The conversationSep 24, 2021 18:24:30 IST
Europe is facing an energy crisis due to low wind power generation, the distribution of electricity between nations and the reduction of nuclear power sources. The UK has responded by burning more gas to produce electricity – but gas prices are high. The result is that wholesale electricity costs have skyrocketed over the years, and this has the effect of knocking on anything that uses electricity.
One of the benefits of owning an electric vehicle (usually about 13-16 pounds in a petrol or diesel car) is that the EV 100 miles costs an average of $ 4-6 ($ 5.50-8).
In the first half of the last decade, almost all public chargers in the UK were free to use. A.D. In 2013, I returned to the first EVA documentation, and in a full battery of less than 100 miles, I drove through crowded stations in the worst part of the car. But I stuck to it, because my sacrifice was not only better for the environment, but also my fuel was free. And even though it wasn’t free, it was still much cheaper than driving my old diesel.
While it is true that fossil fuel prices are also rising, drivers need good reasons to discard their old vehicles and convert them to electricity. But when the price of electricity goes up — and with them, the average EV operating costs — where does that go for electric car owners and those who want to unite?
How much does it cost to fill Evin?
A.D. In 2019 and 2020, the average price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in the UK was around 18p. The 2021 data has not yet been published, but in an online quote from one of the UK’s six largest energy suppliers in September 2021 per kilowatt.
It costs around £ 9.50 to charge a car with a 50 kWh battery (allowing some power loss during charging). In September 2021 at 24p per kWh. Filling your EV still costs you about half as much as you need to burn a car. However, the speed of public charging varies greatly, with some fast chargers operating at high speeds from 24p kWh to 69p in other parts of the motorway service stations.
At 69p, the full charge costs. 34.50, which is equal, or in some cases more than fossil fuel. Of course, your EVs are less likely to be completely empty, so that energy will be cheaper. Even so, the cost of switching to EV does not seem to be very strong when electricity costs are high.
Where does that leave the EVs?
Despite rising electricity prices, the long-term benefit of EVs is what researchers call “energy source agnostics.” Vehicles with an internal combustion engine typically require refined fuel and have been designed to run on fossil fuels for over 100 years. EVs run on the energy stored in batteries, and those batteries are really indifferent to where the power comes from.
It can be nuclear, hydroelectric or solar energy generated by photovoltaic panels on the roof. Again, these panels cost money to install (although prices fall every year), but once installed and the sun is shining, you can charge when your car is parked. When you think the average car is 95 percent unusable, it takes a lot of time to charge for free from the sun.
Think about the time when national power grids generate a lot of electricity. In the midst of an energy crisis, it seems unbelievable, but there are times when the national grid generates too much power, and operators do not know what to do.
This was especially true of COVID locks when some energy companies even paid customers to use renewable energy sources. Electric car batteries were the perfect sponge to absorb this excess energy.
Many countries are building more robust power systems based on generating electricity when it makes sense — when the sun shines and the wind blows — and by storing those megapacks in huge grid batteries, to use when renewable energy is not available. It is being created.
Electric cars can also be part of that storage, and experiments are under way to evaluate the feasibility of vehicle-to-grid technologies that allow them to transfer power to the local grid in the event of a shortage.
If you charge your car at the rates charged in your home (and remember, electricity costs around 50 kW per day but if you are smart about when and how to pay for your EV, you can use it if you are very cheap if not free fuel costs for years to come How EVs balance power supply and demand can be an important part of controlling costs for everyone’s benefit.
In the event of an energy crisis, EVs and giant grid-connected batteries can help prevent future crises and high costs rather than being too expensive for fuel.
Tom Stacey, senior lecturer in operations and supply chain management at Ruskin University in England
.