Green Cars 101

GREEN CARS 101 Green cars hold the promise of breaking our addiction to oil and stemming the effects of climate change, but with all the terminology flying around, things can get really confusing. What's an electric car versus a hybrid electric car? A standard hybrid versus a fuel cell hybrid? Here we explain the various types of green cars, complete with a chart of which brands are which. THE GREEN OPTIONS HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE ('HEV") BATTERY PACK GAS TANK HOW IT WORKS .-----------. Hybrid electric vehicles use two forms of power to propel the car, most commonly gasoline and electric power. MOTOR ENGINE UNDER THE HOOD HOW DOES IT MOVE? Internal combustion engine, plus an electric motor WHAT POWERS IT? Gasoline, with an internal bat- tery as a back-up HOW DO I REFUEL? With traditional gas. The battery re-charges itself while you drive and brake. (No plugging in.) EMISSIONS PROS CONS Very low emissions REFUEL TIME A couple of minutes to fill your • Dependence on fossil fuels • Multiple energy sources to • Great gas mileage • Great for city driving; moves on electric power at low speeds and uses no energy at control, optimize, and manage • Complex and still somewhat expensive to buy • Still get most of their power from the internal combustion gas tank, like usual DRIVING RANGE idle Between 525 and 550 miles (for Toyota Prius on a full tank • At higher speeds, the internal combustion engine tends to have more pep/power of gas) engine, making it less efficient than PHEVS and EVs PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE (PHEV) GAS TANK BATTERY PACK -------.. HOW IT WORKS Plug-in electric hybrids run primarily on internal batteries you recharge using normal household power, but have a traditional gas tank as back up. MOTOR ENGINE UNDER THE HOOD HOW DOES IT MOVE? Electric motor, plus an internal combustion engine WHAT POWERS IT? Rechargeable batteries, with gasoline as a back-up HOW DO I REFUEL? Plug into to a wall outlet and fill up at the gas station as back-up EMISSIONS PROS CONS Very low emissions • Complex and still somewhat expensive to buy • Lifetime fuel savings typically not yet impressive • If it needs gas, usually needs REFUEL TIME • Gasoline back-up eliminates 10 to 12 hours (Chevy Volt on regular wall outlet) or 3 to 4 hours with charging station. "range anxiety" associated with purely electric vehicles • As the battery gets low on power, the internal combus- tion engine takes over • Each kilowatt hour displaces 50 gallons of gasoline a year • More efficient than HEVS DRIVING RANGE premium gas 35 miles (Chevy Volt in electric mode), 379 miles (Chevy Volt using electric + full tank of gas) because of reduced depend- ence on internal combustion engine ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES -------------- -------- BATTERY CHARGER ---- ----------- HOW IT WORKS Electric vehicles use an electric motor powered by rechargeable battery packs that can be charged using regular household electricity. POWER INVERTER AND TRANSFORMER ELECTRIC MOTOR UNDER THE HOOD HOW DOES IT MOVE? Electric motor WHAT POWERS IT? Rechargeable internal batteries HOW DO I REFUEL? Plug in to a wall outlet or use a charging dock for faster re- charging. EMISSIONS Zero emissions PROS CONS REFUEL TIME • High energy efficiency • Independence from fossil • Relatively short range • Lifetime savings typically not yet impressive, but one study 15-20 hours (Nissan Leaf on regular wall outlet) or 30 min- utes with charging dock. fuels • Cheap to charge found economics of EVs will DRIVING RANGE steadily improve as battery technology gets cheaper and 73 miles (Nissan Leaf on full charge) gas prices rise FUEL CELL ELECTRIC HYBRID VEHICLE (FCEV") HOW IT WORKS HIGH-OUTPUT BATTERY HYDROGEN STORAGE A fuel-cell powered car runs on ---------------- hydrogen. A fuel-cell stack converts hydrogen gas that's stored in the car into electricity to power the car's motor. FUEL-CELL STACK ----- --------- ELECTRIC MOTOR POWER CONTROL UNIT UNDER THE HOOD .----- ----------- ... HOW DOES IT MOVE? Electric motor WHAT POWERS IT? An internal battery and hydro- gen powered fuel cell HOW DO I REFUEL? Fill up at a hydrogen refueling station. The first one opened in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2000 and they've been opening at a steady clip since. EMISSIONS Zero or ultra-low emissions REFUEL TIME Less than 5-minute hydrogen PROS CONS • Fuel-cell cost, life cycle, and • High energy efficiency • Independence from fossil refill time DRIVING RANGE reliability fuels • Lack of hydrogen fuel stations 250 miles WHICH BRANDS ARE WHICH? Plenty of these green options are already sharing the road with you. Here's a look at a few of the models available. Cost reflects base price before government rebates, which can sometimes reach as much as $7,000 to $10,000. Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles ("PHEV") Electric Vehicles ("EV") ECONOMY MID-RANGE HIGH-END ECONOMY MID-RANGE HIGH-END Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid Chevy Volt Fisker Karma ThinkCity Nissan Leaf Tesla Model S PHEV-50 COST: $33.000 COST: $40,000 COST: $95,500 COST: $28,000 COST: $32,000 COST: $59,700 Hybrid Electric Vehicles ("HEV") Fuel Cell Electric Hybrid Vehicles ("FCEV") ECONOMY MID-RANGE HIGH-END ECONOMY MID-RANGE HIGH-END Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid Honda CR-Z Sport Ford Fusion Honda FCX Clarity Several concept cars Several concept cars Hybrid Coupe Hybrid (Available for lease have been introduced have been introduced (Only HEV available on a limited basis) and are in production and are in production with manual for distribution. for distribution. transmission) COST: 3 year COST: $21.510 COST: $28,600 COST: $69,000 $600/month lease N/A N/A OTHER GREEN RIDE OPTIONS FLEXIBLE-FUEL VEHICLE COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS VEHICLE Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVS) are designed to run on more than one fuel, usually Compressed natural gas cars are powered by natural gas that's compressed to less HOW IT WORKS HOW IT WORKS gasoline blended with either ethanol or than 1 percent of its volume. methanol fuel, Ethanol is one type of Burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, takes biodiesel and can be made from corn, PROS sugar cane, switchgrass, or other plant materials. The most conventional ethanol advantage of an abundant domestic fuel, existing gas-powered cars can be con- verted to allow compressed natural gas blend is called "E85." too. Enables mass-scale domestic fuel produc- PROS Vehicles typically get fewer miles to the gallon on natural gas versus conventional tion, slightly cheaper than conventional CONS gas gas Car will get between 15 and 25 percent CONS fewer miles per gallon on ethanol than traditional gas CONVENIENT? Natural gas vehicles are common throughout the world. The Asia-Pacific Currently there are about 2,300 U.S. gas region has 6.8 million of them and in CONVENIENT? stations selling E85 ethanol. Walmart recently announced it's considering sell- ing E85 at 385 of its gas stations nation- wide. Ford Motor Company and VeraSun Energy are working to create a "Midwest Ethanol Corridor" through several Mid- Latin America, over 90 percent of cars can run either on gasoline or compressed natural gas. In the U.S., natural gas vehi- cles have been restricted to public trans- portation until recently, but that's chang- ing with Obama's recent endorsement of natural gas vehicles for government em- ployees. As of February 2011, there were 873 compressed natural gas refueling sites in the U.S. and 2,589 liquified natural gas western states. Most sources report E85 has lower emis- sions compared to conventional gasoline, but more research is needed. EMISSIONS sites. People are often surprised to learn that Operating on compressed natural gas results in 60 to 90 percent less smog-producing emissions and 30 to 40 BRAND NAMES many models of well known domestic EMISSIONS and foreign cars are manufactured to be flexible fuel vehicles from the Dodge percent less greenhouse gas emissions. Caravan, Jeep Grand Cherokee and GMC trucks to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and The Honda Civic GX is the only natural gas vehicle commercially available in the US although Ford offers a prep package on certain models. Isuzu Hombre. Note: It's important to BRAND NAMES verify with the manufacturer which spe- cific year, model, and engine is compat- ible with alternative fuels. FUELING YOUR CAR FOR $0 A MONTH A new generation of green car owners are boosting their cars' lifetime savings by charging them using home solar arrays. Bonus: those same panels have eliminated their monthly electric bills, too. SMALL SOLAR SYSTEM (1 TO 2 KW) MEDIUM SOLAR SYSTEM (3 TO 5 KW) 15,000 miles for your car per year Powers your car and your house $900 $1,500 + ANNUAL SAVINGS IN HOME $2,400 ANNUAL SAVINGS FOR ELECTRIC TOTAL ANNUAL SAVINGS CAR POWERED BY SOLAR ELECTRICITY COSTS (Compared to Gas-Powered Vehicle) ELECTRIC CAR MYTHS ΜΥΤΗ # FACT ELECTRIC CARS OVERLOAD THE GRID. A comprehensive study found that if 60 percent of all cars were electric in 2050, they'd only consume 7 to 8 percent of grid-supplied electricity. Plus, most are charged at night when there's plenty of capacity. ΜΥTΗ #2 FACT THEY'RE NO CLEANER THAN GAS-FUELED When charged on the grid, an electric vehicle is responsible for 115 rams of CO2 per kilometer driven, whereas a U.S. gas-powered car emits 250 rams of CO2 per kilometer driven. That's a 54 percent difference. CARS BECAUSE THEY'RE CHARGED ON A COAL-FIRED GRID. ΜΥΤΗ # FACT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO USE SOLAR WITH Though solar panels only generate power in daylight, the excess power they create is fed back into the grid, and the utility credits you for that power. So when a homeowner charges his car at night, he's usually doing so free of charge. AN ELECTRIC CAR BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE WILL CHARGE CARS AT NIGHT WHEN PANELS AREN'T PRODUCING ENERGY. One Block JÕFF the Grid SOURCES: FUELECONOMY.GOV, IEEE, ENERGY RESEARCH CENTER THE NETHERLANDS, HYBRIDCARS.COM, LENDINGTREEAUTOS.COM GROUP DISCOUNTS ON SOLAR HTTP://1BOG.ORG ----------•