True or not …… let’s debate this. Electric motors are significantly more efficient than internal combustion engines (ICEs) because they convert a greater portion of the energy into usable power.
It is claimed that electric vehicles (EVs) utilize more than 77 percent of the electrical energy from the grid to generate motion at the wheels, making them highly efficient. In contrast, a petrol-powered vehicle only converts about 12 percent to 30 percent of the energy from fossil fuel into movement, with the majority lost as heat and friction.
This efficiency advantage allows EVs to achieve greater mileage per unit of energy and reduces energy waste, contributing to their environmental and economic appeal.
Meanwhile. What difference does this make when most of the energy used to charge the batteries in EVs is still generated by burning hydrocarbon fuel?
So looking at the current energy user of current EV drivers that charge their batteries on the current grid, there is an extra energy conversion step in EVs that will introduce loss into the system.
Burn fuel to generate electricity, some loss there, transmit power over distance some loss there, charge battery again there will be losses in battery charging and then drawing the energy from the battery to power the electric vehicle.
Interestingly, it is by using stored electricity to drive a motor to create mechanical force. There is heat and friction loss there. Whereas, with an ICE car, you burn fuel to create mechanical force. There will be some loss, for sure. With any mechanical drivetrain there will be some loss to friction and heat also.
However current EVs tend to weigh 30 percent more than comparable ICE cars. So, we seriously doubt the total systematic energy efficiency of current EVs charging from the current fossil fuel dependent electricity grid is much better than current high mpg on ICE cars. Makes sense or not?
We wonder if it might not even be as good in some cases. Lets not forget that we should consider the energy needed to ‘mine’ and ‘process’ the lithium and other rare earths that are required to make the EV battery pack. It is a fact that they are harder to obtain than the drilling for fossil fuel.
And then there is some energy used in recycling old EV batteries which have not be discussed.
