The world’s first internal combustion engine was tested industrially in 1826 and since then the human race is dependent on vehicles having these engines. But since the beginning of 21st century world is moving towards adopting Electric Vehicle (EV) technology due to rising concerns of environmental problems. Unlike a normal car that works on internal combustion engine, an electric vehicle works on a battery.
These batteries provide a greater advantage over the traditional combustion engines and thus the world is realizing the growing need of EV technology. This makes it important for us to understand that how EV technology is different from the internal combustion engine technology which is widely used in vehicles. So let us also understand the difference:
Acceleration
A combustion engine needs to gain some speed in order to produce a high torque but in case of electric vehicle, especially for cars it is different. An electric car can produce high speed from the start and can reach 0-60 km/h in a shorter time frame when compared to cars having combustion engines. on batteries accelerate faster than those who work on combustion engines.
This is because a car having combustion engine has to rev up and then it has to release the clutch whereas in case of electric cars there is no clutch or gear box and hence we just have to press the acceleration to unleash all the power. The lightweight factor of EV also contributes towards a better acceleration. Hence we can say that cars that work
Maintenance Cost
Although the owner of an Electric vehicle may pay a higher cost in the beginning for purchasing it as compared to the owner of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, he/she can save as much as 50% on repairing and servicing. The maintenance cost of an electric vehicle is much less than the maintenance cost of an ICE vehicle. This is because an EV has lesser parts to maintain as well as fewer fluids changes to worry about.
Effect On The Environment
One of the major reasons why the world is shifting towards EV technology is the harm that the current widely used internal combustion engine technology in vehicles causing the environment. The ICE vehicles produce over 1.6 times CO2 than an EV over its lifetime and many studies that have been conducted proves that EV reduces the emission of greenhouse gas.
While driving, an Electric vehicle’s engine does not produce emission that pollutes the environment. So this shift towards EV technology plays an important role in fighting climate change. But we must keep in mind that if the source of charging an electric vehicle car does not come from a sustainable energy source such as solar panels, wind turbines etc and instead comes from burning of fossil fuels, than in that case the emission of pollutants by the power plants for supplying charging to Electric vehicles would be as same as the emission done by ICE vehicles.
Work Mechanism
In an internal combustion engine the heating produced by the exothermic chemical reaction involving fuel and oxidants is used to move the vehicle from its stationary state. An ICE vehicle also needs a lot of parts to work together with this reaction. While in case of an electric engine there is no moving part, instead it has a magnetic mechanism which moves the vehicle. The most commonly used battery in EV is Lithium-ion battery and these batteries with the help of electric motors and controllers are used to create a magnetic force that moves an electric vehicle forward.
With these differences between an internal combustion engine technology and electric vehicle technology we can see that why the world is adopting EV technology and how it can be a better option over the internal combustion engine technology.
Sarthak Arora