Batteries Don’t Make Electricity, They Store Electricity Produced Elsewhere
And that's precisely their advantage. They can store energy produced by gasoline, propane, Diesel, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear, wind, solar, biodiesel, or just about any other fuel. Gasoline powered cars are limited to energy produced by gasoline.
People here are not arguing in good faith. They are being disingenuous and cherry picking information in order to make themselves feel like they've won the argument. The reality is that data speaks for itself.
I drive an electric car and it's among the best things I've ever put money into.
Talking point: "You have to strip mine the earth. Underage miners are being exploited in Africa. Then the old battery is an environmental nightmare."
Truth: Car battery recycling exists. It's been done for hybrids for a long time. And now it is beginning to be done for the first generation electric vehicles. My car just turned 9 years old and it was due for a battery. I bought one from a wrecked car that was 2 months old and basically brand new. My old battery was recycled. The Tesla Gigafactory has just tested making new batteries from the recycled old battery material and they have made the first 100% recycled batteries in the world. That's right... no more mining.
Talking point: "The grid can't handle everyone plugging in their cars. The power is coming from somewhere else. Coal plants! It's dirtier than just burning gasoline anyway."
Truth: I can choose where to buy my electricity and I buy from only renewable sources. Hydroelectric and wind and solar. Even if I didn't have this choice, let's take a look at the average kilowatt of power produced in the USA: about 2/3 from coal and other non-renewables, and about 1/3 from renewables. That means, all things being the same, it's 1/3 better than just using 100% non-renewable gasoline in your engine. But wait! There is more math. The average gasoline powered car has a thermal efficiency of 40%. That means that 60% of the energy is wasted as heat and 40% goes toward turning the wheels. But, even if all we had for electricity was produced at a power plant with non-renewable fuels, they are about 80% efficient. That means that we burn less fuel to go the same amount of miles. My car has an equivalent 100 mpg if you do the math and convert kilowatt-hours into gallons of gas. It costs me $5.20 to drive 216 miles, including the depreciation and wear and tear on the battery over its lifetime. That is about 2.5 cents per mile. The average car is more like 40 cents per mile or more. And, you have options when charging your car. You can charge at home, you can charge from a slow charger in a parking garage at work, you can charge from a fast charger at a shopping center. My home charger has a programmable capability to only charge overnight when the peak usage of electricity is past. So I do not strain the grid in any way. Flexible recharging is adaptable.
Talking point: "Electric cars suck. They are gutless. I want my V-8! What if you run out of charge on the side of the road?"
Truth: My electric car will blow the doors off of your V-8. It's very fast. When I first got it, people wanted to race me, revving up their motors at stoplights. They don't do that any more. I always win. Always. And, what about running out of charge? I charge at home overnight. The car starts out each day with a fresh charge. If I plan to drive more than 200 miles in a day, I can look on an app and see where the fast chargers are, and if there is a wait to use them. You drive 200 miles, hook up to a fast charger, and go stretch your legs for 20 min. Then you drive another 200 miles. Usually they are located in the parking lots of shopping centers, so this is convenient if you want to duck into the store and get a bag of groceries.
When you engage these talking points with truth, people suddenly stop responding. lol
How are you charged and pay at those parking lot stations?
You're referring to fast chargers in public places? Those are mostly Level 2 and Level 3.
So the car comes with a Level 1 charger which plugs into a regular 110V plug at home. It's slow. With a 62kWh battery, it takes 36 hours to charge from 0 to 100%.
You can upgrade to a 220V Level 2 charger at home. It uses the same plug as an electric clothes dryer. It will charge in 14 hours. You also have the option to use these in public places, such as in shopping centers and in front of our electric power company, lol.
Level 3 chargers are super fast. They use 480V industrial power supplies and charge at hundreds of amps. It will charge in 20 minutes. This is one of those that you would only find in a public place. Normal houses do not have this kind of power available.
The chargers you see in public are going to have a brand name. You subscribe to the brand name, give them your credit card info, and they set up an account for you. You might see a brand name such as Blink. So you need a Blink account. Then you just drive right up to the charger, plug in, and give it your login credentials (or insert your card into a slot) and it will start to charge. You can go for a walk for 20 minutes, or go shopping or get something to eat. Some of these will send you a text or whatever when you're car is full.
You need a separate account for each name brand. For instance, if you are at a Tesla charger, you need a Tesla account. It's like a gas station credit card: Chevron will not work at an Arco station.
There are some community based charger chains, that might be set up by your local power company or your state or municipality. They also have a separate account.
So depending on how much long distance driving you do, you might have 2-3 different accounts. They auto-debit from your debit account or credit card once a month.
It should be noted that there are 3 different standards for the type of charger plug. So a Level 1 / Level 2 cannot use a Level 3 cord. My car has both a Level 1 / Level 2 socket and a Level 3. Tesla's chargers are proprietary (and FAST) but they are incompatible with other types of cars. Adapters to go between these types are just coming on the market, so I could plug my non-Tesla car into a Tesla charger if I made an account. It got a little complicated and now it is getting easier with the advent of the adapters.
The pricing varies widely. I can pay $5.00 at home to plug in to the grid, or I can go to a fast charger and pay twice that much. Convenience costs money.
i dont give a fuck if niglets die mining my lithium or if windmills or solar ever make back the energy it took to produce them. i just care about being off the homoglobo grid and riding out the hellscape the western world is being forced into. fuck the earth, it will heal. my blood however shall persevere.
If you want to get completely off the grid, get an electric truck such as a Ford Lightning or a Rivian and a whole bunch of solar panels. Boom, done. You'll never go to a gas station again.
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