Electric Cars

Driving the Nation to a Cleaner Environment

History of Electric Cars

• 1832-1839 Robert Anderson invented first electric carriage

• Designed by Professor Stratingh of Holland and built by Christopher Becker

• Thomas Davenport and Robert Davidson built more successful vehicles in 1842

• Gaston Plante improved the storage battery

…History…

• France & Britain were the first to support it

• 1899-1900 was the most popular time for EVs in America

• More popular because gasoline was expensive, the engine was harder to start, it was noisy, and produced lots of smoke

• Averaged around $3000

…History…

• Popularity declined around the 1930s

• Charles Kettering invented the electric starter

• Better roads system connected cities

• Discovery of Texas crude oil

• Mass production of internal combustion vehicles by Henry Ford

…History…

• Almost no EVs used in the 1960s• There was a need for alternative fueled

vehicles because of the exhaust emissions• The first electric Battronic truck was made

in 1964 • Today several legislative and regulatory

efforts have restored electric vehicle development worldwide

Early Electric Car

Battronic Truck

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

• Aimed to improve air quality by creating restrictions releasing harmful pollutants into the atmosphere

• Promoted cleaner burning fuels which increased natural gas demand

• Increased production of EVs because of restrictions on gasoline powered vehicles

Energy Policy Act of 1992

• Encouraged the electricity generation market

• Established a new category of electricity producer: the exempt wholesale generator

• Huge boost to electric power industry

California Air Resources Board

• Mission: “To promote and protect public health, welfare and ecological resources through the effective and efficient reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects on the economy of the state.”

• http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/mission.htm

How It Works

• Powered by fuel cells and an electric motor• Electric motor gets power from a controller

which gets power from rechargeable batteries

• Accelerator pedal hooks to a pair of potentiometers, which are variable resistors that provide the signal of how much power to deliver

…How It Works…

• Each motor has 2 potentiometers for safety

• 2 types of motors: DC or AC

• DC runs on 96-192 volts

• AC is a 3-phase motor that runs at 240 volts with a 300 volt battery pack

…How It Works…

…How it Works

• DC is simpler and less expensive

• Has a 20,000 watt – 30,000 watt motor and a 40,000 watt – 60,000 watt controller

• Controller reads the setting of the accelerator pedal

• The pulse power is more than 15,000 times per second

…How It Works…

…How It Works…

• Able to use any 3-phase AC motor

• Regen feature

• Controller creates 3 pseudo-sine waves and needs to reverse the polarity of the voltage 60 times per second

• Needs 6 transistors

Charging an EV

• Pumps electricity into batteries as quickly as batteries will allow

• Monitors batteries and avoids damaging them

• Can recharge from any outlet• Average amount of energy the car can

consume is 1.5 kilowatts per hour• Can take 10-12 hours to fully recharge

Converting to an EV

• Can convert existing gasoline cars into electric cars at home

• Mainly uses a DC motor and DC controller

• Voltage is decided by owner, usually between 96 and 192 volts

• Usually have a manual transmission

• Use lead-acid batteries

…Converting To An EV…

• Remove the engine, gas tank, exhaust system, and clutch

• Attach an adaptor plate to the transmission and mount the motor and controller

• Find space to safely install the batteries• Wire the batteries and motor to the

controller• Install accessories

Problems With Batteries

• They are heavy

• They are bulky

• They have a limited capacity

• They are slow to charge

• They have a short life

• The are expensive

Environmental Advantages

• Environmentally friendly

• No tailpipe emissions or local pollution

• Not entirely pollution free because they are charged from electric-power grids

• Gasoline powered cars produce 22 lbs. of CO2 vs. 7 lbs. for an electric car

• Batteries can be recycled

…Environmental Advantages…

• California tried to pass a Zero Emission Mandate that required 2% of vehicles to be completely pollution free

• General Motors sued

• 35% of air pollution comes from cars, motorcycles, and trucks

Economic Advantages

• Traveling 25 miles on 5 kwh costs $0.40 for an electric car while it costs $2.00-$3.00 with gasoline cars

• An electric car can be charged with a solar panel

• Generates many new jobs

• Less dependent on other countries for oil

Advancements

• Iver Anderson, Bill McCallum, and Matthew Cramer from the US Department of Energy Ames Laboratory designed a “high performance permanent magnet alloy

• Can operate effectively at 200 C

• Less degradation of magnetic properties at high temperatures

Disadvantages

• Short battery life

• Long time to charge batteries

• Batteries are expensive

Advantages

• More environmentally friendly

• More efficient energy use

• No more paying outrageous prices for gas

• Easy to use or convert to

• Batteries can be reused and recycled

Sources

• http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car2.htm • http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/elec

tric.html

• http://www.evworld.com/general.cfm?page=evFAQ&title=EV%20FAQs

• http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarselectrica.htm

• http://www.mindfully.org/Air/GM-Sues-CA-ZEV.htm