Electric Car Batteries: Benefits and Drawbacks
So you’re thinking of getting an electric car? Well, one of the first things you need to do before getting one is to learn a few basic things about these vehicles — especially with regards to how they run and where they get their power. And like all things electric, an electric car relies on an independent power source — the battery.
A normal car (powered by an internal combustion engine) only needs the battery to start the engineas well as run the air conditioning system and the car stereo. That isn’t the case with electric cars. In fact, the battery used in electric cars runs about everything. When electric cars were first introduced, the primary concern was (and still is) the quality and reliability of the electric car battery, i.e. how long can the battery last before it needs to be recharged. Fortunately, the last few decades has produced significant improvements on how electric car batteries are made. Now we already have nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lead-acid and lithium-ion (Li-ion) types that are rechargeable and readily available in the market.
Compared to normal car batteries, how do electric car batteries fare? Here’s a look at the benefits:
Cost-effectiveness. For five bucks worth of electricity, your electric car can run for more than 300 kilometers. Now if you do the math and compare that with your current gas costs and equivalent mileage, you’ll see that going electric can be quite economic in the long run.
Cleaner & Greener. Although you still need to burn fossil fuels in order to generate the electricity needed to recharge electric car batteries, the pollution produced is very minimal compared to the pollution caused by internal combustion engines. Plus, with better power generation sources like nuclear plants, the level of carbon emissions in the process of recharging becomes even lesser.
Re-usability. Electric car batteries can be reused and recycled. So you don’t need to worry about how you can dispose of your battery pack.
However, like any new technology, electric car batteries are not perfect. Here are the drawbacks:
They’re heavy. Because electric car batteries are designed to provide more power, they need to be connected to battery packs to ensure heavy duty performance. And these battery packs are not light. A battery pack can weigh as much as half a metric ton. But don’t worry, there’s hope — manufacturers are designing electric cars with lighter body frames to offset the battery’s weight.
Recharging time. Unfortunately, there’s no technology available yet for quicker and easier recharging. You still need several hours of downtime before your electric car can run again.
Maintenance. Electric car batteries are still uncommon, which means the number of service stations which can do repairs is still fairly limited, too. And since they’re quite fewer, maintenance costs might be a bit higher, too.
No doubt, electric car batteries are still a work in progress. It has its own set of limitations but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. But in a few years, the new generation of batteries will be lighter, more economical and most importantly, more powerful. That’s certainly a comforting thought.
Help answer the question about car battery maintenance
Which charger setting to charge my car battery: “conventional/low maintenance” or “no maintenance/deep cycle”?
I have a one-year-old Die Hard car battery that I want to recharge with a 10-amp wall battery charger.
The charger has two settings: “conventional / low maintenance” and “no maintenance / deep cycle”. Which one should I use? What do the settings mean?
Thanks!
About Author
Guile Canencia is a writer and researcher for the IBC Japan Team. He is an avid blogger and likes to play soccer on weekends.
IBC Japan specializes in exporting used cars from Japan with regional distribution centers worldwide.
9 Comments to “Electric Car Batteries: Benefits and Drawbacks”
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By spidrmage, November 14, 2009 @ 4:46 am
what if i remove the +/- cables in the wrong order and install them the wrong way? will i get shocked?
By Adam, November 14, 2009 @ 5:20 am
does the battery have caps that come off so you can add water? low maint. no caps no maint
By kavita k, November 14, 2009 @ 6:24 am
batteries are not built to last more than 2 or 3 years so dont waste to much time nursing it.a regular ,once a week , run out with the car is enough maintenence .
By AAGI, November 14, 2009 @ 7:19 pm
Maintenance free means just that. It is sealed and water cannot be added. Typical battery life is usually around 5 years max. You got 8 years out of it. Best to replace it.
By ladyboxer, November 15, 2009 @ 6:27 am
if it was maintenance free there wouldn't be anything on the top to pry off it would be completely sealed
By moondreamer721, November 15, 2009 @ 8:08 am
no thats why they are called maintenance free. once they no longer hold a charge or can be charged then they are replaced.
By syllinx, November 16, 2009 @ 4:50 pm
that green dot is very misleading.
Fact: the green dot ONLY monitors 1 of the 6 cells.
it's actually there for the sole purpose of determing if the battery has a charge after it left the manufacturer.
And yes, they aren't always accurate.
I've shaken batteries up and the black dot turned green. Please ignore that.
The average life of a battery, and yours is an AC Delco I believe, is 4-5 years max. anything more, you're lucky.
try having your car jump started if the car starts, the battery is probably weak.
By Tiara, November 17, 2009 @ 5:49 am
AS A GENERAL RULE—
Most car batteries are good for from 3-5 years, depending on the quality and the degree of maintenance.
As for the telltale signs of failure, there aren't many other than the car begins to crank over a little slow. The only other sign is the car won't start in the morning.
There are signs that the mechanic sees, but you won't notice it because you aren't checking it and probably don't have the equipment.
As for tires, those are easier to check.
If you look closely at the tread pattern, at the bottom of the grooves, you will see little raised bars that run across the entire tread. When you can see them clearly, and they are as exposed as the tread, the tires are no longer safe or legal.
These are the 'safety bars' that are cast into the rubber to identify when they have reached a tread depth less than 2/32".
You can also tell it is time when you place a penny with Lincoln's head toward the tread. If you can see the top of his head, you have less than 2/32" remaining.
It is smart to not allow them to get this worn, because this is the absolute minimum tread. It is best to keep at least 4/32" (1/8") tread depth, and then begin to look for sales.
Replace them with the size recommended by the manufacturer, and replace them in matching pairs left to right.
Keep them inflated properly (check the owner's manual or the driver's door post) for longer tire wear and safety, not to mention the fuel economy.
Hope this clears things up
Good Luck
By Joe, November 17, 2009 @ 8:43 am
replaceing the posative cable isnt all that hard to do but you need to disconect the cables from the battery and then follow the posative cable down to where it is connectted and disconnect it and put the new cable in its place it isnt hard to do but if you aint careful you can bump something else and that may cause something else not to work so heres the deal i am a 16 yr mechanic and i am retired now and i have worked on some camarys in my time and they can be tricky the best bet is to take it to a pro mechanic and have them do it that way it is under warrenty and if theres a problem you can take it back and it wont cost you all that much either ok i hope this helps thanks for reading this ……..