How environmentally friendly are electric cars?

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MB
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How environmentally friendly are electric cars?

Postby MB » Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:20 pm

I've been carrying out some test comparisons between electric cars and petrol cars to see how they compare in efficiency.

Here is the resulting YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSVc2SrXVIk

I've also issued a press release, talking about the results.

Media Release, 25th February 2010
HOW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ARE ELECTRIC CARS?

In recent years, various claims have been made about the comparative environmental virtues of electric cars. However, for the first time, a motoring expert has carried out research on their „real world‟ fuel economy figures. Michael Boxwell tested two electric cars and two powered by internal combustion engines. Over the chosen route, the electric cars gave a carbon footprint of just under 50 g/km (compared with over 160g/km for the other two cars) and a total fuel cost of 26p (compared with over £1.50).

The electric cars chosen for the test were a new Mitsubishi i-MiEV and a three year old REVA G-Wiz dc-drive with old batteries. The results from both were very similar. They were compared with two economical compact cars: a new Toyota Aygo and a 2007 Fiat Panda.

Michael Boxwell explains: “I tried to ensure that the conditions were as similar as possible throughout. The tests were carried out in January 2010, with temperatures around freezing for the duration of the trial. Cabin heating was used where necessary. This is an important point, as electric cars are less economical in cold conditions than they are in warm conditions.

“The route I chose was my own personal trip to and from work – a total distance of just over 14 miles. This includes a total of about five miles of fast freeways and nine miles of busy inner city roads in Coventry. The carbon footprint calculations included the carbon impact of sourcing the fuel and transporting it to the power station, the production of the power, and the average transmission losses as it was delivered to the car.”

He adds: “Although these tests haven't been independently verified, they at least give a useful indication of relative fuel economy and carbon emissions. Even from my test figures, it can be seen that electric cars show remarkable levels of fuel economy and very low recharge costs compared with the other two models. There is little doubt that electric cars have a significantly lower impact on the environment than cars with combustion engines.”

Michael Boxwell is a best-selling environmental and technology author and speaker. He is the founder of the REVA/G-Wiz Electric Car Owners‟ Club, which has over 1,000 members. He has just produced a new book: “Owning an Electric Car”, with a foreword by former Top Gear presenter, Quentin Willson. The book includes a chapter that gives full details of the results of his tests. Further information can be found at: http://www.owningelectriccar.com.
My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

jlgh
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Re: How environmentally friendly are electric cars?

Postby jlgh » Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:58 pm

MB wrote:The carbon footprint calculations included the carbon impact of sourcing the fuel and transporting it to the power station, the production of the power, and the average transmission losses as it was delivered to the car.


Did you also estimate the impact of distributing the liquid fuel for the IC cars from the refinery, including elements for tanker fuel burn and for heating and lighting of petrol stations?

True real-world costs of IC cars are often grossly underestimated (e.g. by assuming that the average fuel consumption can be estimated using book figures. In the real world most journeys are short, engines are therefore cold and real-world mpg on a short commute or a trip into town might be 12 rather than the nominal 35 or whatever


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