need some” time. First you will need to decide which car or pickup you want to convert to electric. By the way, out here in Kansas we call a pickup, a pickup, not a pickup truck. A pickup by my definition is a small less than 1 ton rated vehicle for light hauling purposes. A truck is used for hauling heavy payloads that require more suspension and capacity. I hope that is not confusing for you. Anyway, all electric cars have a certain amount of weight to carry in the batteries and electric motor, and other components. The more batteries equals more distance between charges. That is why small pickups work the best for, electric conversions. If you shop around, you can find a small, used pickup with a “bad” engine and replace the engine with the electric motor. This will definitely save you lots of money.

Have you ever heard this before? “We can have that engine out in 1 hour”. I have heard it, but never said it. Because, it just never seems to work that way. 4 hours later the engine is hanging from the shop hoist dripping oil, antifreeze, and greasy dirt. Yep, it is out though.

Now, you have to find and mount an electric car motor to the drive train of the vehicle. Next, we have to come up with the electric parts, where to get them and how to install them correctly. Also, how to install and wire the batteries into the electric system so that they are working properly. Also, where to locate and buy batteries, new or used. How heavy the wire needs to be from battery to working component and many other parts that need hooked up and mounted in and on your homemade electric car.

For me to say this do it yourself project will take a certain amount of hours, would not be fair. I will say this though. With proper guidance and educating yourself, you and a friend with average mechanical skills working for 2 weekends and doing some phone calling and chasing electric car parts during the week, would most likely be driving up and down the neighborhood streets, in your very own home built electric car, in a couple of weeks.

I am writing about all of this so that you will know the truth, about our friend “how much time” involved to do electric conversions as best as I can tell you, from my own experiences of doing things myself. I want to encourage you to look at the possibility of you doing this for yourself and your family. In the future you may be one of these guys or gals joining the electric car club. Who knows this could even turn into your very own business, if you find that you enjoy doing this type of work. Doing a project, like a homemade electric car or pickup, could be a very rewarding and fulfilling experience for you.

Look for part 2 in this series of 5 articles, titled, you will need some, written to help you decide if building your own homemade electric car would be a benefit to you or your family.

The author of this article has a passion to help people become educated and aware of methods and products that have or do work to improve someones use of energy. Ron feels that alternative energy must be more seriously considered and applied to our everyday lifestyles and living. He feels that education and just to let people know, that there is another way to turn the wheels of society, and get things done.

http://www.allaboutalternatives.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_Schepmann

When you hear someone talking about hybrid cars, they are actually talking about a car that runs on a combination of gas and electricity (in technological terms, cars with gasoline-electric powertrains).

The batteries are recharged when the car is running on gas or when braking (using something called regenerative braking, which transfers the energy generated while braking back into the batteries, rather than dissipating it as heat as occurs in regular vehicles). Some hybrids also come with a plug-in-to-recharge option.

When going slowly, such as around town, these hybrid electric vehicles actually run solely on the electricity in their batteries, making for far more fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

However, in addition to hybrids, there are true “electric cars” – the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). These vehicles also work on electricity but, in this case, the sole power source is electric batteries. There is no other engine.

BEVs are considered zero emission vehicles because they give off no emissions when they run. They are quiet and have many fewer parts than either hybrids or gas-powered cars. Examples of current BEV cars are the Indian REVA and Tesla Roadster.

There are other types of electric powered vehicles as well, including what are called neighborhood electric vehicles. A golf cart is a prime example of a neighborhood electric vehicle, and golf carts are often used as transportation in over-55 communities.

There are, of course, downsides, to electric vehicles. Electric cars go much less far on a “full tank” of electricity than do cars on a tank of gas or other popular alternative fuels, sometimes less than 50 miles on a charge, and finding a place to “fill up” can be hard. While plugging in at night at home is easy, finding a place to plug on your car while away from home may not be. Not only that, but charging the car can take several hours.

In addition, replacing the battery packs for an electric vehicle is much more expensive than buying a new battery for your gasoline-driven car.

On the other hand fuels costs are extremely low as it costs much less to run a car on electricity than gasoline. Electric cars often average the equivalent of 20 miles per gallon and cost about 3 cents a mile to run. Not only that, but you won’t be spending money on tuneups, oil changes, new mufflers, and the like when you use an environmentally-friendly electric-powered vehicle.

Take Care,

Steve Longoria

Next, click here to discover how EarthShips can mean sustainable living for all!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_H._Longoria

It is actually nice to see more and more people doing his or her own share to save the environment, most especially A-list celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mandy Moore and a slew of other environmentally conscious Hollywood stars who have made hybrid cars the “It” car of the moment. Hopefully, they are doing this to show how much they care for the environment and not just to join the save the world bandwagon.

In any case, there is absolutely nothing wrong in trying to help change the world, and if you want another way to help out then why don’t you consider electric car conversion. In spite of being an environmentally friendly car, hybrids will still cost you some serious dough so instead of blowing off all your cash on a brand new hybrid car, why not just build an electric car by yourself? Not only will you get to save a lot of money but you will really get on the nitty gritty about DIY electric car and can easily offer your assistance to your family, friends as well as other people who are interested in electric car conversion, consider this as an added good deed to your list of helping save the environment.

But how do you exactly go about electric car conversion? While there are some books offering tips on electric car conversion or DIY electric car, a nice alternative – and a great means of conserving paper and helping the environment, is to purchase an online guide about electric car conversion instead. These electric car conversion online guides are readily available through the Internet, simply type in the kind of electric car conversion guide that you want on the search engine and just wait for the search results to appear.

So while you are still choosing which online guide for electric car conversion you want to buy, here are some quick tips on DIY electric car:

For DIY electric car or how to build an electric car all on your own, you may want to consult with a car hobbyist to help you or give you more tips when going about your own electric car conversion, he or she may actually offer to do the conversion for you but if you really want to get on the nitty gritty of electric car conversion then just ask him or her for tips and not totally rely on these car hobbyists to do all the work for you.

You may also seek some advice on how to choose the right kit for your electric car conversion, depending on the kind of car that you want to convert into a electric. Take note that small or “light” cars are actually the easiest to convert into an electric, just make sure that the body has enough room for a battery.

Gary A Stevens is a writer for the premium electric car guide. He knows how to convert YOUR car into an electric vehicle, quickly and easily. To do an electric car conversion and save a ton of money on gas, just pick up Gary’s guide right now. Go there now –> http://www.PremiumElectricCar.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_A_Stevens

Whilst their popularity has varied over time, they have recently (since about the mid 1990s) started gaining in popularity again. In April 2009, the United Kingdom Government announced plans to provide a subsidy of up to £5,000 to people who buy electric or hybrid cars.

Electric cars need to be re-charged periodically, as mentioned above. Re-charge times vary depending on the amount of power the socket provides, however a re-charge center can re-charge an electric car battery in anything up to an hour (some batteries can be re-charged in much less time, however).

They don’t emit any carbon dioxide, which means that such cars are used favourably by environmentally-friendly consumers. Of course, electricity is currently primarily generated by burning fossil fuels – which does release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Hence the use of an electric car would indirectly release carbon dioxide, although it goes without saying that an electric car is better for the environment than a standard car.

Many electric cars use regenerative braking – this process means that the significant portion of energy used when a car accelerates can be gained back when the car breaks. This helps to increase the overall efficiency of the vehicle.

Electric Car Safety

Electric cars are relatively safe since many have the standard safety features (side impact bars, front and rear crumple zones, safety glass etc), and also they are relatively heavy (compared to standard cars), and it’s been proven that heavier cars tend to see lesser injuries occur to its passengers compared to lighter cars in the event of a crash. Of course, this is on average – safety also comes down to the manufacturer and the safety features they install. But there’s no specific reason why electric cars are less safe than standard cars.

Additionally, electric cars have multiple safety layers built in to mitigate any potential possibility of getting a shock from the electric car’s battery. More specifically, the battery pack is known as a “floating system” since it’s kept electrically separate from the car’s chassis. Some other components may simply not function if they detect even a slight fault in the electricity going to the chassis.

As with any electrical system, electric cars have numerous circuit breakers, fuses, mains contractors etc. Due to the aforementioned safety layers, it is perfectly safe to use electric cars in the rain.

Remember that an electrical car is, on average, heavier than standard cars. This does mean that there will be a slightly adjustment needed when handling the vehicle (for example, just as it would if you put heavy items in the boot/trunk of a standard car). Power steering and power brakes are recommended features to look out for when purchasing an electric car.

One problem with the external safety of electric cars is that they are relatively quiet, and in speeds of 20 mph (32 kph) or lower they are especially hard to hear. This will pose a threat particularly to visually-impaired pedestrians who may not be able to hear the vehicle coming. To combat this, the United States Congress and European Union Commission are looking at introducing legislation to ensure that electric cars emit a minimum level of sound.

Popularity Of Electric Cars

Currently electric cars are seen as quite different, and aren’t very popular (albeit they are growing in popularity). However this hasn’t always been the case. In the early 20th century (1900-1920), electric cars were more popular than standard gasoline-powered cars. However their popularity rapidly diminished from the 1920s to the 1980s, as oil (and so petrol/diesel) prices become relatively cheap.

However since the 1980s, oil has started becoming relatively more expensive again, and eco-friendly attitudes have risen. As such electric car popularity is rising again. In an LA car show in 1990, the President of General Motors unveiled the “Impact” electric car – this was a forerunner to the hallmark EV1 electric car.

Many car makers started producing various electric car models throughout the 90s, mostly prompted by the California Air Resources Board pledging to push for more fuel efficient vehicles.

According to the American Electric Drive Transportation Association, in 2006 there were about 70,000 electric cars in use in America, up from the estimated 56,000 cars just two years before – an increase of 25%. Overall numbers of such cars used are still very low compared to usage figures of gasoline-powered cars, however their usage numbers are rising and the trend towards more eco-friendly views can only benefit electric car usage.

Tristan Perry, Le Creuset Kettle Products

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tristan_Perry