An EV is a shortened acronym for an electric vehicle. EVs are vehicles that are either partially or fully powered on electric power. Electric vehicles have low running costs as they have fewer moving parts for maintenance and also very environmentally friendly as they use little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel).
2. History of Electric Vehicles
•It is hard to pinpoint the invention of electric car to one inventor or country, instead it was a series of
breakthroughs from battery to electric motors in 1800’s that led to the first electric vehicle on the road.
•It was Henry Ford’s mass produced Model T that dealt blow to electric car. By that time the gasoline car
cost was $650 and electric car cost was $1750.
•In India, the concept of electric vehicles was unveiled under ‘National Electric Mobility Mission
Plan(NEMMP) 2020’ in 2013 to address the issues of energy security and vehicle pollution.
•In 2001, the first ever electric car ‘Reva’ was launched in India by Reva Electric Car Company (now
known as Mahindra Electric)
3. Working of Electric Vehicles
The electric vehicle
power source is a battery
which supplies the
electric motor with
energy necessary to
move the vehicle
The controller acts as a
regulator and controls the
amount of power received
from the batteries so the
motor does not burn out.
Since the electric vehicles use an
electric motor the driver can take
advantage of motor’s momentum when
pressure is applied on the brakes.
Instead of converting all the potential
energy in the motor into heat like a
fossil fuel powered car does, an electric
car uses the forward momentum of the
motor to recharge the battery. This
process is known as regenerative
braking.
4. TYPES OF EV’s
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
HEVs are powered by both petrol and electricity. HEVs start off
using the electric motor, then the petrol engine cuts in as load or
speed rises. The two motors are controlled by an internal
computer which ensures the best economy for driving conditions.
HEVs can recharge the battery through regenerative braking .
Example: Honda Civic Hybrid, Audi Q7.
5. Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
These vehicles use electricity as main source
of energy. The combustion engine is set-on
when the charging of battery reaches minimum
level. Recharging the battery can be done by
regenerative braking as well as plugging in the
charger . Example: Toyota Prius.
6. Battery Electric Vehicles
They are only powered by electricity and do
not have a petrol engine, fuel tank or exhaust
pipe. They are also known as plug in EVs.
Example: BMW i3.
7. TYPES BY DRIVE TRAIN STRUCTURE
PARALLEL HYBRID SYSTEM (PHV)
PHV, which are most commonly
produced at present, have both an internal
combustion engine (ICE) and an electric
motor coupled. If they are joined at an
axis in parallel, the speeds at this axis
must be identical and the supplied torques
add together. The Honda Insight uses this
system
SERIES HYBRID SYSTEM (SHV)
In a series-hybrid system, the combustion
engine drives an electric generator instead of
directly driving the wheels. The generator
provides power for the driving electric motors.
In short, a series-hybrid is simple, the vehicle is
driven by electric motors with a generator set
providing the electric power.
8. COMPARISON
Parameters Electric Vehicles Convectional Vehicles
Energy From electricity produced by
batteries
By combustion of Fuel
Price Higher due to usage of
expensive batteries and higher
maintenance
Cheaper due to more
availability and feasibility of
resources
Pollution Does not produce harmful
emissions and contributes in
clean air
Produces harmful carbon
emissions
Running Cost Running cost per km is Rs 1.5 Diesel per Km running cost is 4
to 4.5 and petrol per km running
cost is 6.5 where as for CNG it
is 3 to 3.5
9. How does the electric car engine work?
Electric cars function by plugging into a charge point and taking electricity from the grid. They store the
electricity in rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Electric cars
accelerate faster than vehicles with traditional fuel 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 a home charger.
There are plenty of charging stations around the world to stay fully charged while you're out and about.
But to get the best deal for home charging, it's important to get the right EV electricity tariff, so you can
spend less money charging and save more on your bill.
EVs and their 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 perfect electric car for you will be the one you can use for your normal journeys
without having to stop and charge up halfway through. Explore our EV leasing options.
10. INSIDE AN ELECTRIC CAR
The heart of an electric car is the combination of:
• The electric motor
• The motor's controller
• The batteries
The controller takes power from the batteries and delivers it to the
motor.
The accelerator pedal hooks to a pair of potentiometers(variable
resistors), and these potentiometers provide the signal that tells the
controller how much power it is supposed to deliver.
In this car, the controller takes in 300 volts DC from the battery
pack. It converts it into a maximum of 240 volts AC, three-phase,
to send to the motor. It does this using very large transistors that
rapidly turn the batteries' voltage on and off to create a sine wave.
11. POTENTIOMETER
• When you push on the gas pedal, a cable from the pedal connects to these two potentiometers.
• The controller reads both potentiometers and makes sure that their signals are equal. If they are not,
then the controller does not operate. This arrangement guards against a situation where a potentiometer fails
in the full-on position.
DC CONTROLLER
• Let's assume that the battery pack contains 12 12-volt batteries, wired in series to create 144 volts. The
controller takes in 144 volts DC, and delivers it to the motor in a controlled way.
• The very simplest DC controller would be a big on/off switch wired to the accelerator pedal. When
you push the pedal, it would turn the switch on, and when you take your foot off the pedal, it would turn it
off.
• Most controllers pulse the power more than 15,000 times per second, in order to keep the pulsation
outside the range of human hearing.
12. REGENERATIVE BRAKING
Regenerative braking is used in vehicles that make use of electric motors. One of the more
interesting.
properties of an electric motor is that, when it's run in one direction, it converts electrical
energy into mechanical energy that can be used to perform work (such as turning the wheels of
a car), but when the motor is run in the opposite direction, a properly designed motor becomes
an electric generator, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
This electrical energy can then be fed into a charging system for the car's batteries.
Once the motor has been reversed, the electricity generated by the motor is fed back into the
batteries., where it can be used to accelerate the car again after it stops.
In some cases, the energy produced by these types of brakes is stored in a series of capacitors
for later use.
13. THE MAGNA-CHARGE SYSTEM
The Magna-Charge system consists of two parts:
• A charging station mounted to the wall of the house
• A charging system in the trunk of the car
The charging station is hard-wired to a 240-volt 40-amp circuit
through the house's circuit panel.
The charging system sends electricity to the car using this inductive
paddle:
The paddle acts as one half of a transformer. The other half is inside
the car, positioned around the slot behind the license plate. When you
insert the paddle, it forms a complete transformer with the slot, and
power transfers to the car.
14. ADVANTAGES OF ELCTRIC VEHICLES
• cheaper to run because electricity is cheaper than petrol
• better for the environment
• reduce noise pollution
• less environmental impacts across their life-cycle (manufacturing, use and disposal)
• Less dependency on foreign oil
15. DISADVANTAGES OF ELCTRIC VEHICLES
• currently more expensive than normal cars
• not many places to charge your car
• can only travel 100-160km between charges
• Charging can take hours
• Silent operation – potentially dangerous for pedestrians