Electric Vehicles

Consumers can still expect an influx of new EV models that hold the greatest promise for large-scale adoption worldwide. These vehicles, whether for personal or commercial use, promise to contribute to reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions from personal vehicle transportation during the next few decades. They also propose greater fuel efficiency and longer mileage based on their ability to run on battery-stored electricity supplied from a centralized power grid.

Unlike other vehicles that run on alternative fuel sources such as ethanol and biofuels, hybrid and pure plug-in EVs have gained little traction in market share growth because of broad inaccessibility to compatible fueling grids, a dubious customer base, and a dismal global economy that has all but halted production and purchase of traditional combustion engine vehicles.

An EV uses one or more electric motors as its propulsion system. EVs differ from those powered by fossil fuels in that they get their power from various places, such as solar power, wind energy, and other renewable energy sources. The energy is transmitted to the vehicle via overhead cables, wireless, or a direct connection through an electrical cable. The electricity is stored in the vehicle using a battery or fuel cell. One advantage of electric vehicles is that they can recover braking energy as electricity and restore it to the on-board battery.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)
PHEVs are similar to other hybrid vehicles except they can be plugged into a standard low voltage home, office, or garage outlet to charge the battery.

Series vs. Parallel PHEVs
Major components of PHEVs are arranged in either a series or parallel architecture. In the parallel format, the engine and electric motor connect separately to the transmission, which allows each to drive the wheels directly. The vehicle can vary the amount of power it draws from the battery and the liquid fuel, possibly turning off the engine entirely or using it to charge the battery as needed.

Rechargeable Batteries
Batteries are essentially the blood that gives EVs life. Batteries, in general, are categorized into primary and secondary categories. Secondary batteries are rechargeable and also known as storage batteries. All batteries provide a certain amount of electron pressure, known as voltage, and is measured in volts (V).