Want to help save the environment by performing your own electric car conversion? All across the globe, gas prices are becoming a serious problem. It seems that every day you hear about another record price for oil. This is especially concerning when you think of where that extra money is going to. Oil producing countries such as Russia, Venezuela and those in the Middle East aren't exactly renown for their fondness towards the western world. We keep hearing about alternative energy sources, but where are they? By performing your own electric conversion you can eliminate your consumption of oil today. Read on, and I'll tell you how this can be achieved.
Not many people realize that any ordinary car can be converted into an electric car; a car that runs entirely on electricity. Instead of filling up on gas at the petrol station, you would recharge your car by plugging it into an ordinary power outlet. Since your car will not be burning any fuel, there will be no emissions. With no combustion engine, your car will be almost completely silent.
On the down side, after the electric conversion, your car will be much heavier. This is due to the added weight of the batteries. The conversion itself is an expensive process. Your car's engine is completely removed and replaced with an electric motor. The exhaust system is also removed as there are no emissions from the electric motor. In addition to the new motor, an electric car conversion requires a power controller, separate electric motors to power devices such as the air conditioner and power-steering, a vacuum pump for the car's power brakes, an electric heater for heat, a charging system, and around fifty lead-acid batteries in order to hold sufficient charge. As speed is moderated by the power controller, the car's clutch system will also be removed and the transmission pinned permanently into second gear. You can expect the cost of an electric car conversion, not including labor, to be in the vicinity of $10 000. Replacement of the batteries, which will be necessary about once every three years, will your costs around $2000 each time.
The reason why lead batteries are used is that they are currently the most cost effective solution. Although it would approximately double the car's range to replace the lead batteries with NiMH, the cost would be ten to fifteen times greater. Unfortunately, lead batteries are bad for the environment and have a slow recharge time of up to ten hours. This is why there is so much interest in alternative fuel cells. When hydrogen fuel cells become widely available, electric car conversions will be much more feasible for the average person.
Electric car conversions will typically use a DC motor, but it is also possible to use an AC motor. DC motors of the type used in forklifts are often suitable. A DC motor for electric car conversion may be around 20 000 watts, and the controller used will have a rating double that. A DC motor can be overdriven with more power than its rating, in order to boost acceleration, but this can only be sustained for a short amount of time without causing serious damage to the motor. AC motors tend to be more expensive than the DC variety, but they can be used to recharge the battery from braking force, a technique called regen.
With all the difficulties involved in electric car conversions, the undeniable fact is that they result in a car that is cheaper to run. Assuming electricity costs of 8 cents per kilo-watt hour, cost per mile will be 2 cents per mile. This compares to 4 cents per mile for a gasoline powered car with a fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon. Also, in addition to the environmental benefits of an electric car conversion, there is the reassurance of knowing that your money is not going into the coffers of oil producing cartels on the other side of the world.
Thank you to Alex Hutton for this “Electric Car Conversion” article.