Back to School Guide: How Do Electric Cars Work?

With the long-overdue return of our nearest and dearest to school, we thought it’s time we did a ‘back to school’ of our own. You see, our children will all be driving electric cars. That’s pretty much a given! Though, as the oldies, it’s always hard for those more used to traditional methods to be early adopters. My son, for example, could use a smartphone at 2! It was scarily intuitive for him! I still have to ask my daughter how to use some features, and don’t get me started on TikTok! The only TikTok I understand is the one on my wrist! Although I don’t know how TikTok works, many don’t know how electric cars work, and that’s the focus of today’s lesson!

So, welcome to our Back to School series. We’ll be covering electric cars, charging, driving and everything in between! We hope you enjoy them and don’t worry, there won’t be an exam! There will be financial penalties for those who don’t pay attention though!

What are Electric Cars and How do they Work?

Electric cars are cars that do not derive their energy from traditional fuel, but rather from electricity. Some of the earliest cars invented ran on electricity, but there has always been an issue with how many miles they can cover. The more batteries you have, the more the weight increases. It gets to a point where adding more batteries doesn’t add any more range! However, as they are powered by electricity, they have some significant advantages…

Easy to Drive

Electric cars are easy to drive, run and maintain. Not only are there very few moving parts, but there is also no gearbox! So, performance is slick AND it’s incredibly easy to drive. Reliability is way up and service costs are way down! Smiles inbound when you push the pedal; you don’t need to deafen your neighbours to get a thrill!

Easy on the Planet

Some electricity still comes from fossil fuels, but last year almost 40% of electricity was generated through renewables! We’re not fully sustainable yet, but we’re on our way! Electric cars can actually help the grid by storing electricity from solar and holding it until needed. They can even power your house!

Easy on the Wallet

That’s right, they don’t burn a hole in your pocket! Compare the 5-year running costs of any EV against a diesel equivalent and you’ll see what we mean. And that’s before we factor in the free CAZ entry, or coupling these amazing cars with our salary sacrifice scheme.

But like everything, there are disadvantages…

They’re Hard to Get

Used electric cars are usually pretty beat, and new cars have long lead times. Sadly, electric cars are victims of their own success.

Slower to Fill

Most electric cars will cover 200 miles pretty comfortably. When you get close to empty, you need to recharge, and you really should plan ahead of time. Did you know, with Apple’s new IOS14 update, Apple Maps now shows charge points on your route! Another 100-mile charge can take half an hour, but it can also take much longer. Charge point numbers are shooting right up, which is great! Although, you still can’t get down to 5 miles range and just pull over at a petrol station. Or if you do, you may be disappointed to find all the charge points are full or broken. You will be in detention by the time you’ve limped home, should have been back before the streetlights come on!

Extra Credit

Even today, my 9-year-old can see that electric cars are the future! Electric cars are advancing at a huge pace, rather like computers and phones. The pace of change in electric cars is astonishing; especially compared to diesel or petrol that haven’t changed over the last 50 years. Your homework is to have a look at some tonight. If you want some extra marks, watch our scheme tutorial to learn more about the scheme! There won’t be a test, it’ll come in handy to know for next week’s session, “how to charge your electric car”!

Interested in going electric? Download a guide:

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Electric Revolution Guide

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