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Are Cheap Electric Cars Worth the Money You’ll Save
Cheap electric cars offer a huge amount of advantages to the consumer. You get fuel savings, no pollution, and a well maintained car that can literally work on a simple electrical charge. But do the advantages of an electrical car outweigh its disadvantages? Lets find out.
Initial sticker price of car
Electrical cars are expensive. An ordinary gasoline powered car costs about $10,000 and above depending on the model of car that you have chosen. Electrical models were initially very expensive. But since January 2009, the US Government has worked really hard to offer substantial discounts to the customers who buy electric cars in the form of rebates. At present, the cost of the car ranges from $11,700 to $109,000 or more depending on the model of the car that you have chosen. The Government plans to lower prices further increasing the attractiveness of the electrical cars as well as electric car conversion kits.
Maintenance facilities
An electric car usually require far less maintenance than a gasoline car. Most manufacturer also offer warranties and guarantees to make sure that owners can get their car repaired and checked out completely at their own service stations. But the problem is that not all customers will be able to find a certified dealer who is experienced in repairing electrical cars in their immediate locality.
Traffic Codes for Electric Cars
Only a few states in the US allow all customers to use their new electric car on the road. The traffic codes also vary for electric cars and you will have to check with each and every state to find out exactly what traffic codes apply to you.
Charging Woes
Each electrical car takes about 10-16 hours to charge depending on the electrical connection that you are using. If you are using a home connection then you will have to wait a longer time to charge your car. If you want to charge the battery faster you do have to install a flash charger which does the same work in half the time. Installation of the charger is expensive and the cost has to be borne by the customer. In the long run, you will have to pay more in the form of energy bills that will have to paid for your home as well as for your electrical car charging. Most electrical car manufacturers will ask you to buy the car and then install a solar energy panel to conserve on your energy bills. This additional charge of installing the solar panels will also have to be borne by the customer.
Power Problems
Electrical cars are powered by batteries that offer limited power. As a result they cannot accelerate fast, cruise, or every climb fast due to their simpler engines. Another problems that arises is internal heating in colder countries. In internal combustion engine automatically produces heat as a byproduct which is used to heat the car. But heating or cooling of an electrical car requires additional power for which the ordinary batteries are not enough. Additional systems are required where you have to put in reversible AC systems to cool the car resulting in higher maintenance costs.
Even though the disadvantages of an electrical car are substantial, the main point to remember is that they offer fuel economy. A 2007 study that was carried out by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) stated that we have enough electrical power to run about three quarts of the country on electrical cars without building new electric power plants. This will result in a saving of 5.5 billion barrels of oil per day and considerable independence from fuel imports.
