Electric Vehicles 101: What We All Need to Know

Many of us have heard about electric vehicles and how they are increasingly becoming a viable choice. We used to require a lot of discretionary income to afford to go electric. Today, when we’re ready to look for a new car, we can usually find an affordable electric car that works for us. As more electric vehicles become available, we are likely to have questions about how they work and whether they are suitable for our lives. When considering the purchase of an electric vehicle, it is important to have a basic understanding of what such a decision would mean for us.

What Are Electric Vehicles?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are vehicles that are partially or totally powered by electricity. Electric vehicles have low running costs due to fewer moving parts, and they are environmentally friendly because they require little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel) to run. While electric vehicles may have seemed out of our reach in the past, they are today a very popular choice for us.

What Is the Price of Electric Vehicles?

At first glance, electric vehicles can appear to be more expensive than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles. If we are wondering if it’s worthwhile to buy an EV, we should make sure to take advantage of current government offers and incentives. In addition, while the initial costs might be higher with the recent cost of gasoline, electric vehicles can start paying for themselves very quickly.

We may also be able to take advantage of new electric car discounts or leasing agreements, allowing us to spend even less money when purchasing an electric car.

What Is the Range of Electric Vehicles?

Because not all electric vehicles have the same range, we need to choose one that will fit our needs. A model with less coverage will serve us if we only plan on taking short journeys around town. On the other hand, if we wish to drive across the country, we’ll need a vehicle with a longer range. The good news is that there are already electric vehicles that can travel between 250 and 600 miles on a single charge, which means they can get us anywhere we need to go and are comparable to traditional cars, which typically travel between 200 and 400 miles on a full tank of gas.

Where Can We Charge Electric Vehicles?

Charging infrastructure is required to charge an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles need to be charged by plugging them into car charging stations or, in some cases, a conventional socket with an adaptor. Unfortunately, not all places have this infrastructure yet, so we need to check before we buy. If we live in a major city, we will almost certainly have access to charging infrastructure, while if we live in a rural region, we may need to have access to a charging station in our homes.

Are Electric Vehicles Better for The Environment?

Even after accounting for the electricity consumed for charging, electric vehicles often have a lower carbon footprint than gasoline vehicles. There are no tailpipe emissions from electric cars. However, the electricity required to charge EVs may emit carbon dioxide. The amount varies greatly depending on how local power is created. For example, whether it is generated using coal or natural gas, which emit carbon pollution, or renewable resources such as wind or solar, which do not. Even after accounting for these energy emissions, research reveals that an electric car emits fewer greenhouse gasses than a typical new gasoline automobile. Finally, the overall greenhouse gasses associated with electric vehicles will be lower if more of us use renewable energy sources like wind and solar to generate the electricity we use.

Electric vehicles are now an environmentally friendly option that is available to many of us. EVs can both save us money in the long run as well as help reduce greenhouse emissions and the impact of global warming. EVs can be charged in many of our communities and last long enough to get us where we want to go. When we are purchasing our next car, we should consider if buying an electric vehicle would be a good choice for us and our families.