The obvious benefit of electric vehicles is their inability to produce carbon fumes. They run on electricity, but this doesn’t necessarily make them eco-friendly. Sure, having a car that doesn’t run on petrol or diesel fuel is great, but you’re still draining power from the national grid.
As such, these cars are built with tech that makes them as green as possible. We’ll run through some of the best features below, so you can see just how electric vehicles are trying to cut down on energy usage to save the planet.
Lithium Ion Batteries
Electric cars are powered by batteries instead of engines. These batteries are lithium-ion ones, which are different from other traditional types of batteries. The benefit of this technology is that the batteries are capable of storing more energy for longer periods. This allows cars to charge up and go for longer, reducing recharging times.
Furthermore, lithium-ion batteries have a longer lifespan than traditional ones, which means they won’t need to be replaced as often. Even when they are replaced, these batteries are made with certain materials that make them more eco-friendly. As shown on the Avocet Precision Metals website, lithium-ion batteries are constructed using different metal foils such as nickel or copper. These metals are completely recyclable and can be reclaimed when a battery dies before being used to make other things. As such, lithium-ion batteries produce less waste when they run out of power, limiting the environmental impact of an electric car.
Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking is one of the many forms of car tech passed down from Formula 1 over the years. The idea is brilliant; when the car brakes, it converts the kinetic energy used to slow down the car into electrical energy. This is passed through the system and back into the car’s battery.
As a consequence, the battery metre gets topped up slightly. It won’t be enough to fully charge a vehicle, but it does help prolong the battery life between charges. Over time, this all adds up to serious cost savings, but also serious energy savings. The car will spend less time plugged in, so less energy is used.
Solar Panels
Granted, this is more of a recent innovation that’s yet to be seen across all-electric vehicles. The new Toyota Prius was revealed a few months ago and it comes with an optional solar roof. That’s right, there are solar panels attached to the car, harvesting energy that’s fed into the battery.
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Ironically the Prius is a hybrid vehicle, so it’s not even fully electric. Still, we expect to see this tech introduced in more electric cars in the coming years. It provides a new way to store and use electricity, reducing the need to charge your car through a wall socket. Again, it’s unlikely to generate enough electricity for a full charge, but every little helps in the battle against using non-renewable energy sources.
As you can see, there’s a lot of cool technology behind electric cars that help them be as efficient as possible. Certainly, when compared to traditional vehicles, they are much better for the environment.
