Table 1 The comparison of on-board vs.

off-board battery chargers [EVEH-01-Ömer Türksoy-Battery Charger

technologies in EVs_2]

On Board Battery Charger Off-Board Battery Charger

Generally lower KW charging Generally higher KW charging
Battery management system is managed by on-board Battery management system is more complicate
rectifier
Less concern about battery heating Battery heat must be controlled
Add weights to vehicle Removes weight from vehicle
Level 1 and Level 2 charger Level 3 charger
Slow and semi-fast charging Fast charging

Table 2 Power Levels of EV Battery charger [EVEH-01-Ömer Türksoy-Battery Charger technologies in EVs_2]

Power level types Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

120 VAC (US) 240 VAC (US)
Grid Voltage 208-600 VAC or VDC
230 VAC (EU) 400 VAC (EU)
Power range ≤3.7kW 3.7-22kW >50kW
Approximately charging
11-36 hours 1-6 hours 0.2-1 hours
time
Charger topology On-board On-board Off-board
Grid supply type 1-phase 1-phase or 3-phase 3-phase
Charging type Slow charge Semi-fast charge Fast charge
Battery capacity 15-50kW 15-50kW 15-50kW

Electric Vehicles are those vehicles which use one or more electric motors for propulsion. They
are highly important in present automotive industry.

Environmental issues and expected reduction of conventional fuels in near future attract
manufactures to electric vehicle. A typical passenger vehicle emits around 4.6 metric tons of
Carbon-dioxide per year. And one litre of petrol emits 2.3 kg of carbon dioxide when it burnt.
Atmospheric temperature increases as a result of the green house gas emission. Environmental
impacts of conventional vehicles and depletion of fossil fuels make alternative fuel vehicles and
electric vehicles popular.

Advantages of Electric Vehicle

#1 Electric Vehicles have zero tail pipe emission

Electric motors emits no gases as Internal Combustion Engine does. So Battery Electric vehicles
are zero emission vehicles and a Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) are low emission vehicles.

#2 EVs cause no noise pollution

Noise pollution from electric vehicle is low compared to conventional vehicles. Noisy IC engines
are replaced with silent electric motors in electric vehicles.

#3 Electric vehicles are maintenance free/less maintenance

Power train on electric vehicle is not as complex as IC engine. Maintenance of electric motors
are less compared to that of IC engines. It’s estimated that an electric car has less than 25
(Chevrolet Bolt) moving parts while an IC engine vehicle has more than 10000.

Other components such as oil, engine cooling system, exhaust system etc. are also maintenance
free in the case of electric vehicle.

#4 Low running cost

Cost to run an electric vehicle for 1 km is much less than that for an IC engine vehicle. Fuel cost
shows an exponential growth in coming years and latest technologies reduces the cost of electric
power generation.

So running cost of electric vehicle will further decrease in future. Are Electric Cars really
economical?

1. No Gas Required: Electric cars are entirely charged by the electricity you provide, meaning
you don’t need to buy any gas ever again. Driving fuel based cars can burn a hole in your pocket
as prices of fuel have gone all time high. With electric cars, this cost can be avoided as an
average American spends $2000 – $4000 on gas each year. Though electricity isn’t free, an
electric car is far cheaper to run.

2. Savings: These cars can be fuelled for very cheap prices, and many new cars will offer great
incentives for you to get money back from the government for going green. Electric cars can also
be a great way to save money in your own life.

3. No Emissions: Electric cars are 100 percent eco-friendly as they run on electrically powered
engines. It does not emit toxic gases or smoke in the environment as it runs on clean energy
source. They are even better than hybrid cars as hybrids running on gas produce emissions.
You’ll be contributing to a healthy and green climate.

4. Popularity: EV’s are growing in popularity. With popularity comes all new types of cars
being put on the market that are each unique, providing you with a wealth of choices moving
forward.
5. Safe to Drive: Electric cars undergo same fitness and testing procedures test as other fuel
powered cars. In case an accident occurs, one can expect airbags to open up and electricity
supply to cut from battery. This can prevent you and other passengers in the car from serious
injuries.

6. Cost Effective: Earlier, owing an electric car would cost a bomb. But with more technological
advancements, both cost and maintenance have gone down. The mass production of batteries and
available tax incentives have further brought down the cost, thus, making it much more cost
effective.

7. Low Maintenance: Electric cars runs on electrically powered engines and hence there is no
need to lubricate the engines. Other expensive engine work is a thing of past. Therefore, the
maintenance cost of these cars has come down. You don’t need to send it to service station often
as you do a normal gasoline powered car.

8. Reduced Noise Pollution: Electric cars put curb on noise pollution as they are much quieter.
Electric motors are capable of providing smooth drive with higher acceleration over longer
distances.

Challenges faced by Electric Vehicle

Although electric vehicles are having many advantages, there are a number of challenges that
they face and have to overcome to get popular.

Popularity of electric vehicle would depends on how the manufactures get over following
drawbacks.

#1 Lack of electric vehicle public charging stations

More number of charging stations should have to install all over the area where the vehicles are
expected to be used. This process takes time and as electric vehicle becomes popular number of
charging stations increase.

#2 Longer charging time

Refilling of fuel in conventional vehicle are matter of seconds. But recharging a battery of
electric vehicle consumes more time. So Long trips in electric vehicles are inconvenient.

Does charging time really matter in electric vehicle?

Fast charging techniques cut the time required for charging of an electric vehicle. A driver can’t
continuously drive vehicle for a long. So the charging can be done during breaks in long trip and
which takes less than half an hour.
#2 Short range or EVs

Distance travelled by an electric vehicle with fully charged battery is much less than that of a
conventional vehicle whose fuel tank is fully filled.

Average distance that could be travelled by a fully charged battery electric vehicle is around a
few 100 km. For long distance transit it would be a problem but for regular use the range will be
sufficient.

#3 Battery replacement

Life of battery and replacement cost is a major constraint which detaches people from electric
vehicle. Life of electric car battery ranges from 5 to 10 years.

Battery technologies are being developed day by day to improve storage capacity, life etc. Price
of battery shows a reduction for last 2 years.

It would be expected to continue the same trend of reduction in battery cost in future. Batteries
used in Electric vehicle are briefly described here.

1. Recharge Points: Electric fuelling stations are still in the development stages. Not a lot of
places you go to on a daily basis will have electric fuelling stations for your vehicle, meaning
that if you’re on a long trip and run out of a charge, you may be stuck where you are.

2. Electricity isn’t Free: Electric cars can also be a hassle on your energy bill if you’re not
considering the options carefully. If you haven’t done your research into the electric car you
want to purchase, then you may be making an unwise investment. Sometimes electric cars
require a huge charge in order to function properly – which may reflect poorly on your electricity
bill each month.

3. Short Driving Range and Speed: Electric cars are limited by range and speed. Most of these
cars have range about 50-100 miles and need to be recharged again. You just can’t use them for
long journeys as of now, although it is expected to improve in future.

4. Longer Recharge Time: While it takes couple of minutes to fuel your gasoline powered car,
an electric car take about 4-6 hours to get fully charged. Therefore, you need dedicated power
stations as the time taken to recharge them is quite long.

5. Silence as Disadvantage: Silence can be a bit disadvantage as people like to hear noise if they
are coming from behind them. An electric car is however silent and can lead to accidents in some
cases.

6. Normally 2 Seaters: Most of the electric cars available today are small and 2 seated only.
They are not meant for entire family and a third person can make journey for other two
passengers bit uncomfortable.
7. Battery Replacement: Depending on the type and usage of battery, batteries of almost all
electric cars are required to be changed every 3-10 years.

8. Not Suitable for Cities Facing Shortage of Power: As electric cars need power to charge up,
cities already facing acute power shortage are not suitable for electric cars. The consumption of
more power would hamper their daily power needs.

9. Some governments do not provide money saving initiatives in order to encourage you to buy
an electric car.

10. Some base models of electric cars are still very expensive because of how new they are and
the technology it took to develop them.

Classification of Electric Vehicles

Classification of Electric vehicles can be done based on different factors. Let’s have a look at the
classification based on the power sources and configuration.

Electric Vehicles are broadly classified into

1. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)

2. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
3. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

#1 Battery Electric Vehicle

Battery electric vehicle is generally referred by the term electric vehicle which is exclusively
works on electric energy which stored in a battery. An electric motor powered from the stored
electricity drives the vehicle.

BEVs are equipped with a power socket to charge the battery. Those vehicles can be charged
from electric car charging stations also.

Regenerative braking may also be provided to store the energy from braking. Read below article
about

Regenerative Braking: Theory, Advantages, and Challenges

Short range of battery electric vehicles can be overcome by use Hybrid Electric Vehicles and
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
#2 Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Hybrid electric vehicle uses one or more source of energy along with electricity for propulsion.
Common combination is an Internal Combustion (IC) engine with electric motor.

Range of the vehicle (distance travelled per unit fuel) improves considerably with this
combination. Electric motor propels the vehicle at low efficiency region of operation of IC
engine and improves fuel economy of the vehicle.

Strategy of power split among electric and IC engine depends on manufactures. Based on the
percentage of hybridization, HEVs are classified into micro, mild and strong hybrids.

Hybrid electric vehicles have no plug in capability. They cannot be connected to external
electrical socket for charging. Battery of HEVs get charged by regenerative braking and energy
generated from electric machine connected to IC engine

#3 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) are more or less hybrid electric vehicles which have
plug-in capability. Their batteries can be charged from external power socket along with
regenerative braking from vehicle.

PHEVs have high-capacity battery compared to HEVs and no need to rely on fuel and
regenerative braking always to get charged.

Classification of Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles are classified as Parallel, Series and Series/parallel hybrid electric
vehicles based on the drive-train configuration. Series/parallel drive-trains enable the engine and
electric motor to provide power independently or in conjunction with one another.

#1 Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Electric motor and internal combustion engine can offer mechanical power simultaneously to
the wheels of parallel hybrid electric vehicles. They can drive the wheel independently as well.

nternal combustion engine and electric motor work together to generate the required energy for
the vehicle. Engine is connected directly to the wheels of hybrid electric vehicle and it helps to
reduce the losses due to conversion of mechanical power to electricity and vice versa as in series
hybrid electric vehicle.

Since motor need not bear full load of the vehicle, rating of motor and battery can be less
compared to series hybrid electric vehicle. So parallel power train configuration is popular in
hybrid electric vehicle.
Block diagram of Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle

#2 Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Series drive-trains are the simplest hybrid configuration in terms of development and control.
Hybrids that use a series drive-train receive mechanical power only from the electric motor,
which is run by either a battery or a gasoline engine powered generator.

Propulsion of vehicle is attained only by electric motor. So the motor should be capable of
supplying enough power to the axles hence the rating would be more compared to parallel
electric vehicle.

The electric motor is powered by a generator connected to gasoline engine or a battery.

Battery pack gets recharged from regenerative braking. IC engine generator combo also
generates electricity and recharges the battery.
Block diagram of Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle

#3 Series/Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Series/parallel drive-trains merge the advantages and complications of both parallel and series
drive-trains. IC engine operates nearly at best efficiency region more often with internal
combustion only and electric only option of drive.

At lower speeds it operates more as a series vehicle, while at high speeds, where the series drive-
train is less efficient, the internal combustion engine takes over and energy loss is minimized.
Block diagram of Series/Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle