Presently, more than 5000 vehicles are running across US that use electricity as fuel, with the maximum number being in California. In the present days when the oil prices are soaring, the demand for electricity as the alternate fuel for vehicles is bound to increase. Vehicles using electricity as fuel are called Electric Vehicles (EVs) or electric cars. In electric vehicles usually the battery is fitted that stores the electricity and runs the motor, which in turn rotates the wheels of the vehicle.
Here are some advantages of EVs using electricity as the alternate fuel:
1) Electricity is readily available.
2) Since
there is no IC engine, the vehicle runs noiselessly, in fact many times you won’t even know that some vehicle has just passed beside you.
3) There are no emissions from EVs, hence they are environmental friendly.
4) Manufacturing the EV is very easy; you have to merely assemble various components of the vehicle. This is especially true for small motorcycles or mopeds.
5) EVs require less maintenance.
Disadvantages of EVs:
1) The major disadvantage of EVs is that the battery has to be charged regularly. The normal working range of battery is about 50-130 miles and it takes about 6-8 hours to recharge completely.
2) If you are traveling a long distance, you may be at the risk of the battery getting discharged. As such there are no battery charging stations available on roads and highways. In some states like California and Arizona, shopping malls and some stores offer charging facilities, but they are not available everywhere. In future the trend of providing charging points is surely going to spread across other businesses and states.
3) Though the vehicle running on electricity does not produce pollution, the power plants producing electricity do produce pollution. The pollutants created by thermal power plants are one of major source of air-pollution. The electricity generated from solar energy is totally pollution free.
The vehicle manufacturers are striving hard to improve the performance of EVs. They have come up with number of alternative arrangements like hybrid vehicles in which electricity as well as gasoline can be used as fuel to run the vehicle.
Read more about electric cars:
All About Electric Cars