In 2019, a whopping 2.1 million electric cars were sold worldwide. This is a clear indication that electric vehicles are emerging as a strong alternative to vehicles that run on petrol or gas. If you are interested in purchasing an electric car, but want your questions answered first, here is a guide for you by Car Expert Group.
Mostly, the questions that potential buyers have about an electric vehicle revolve around its resistance and whether it has more resistance than a non-electric vehicle. Before we answer this question, let us take a look at what an electric car actually is.
Electric Car: Brief Introduction, Advantages & Disadvantages
For starters, an electric car is a vehicle that is pushed by an electric motor and uses energy from rechargeable batteries as its fuel. These vehicles can be charged at designated charging stations that you can locate throughout the town or set one up at your house.
When compared to a car that runs on petrol or gas, an electric vehicle boasts a ton of advantages. Firstly, it saves you money that would otherwise be spent on fuel. All these cars need is electricity to run and nothing else. Moreover, they do not produce much noise and require minimal maintenance.
Apart from that, studies have proven that most electric automobiles are environment-friendly and do not pollute the air.
The only downsides of getting an electric car are that they are pretty expensive as compared to your average petrol car, and the fact that these cars require extensive charging.
Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, and many other renowned automakers sell top-of-the-line electric cars.
Electric Car: The Resistance Factor
Yes, it’s true that electric cars are environment-friendly, cost-effective (in terms of usage), and easy to maintain. However, at the end of the day, they are still driven on roads. This means that the factor of Resistance has to be incorporated into the discussion.
Whenever a car hits the road, there are numerous forms of resistance that attempt to oppose the motion of the vehicle. Air resistance and rolling resistance are common examples.
The resistance factor impacts the motion of every type of car, whether it runs on electricity or petrol.
Does an Electric Car Manage Resistance better than a Gasoline Car?
As mentioned above, there isn’t any car that you can drive without experiencing resistance. But not every type of vehicle is impacted by resistance in the same way.
When it comes to rolling resistance, it is the energy required to keep the tire rolling or in easier words, a car moving. It is impossible to prevent rolling resistance because it occurs as soon as a moving tire interacts with the surface it’s rolling on.
As for Air resistance, the concept is self-explanatory. A car in motion, upon coming in contact with air particles, has to overcome the resisting nature of the said particles. The faster a car goes; the more resistance is presented by the air particles.
In short, a car can only move forward and maintain its speed if it generates enough energy to counter the resisting factors. Moreover, how much energy a car uses to power the machine and make it move is also vital to this discussion.
An electric car is capable of converting between 59 and 62 percent of the energy it receives from the battery into its acceleration. As for a gas or petrol-run car, it can only utilize up to 21% of the energy produced by fuel for overcoming the resistance and maintaining a steady motion.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that electric cars are much quicker (not faster, though) than their petrol counterparts. This is because the motor of an electric car generates torque in such a way that the vehicle acquires the force needed to get moving instantly.
Can Resistance Be Avoided?
While it’s not possible to completely avoid the resistance, it surely is reasonable enough to think of ways to reduce it. As for air resistance, it is linked to vehicle design. But when it comes to rolling resistance, that is something one can try to control. It should also be noted here that the lower the rolling resistance is, the better is the range that you can get out of your vehicle.
For starters, boosting the tire pressure can prove to be helpful in this regard. This is because high pressure lessens the chances of the tire getting deformed as it rolls on the road.
Additionally, there are a lot of low rolling resistance tires out in the market that can help you with your goal. Among the recommended low rolling resistance tires for electric cars are the Michelin Energy Saver A/S All Season, Toyo Versado Eco, and Dunlop EnaSave 01 A/S.
Here’s all we had. For any consultation needs for your car Car Expert Group is there for your help.
