How does an electric car work?

Electric cars are vehicles whose popularity has been growing steadily since the second decade of the 21st century. Increasingly valued environmental concerns are contributing to their popularisation. However, not everyone knows how electric cars work. If you too want to find out, you will find all the information here.

What is worth knowing about electric cars?

The popularisation of clean individual and public transport is due to how the electric car works. Because the energy to run the engine is provided by a battery, no fuel is needed. And this translates into no exhaust fumes being emitted into the atmosphere. This eliminates the need for a tailpipe in an electric car.

The construction of an electric car is much simpler than that of an internal combustion engine. It lacks many parts. There is no need for a turbocharger, oil sump, fuel injection, pistons, crankshaft and many other components. The simple construction of electric cars, compared to combustion cars, makes them much less prone to breakdown. There is a simple relationship here - the fewer parts there are, the less often something can break down.

The description of electric cars would not be complete if it did not mention acceleration. Electric motors have full power at all times when driving. As a result, they start up incomparably faster than combustion cars. Driving an electric car is also comfortable. This type of engine is almost silent.

One of the most important components in the design of an electric car is the battery. This is what provides the motor with the energy required to move the wheels. Charging the vehicle with electricity is a process that is much like that of electronic devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones.

Operating an electric car - advantages and disadvantages

Electric car batteries are currently the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the popularisation of such vehicles. Charging unfortunately takes a long time. Even fast public chargers require at least half an hour. Slower ones - several hours. Charging a car at home, from a socket or wallbox (home station) is up to several hours.

Nowadays, unfortunately, there is no faster way to replenish electricity in car batteries. The capacity of the cell translates into the range, i.e. the number of kilometres the car can travel while driving. This one is no different from what combustion cars offer.

The running costs depend on where you plug the car in. The cheapest way is to charge it at home. Then the price per 1 kWh is many times lower than for 1 litre of petrol. Using public charging stations is much more expensive. In the case of fast chargers, the price of operating an electric car is no different from the expenditure on fuel.

Clean, noise-free transport also brings privileges. Obtaining green plates is a pass to free parking in paid parking zones. Electric cars can also enter the centres of many cities, while combustion cars are sometimes banned from such areas.

How an electric car works - basic principles of operation

The principle of the electric car is to store the energy needed to drive the motor. The motor of an electric car is adapted to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. The former is stored in a lithium-ion battery, the latter is produced by magnets, a rotor with its surrounding stator and often brushes and commutators. Brushless motors, unlike brush motors, lack the latter two components.

A lithium-ion battery, commonly referred to as a battery, is required to start the engine. The design of an electric car necessitates its presence under the floor of the passenger compartment. This is due to its weight, which is tens of kilos or more.

The electronics implemented in the electric car also determine how it performs. This is a specially profiled in-vehicle infotainment system. Its task is to provide the driver with the necessary information, such as showing a map and activating lane and parking assist. Such a system also includes many user conveniences, such as access to streaming services and climate control.

How does the gearbox work in electric cars?

Do electric cars have gearboxes? No, because they do not need to have one. Petrol and diesel engines achieve adequate torque within a limited speed range. Maintaining adequate torque therefore requires constant adjustment of the transmission to the current speed.

As mentioned above, the torque in an electric motor is constant. The fact that it does not need to be changed means that a gearbox is not necessary. Today, however, two-stage transmissions are being developed. The idea behind their design is the desire to reduce electricity consumption. Saving it would extend the driving range on a single charge.

What are the ranges of the average electric car?

The range of an electric car depends on the battery capacity. This in turn is selected according to the weight and engine power of the vehicle. The principle of the electric car is simple in this case - the larger and more powerful the vehicle, the larger the battery. This, in turn, affects the weight of the battery and the entire car.

The Škoda Citigo-e iV city car, for example, has a 36 kWh battery pack. This is sufficient to provide energy for 260 km of driving for the 83 hp engine. Small for electrics, the battery weighs 370 kg. Together with it, the car has a weight of 1530 kg.

The Tesla Model 3 Performance has a 224 hp motor and an 80 kWh battery. It consumes around 20 kWh for every 100 km driven. This means that the car can be driven for up to 400 km. The entire vehicle weighs 1.8 t.

The weight of the Škoda Citigo-e iV is only 230 kg more than that of the Hummer EV Edition 1 battery alone. The car is a real colossus. It weighs 4.1 t, of which 1.3 t is the weight of the 250 kWh battery alone. In order to drive such a heavy vehicle, an appropriately powerful engine is required. This engine has 983 hp. As a result, it consumes as much as 40 kWh per 100 km. However, the enormous battery pack can cover a distance of up to 530 km.

However, it must be remembered that the ranges quoted are maximum ranges. In reality, they are influenced by the driving style itself, the number of on-board instruments switched on and the weather conditions. Dynamic driving, switched on air conditioning, heating and other systems, as well as freezing temperatures all contribute to a reduction in the vehicle's range.

Electric cars are already a very interesting replacement for combustion cars. Zero-emission, good performance and quiet operation are just some of their advantages. However, faster charging and lower prices are needed to make them more widespread. Without eliminating these disadvantages, green transport will take longer to be adopted than necessary.