ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Electric Vehicles in Ames: A Handbook Compiled by Kayley Barrios Lain, Energy Services Coordinator for Ames Electric Services Originally published May 14, 2020, Last revised on July 20, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Taxonomy of Gas/Diesel and Electric Vehicles ......................................................................................... 5 Why choose an EV? ................................................................................................................................. 7 Which EV? ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Range and Charging Infrastructure .................................................................................................... 12 DC Charging Speed and Connector Compatibility ............................................................................... 13 The Extras .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Getting Your EV ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Chargers and Charging........................................................................................................................... 16 Which Charger? ................................................................................................................................. 16 When to Charge? ............................................................................................................................... 18 Your Battery’s Capacity and Lifetime ..................................................................................................... 20 Extending Your Battery’s Range ......................................................................................................... 20 Extending Your Battery’s Lifetime ...................................................................................................... 20 Replacing and Recycling Your Battery ................................................................................................ 21 2 | P a g e Last Revised on May 11, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Introduction Even though the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is newly rising, EVs themselves are not new. In 1900, “more than one quarter of the almost 4,200 automobiles produced [in the United States] were electric.”1 Another quarter sported gas- or diesel-fueled internal combustion engines (ICEs), while the remaining half were steam-powered. Ames has been home to one of the earliest EVs, a 1922 Detroit Electric Coupe. The car could reach 30 MPH and a range of 90 miles in favorable conditions. You can find the car’s story here: https://vintageelectriccars.com/car-1922-detroit.aspx The electric car has some marked advantages over its gasoline-powered cousin that made it a strong contender from the beginning of passenger vehicles. “They were quiet, easy to drive and didn’t emit a smelly pollutant like the other cars of the time.”2 Despite its advantages, after about 20 years of developments in both internal combustion and electric motors, the longer range of the gasoline and diesel vehicles and low cost of newly found petroleum pushed steam and electric vehicles almost entirely out of the passenger vehicle market space... until now. Figure 1 Thomas Edison with an electric car in 1913. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle Now that battery technology has improved and extended the range of EVs, they are once again gaining popularity. Charging infrastructure is exploding, emission intensity of electricity is dropping, and the electric vehicle is more appropriate than ever. As a result, many climate action plans call for electrification of transportation as one of a handful of the most effective methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as seen in Figure 2, an excerpt from the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ American Cities Climate Action Playbook published in 2019. 1 History of the automobile in the United States by the University of Michigan http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Environment/E_Overview/E_Overview3.htm 2 Timeline: History of the Electric Car by Rebecca Matulka https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car 3 | P a g e Last Revised on May 11, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Figure 2 “Electrify Vehicles” is one of the five pathways to effective Climate Action, as identified by Bloomberg Philanthropies, published October 2019. Source: https://data.bloomberglp.com/dotorg/sites/2/2019/10/American-Cities-Climate-Challenge-Climate-Action- Playbook.pdf This manual is a collection of resources to help you in your transition to driving electric. In the sections that follow, we’ll explain why EVs are a great option for most drivers in Ames. If you have any questions about shopping for, charging, driving, or maintaining your EV that aren’t addressed here, please to let us know by email at [email protected] or by calling the Energy Services Coordinator at 515.239.5177. We hope to grow and enrich this document to make it a comprehensive guide to overcoming any hurdles to going electric. We will update this resource regularly, so if you are reading a version that was last revised more than ten months ago, we recommend that you go to our website at cityofames.org/ev to find the latest version. 4 | P a g e Last Revised on May 11, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Taxonomy of Gas/Diesel and Electric Vehicles Before we get started, let’s get on the same page. We won’t be addressing every kind of passenger vehicle engine or fuel type – just the most common, commercially available ones. And there are several ways to classify them. For this document, we will assume these classifications and terms: ICE Hybrid PHEV EV Figure 3 Taxonomy of gasoline and electric vehicles. Source: https://futuretronlabs.in/blog/index.php/2019/08/26/types-of- ev-electric-vehicle-phev-hev-bev/ [modified] ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) – These cars are fueled with gasoline or diesel, with no regenerative braking. Regenerative braking most commonly uses an electric motor that acts as a generator when it uses resistance from braking to recharge a battery. Hybrid – You may hear of this vehicle referred to as a “Hybrid Electric Vehicle” (HEV). These cars have an electric motor that is used for regenerative braking. This increases efficiency of the vehicle but does not allow it to function without fossil fuels. Possibly the most popular example of this vehicle is the Toyota Prius. The Ford Escape, Honda Civic and many other models also have hybrid versions. PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) – This car uses an electric motor for regenerative braking, like the hybrid, but can also plug in to charge (hence the name). This vehicle could technically function perfectly well with no gasoline in the tank and a full battery. However, the battery is typically small and the efficiency lower than an EV because the car also has to carry around the weight of an ICE. Just a handful of examples of PHEV’s include the Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Niro, Toyota Prius Prime, and Mitsubishi Outlander. 5 | P a g e Last Revised on May 11, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK EV (Electric Vehicle) – For the purposes of this document (and in many other contexts), when we say ‘EV,’ we are referring to a vehicle that uses electricity as its only fuel. Sometimes, people will use “EV” to refer to any vehicle with an electric motor drive (this would include Hybrids and PHEVs). In those cases, you can specify using the terms BEV (Battery-Electric Vehicle) or All-Electric Vehicle. Examples of these vehicles include Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, and any car manufactured by Tesla. 6 | P a g e Last Revised on May 11, 2021 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AMES: A HANDBOOK Why choose an EV? EVs are affordable. The five-year cost of ownership of EVs is more affordable than ever because purchase prices are dropping, federal tax credits are still available for many vehicles, and because EV drivers are saving on fuel, maintenance, and repairs. All of these components contribute to the affordable five year cost of ownership of the LEAF EV compared to models of ICE vehicles also manufactured by Figure 4 The 5-year cost of ownership of many EVs is now competitive with that Nissan in Figure 4. of comparable conventional vehicles. Source: https://www.kbb.com/new- cars/total-cost-of-ownership/ As shown in Figure 5, you can expect the most savings from fuel costs. If we assume gas prices in Ames as of January 2020, weighted annual average residential electricity rates in 2020, and the efficiencies of 30 miles per gallon and 3.57 miles per kWh, $2.50 푎푙푙표푛 퐺푎푠표푙푛푒: ∗ = $0.0833/푚푙푒 푎푙푙표푛 30 푚푙푒푠 $0.1074 푘푊ℎ 퐸푙푒푐푡푟푐: ∗ = $0.0301/푚푙푒 푘푊ℎ 3.57 푚푙푒푠 By these calculations, the cost per mile to fuel an EV is 36% of that needed to operate a gasoline-fueled Figure 5 Expected expenses for two of Nissan’s vehicles car. That would be the equivalent of fueling up at in the same price range, one EV and one ICE. $0.90/gallon or a fuel efficiency of 119 mpg! Source: https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/total-cost-of- ownership/ EVs also cost less at the shop because they require very little maintenance.