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pete
Recently there have been announcements by GM's Chevy dept that It's volt receives some 230 mpg and the Nissan also announced that it's Leaf gets 367 mpg. My question is how does one calculate the mpg rating on an electric car... I thought I'd search online to find a conversion from mile per charge to mpg, but haven't found anything...anyone got an answer?
Answer
GM and then Nissan used the EPA's draft method for calculating an mpg rating from an electric car.
It's a difficult situation, because people are used to seeing a car's efficiency in mpg, but obviously that's not applicable to a car when it's not using gasoline. So what the EPA is doing is figuring out a conversion to translate the amount of energy used by electric cars into an equivalent mpg rating. But they haven't finalized the conversion yet. All they have at this point is a draft, and GM took the draft method, calculated a value for the Volt, and made a big deal about it. Which is kind of lame. Then Nissan one-upped them by using the same calculation for their LEAF.
GM and then Nissan used the EPA's draft method for calculating an mpg rating from an electric car.
It's a difficult situation, because people are used to seeing a car's efficiency in mpg, but obviously that's not applicable to a car when it's not using gasoline. So what the EPA is doing is figuring out a conversion to translate the amount of energy used by electric cars into an equivalent mpg rating. But they haven't finalized the conversion yet. All they have at this point is a draft, and GM took the draft method, calculated a value for the Volt, and made a big deal about it. Which is kind of lame. Then Nissan one-upped them by using the same calculation for their LEAF.
Why can't they just put a self-charging system on a electric car?
Q. They have alternators on cars now...Why can't they figure out a way to install a charging system on a wheel or something like that to keep the batteries charged on a electric car to get more mileage out of them between charges?
Answer
There are a few tricks, such as regenerative braking, solar panels, or wind alternators that can squeeze out an extra ounce of energy that would have been wasted otherwise. Car companies have been using them in their vehicles to build value, and give bragging rights, but most EV builders do not use them, as they are rarely cost effective.
Electric cars will gain greater range in the future as these tricks (but especially battery technology) improve. Despite what news reporters say, there is no miracle technology around the corner.
There are a few tricks, such as regenerative braking, solar panels, or wind alternators that can squeeze out an extra ounce of energy that would have been wasted otherwise. Car companies have been using them in their vehicles to build value, and give bragging rights, but most EV builders do not use them, as they are rarely cost effective.
Electric cars will gain greater range in the future as these tricks (but especially battery technology) improve. Despite what news reporters say, there is no miracle technology around the corner.
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