Electric car
The number of electric and charging hybrids is increasing rapidly in the market. We help you find an electric car that fits your needs and what you need to think about.
Choose an electric car that suits your needs
There is a good selection of electric cars on the market from most manufacturers. The range varies between 16 and 61 miles per charge. This means that there is probably an electric car for you. The average driver drives about of 3.3 kilometers per day (1200 kilometers per year), which means that they would have to charge their electric car once a week if the range is 16 kilometers.
Range
Keep in mind that the range is affected by how you drive and if you use, for example, air conditioning and chair heating and more. Even external conditions such as temperature affect the range. In cold weather, the range decreases but there is no reason to worry, today’s electric cars have range gauges so you can track how much charge you have left in the battery and how far you can drive to the next charge in real-time.
Tip – do not wait to charge until you have 5% left in the battery. Plan it when you have about 20% left, then the stops to charge the car will also be shorter.
Charge
If you live in a villa, an electrician can install a wall socket, three-phase socket or charging box where the car should stand. If the car can be charged three-phase, you should obtain a three-phase socket, otherwise, it will suffice with a normal wall socket. An electrician should first check if the socket can handle the load. Please read Electric Safety guidelines information on Charging the electric car. A charging box can more safely deliver higher currents to the car and you do not have to pick up the charging cord every night.
If you live in an apartment, you should find a parking space with charging facilities. If you live in apartment buildings it is recommended to get charging boxes, but as an emergency solution, it is also possible here with wall sockets or three-phase sockets. If you only need to recharge once a week, there may be enough if there is a fast charger nearby.
If you are traveling you need to plan the best route with regard to where you can charge your car. You can find tips on good information online.
Electric cars are good for the environment as they do not emit carbon dioxide
Different types of battery cars
Electric car – usually you mean a fully electric car that is not powered by any other means than with electric motor, and that stores the energy in a battery. Example: Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S.
Charge hybrid – an intermediate between electric car and “regular” car. A charging hybrid has an internal combustion engine (which usually runs on gasoline or diesel) as well as one or more electric motors. A charge hybrid can run a certain distance on pure electric power, usually between two and five miles, and they can be charged in a socket. When the power runs out, the car switches to the internal combustion engine. Also sometimes called plugin hybrid. Example: Mitsubishi Outlander, Volkswagen Passat GTE, Kia Niro PHEV.
Hybrid car – the common term for conventional hybrids that cannot be plugged into an outlet and charged. They have an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors and usually only get about 1 km on clean electric drive, then the internal combustion engine jumps on. Example: Toyota Prius
Fuel cell cars – in principle this is an electric car, but instead of charging the car’s battery in an outlet, the car is refueled with hydrogen which (together with oxygen) is converted into electricity in the car with the help of a fuel cell. The residual product becomes water vapor. There are still few hydrogen gas stations, but many large car manufacturers are experimenting with fuel cell cars. Example: Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell, Toyota Mirai.
