Post by Willy NillyAlso it's important to note that an EV weighs about 50% more than an
ICE car, so needs to do 50% more work to get from points A to B. This
aspect is usually ignored in comparisons -- the inefficiency of having
to carry that very heavy battery around with you wherever you go.
Post by Willy NillyPost by David GoodwinPost by Willy NillyWe can do even better and cut out the electricity middleman. Look at
https://www.transpower.co.nz/system-operator/live-system-and-market-data/consolidated-live-data
and see that electricity is being generated by gas at 75% of capacity,
and by coal at 82% of capacity. It has been doing this for a solid 2+
months now. Yes, gas and coal are working overtime to supply your EV
with electricity. Much more efficient and environment-saving to use a
petrol-powered ICE car than a coal-powered EV.
That is in fact not correct at all.
It may surprise you to learn that a massive power plant maintained by an
expert staff and run as efficiently as possible to maximise profit is
*more* efficient than a little engine that at best gets serviced once or
twice a year and spends most of its time being operated inefficiently.
A coal powered EV produces less emissions than your typical combustion
engined car.
I give you credit for biting the bullet. But still you sloganeer
(i.e., you assume the conclusion), and it would be interesting to
quantify the comparison. Remember that electricity transmission is
not lossless, it may be as low as 50% efficiency from generation to
consumption.
Combustion engined cars are maybe 30% efficient. EVs are around 75%
efficient.
I couldn't find any sources, reputable or otherwise, claiming the grid
looses half the power generated. The worst number I could find was 34%,
but most numbers given were less than half that.
But if we're going to consider losses to the power grid in recharging an
EV then we should probably also consider all the energy wasted in
finding, extracting, refining, and shipping fuel to your local petrol
station. While I'm sure this whole process is about as efficient as it
can be, I doubt it its nearly enough to overcome the substantial
inefficiency of the ICE car the final product ends up going in to.
As for weight, EVs are not 50% heavier. The true number seems to be
closer to 30% - not enough to materially affect the final outcome thanks
to ICE vehicles efficiency being just that bad. But it (and purchase
price) is a reason to not buy a larger EV battery than you actually
need.
How the electricity is generated *does* have an effect on how clean an
EV is to operate, but this is one of is strengths - not a weakness. Even
with the dirtiest power generation, an EV is still the cleanest option.
And as the power grid becomes less polluting so does every single EV on
the road without the individual owners having to do anything.