In electric, hybrid & plug in hybrid vehicles, even some kick scooters, E-bikes & self-balancing scooters, regenerative braking charges the batteries when you slow down or go down a hill or even when coasting in some situations.
Slowing Down EV's charges the battery
Regen or Brake Energy Regeneration
When you are at a stop in a gasoline powered car idling its engine its burning fuel & the vehicle not moving, so it's actually getting negative fuel economy, negative miles per gallon. This is why many automakers equip gasoline engine cars with auto-start-stop to turn the engine off when the car is stopped waiting for a traffic signal intersections lights to change.
When an electric vehicle stopped, only small electrical loads onboard like HVAC fans & lights are draining the battery at a few hundred watts, which is nothing for the 40-200kWh battery pack.
Regen can add 10-40% more range to an electric vehicle. Let me say that again. Brake regenerative charging can charge up the battery pack using the forward kinetic energy of the vehicle to spin the traction motor so it makes power as a generator to charge the battery :) Pretty cool huh!
I use the B mode on my Nissan LEAF SV all the time since I live in a topographically varied or hilly terrain local, in the suburbs just east of Seattle, Wa, USA. Think lots of mountains & hills, some that are very steep where brake regen really charges up the EV batteries fast :)
I started playing with brake regen in our then new 2005 Toyota Prius II and did so for 17 years in that vehicle before selling it to Meg's genetic dad for $2K used with 160,000 mi ODO //
I got the 2019 Nissan LEAF SV with 47,747 mi ODO for $20K out the door knowing that when it hits 60,000 mi it will achieve carbon neutrality or the break even point where its higher production emissions are negated by the lack of fuel burned during its operating life, especially because the battery pack will be reused in stationary PV solar power storage applications before eventually being recycled to capture the copper, cobalt, aluminum, nickel, gold & platinum & palladium content respectively during the battery pack EOL recycling some 10-30 years in the future. This Nissan LEAF SV battery pack still has 98% of its original battery capacity after ~500 cycles, which is amazing!
My Hiboy S2 Pro electric kick scooter features a left "Red" E-brake switch that you push down with your left hand thumb so the front motor acts as a generator to charge the battery & slow you down at the same time. E-brake combined with the rear wheel disc brake gives excellent combined rapid stopping power.
The Original Magnesium Alloy Segway MP by Ninebot features two 800w IPM self-balancing wheel motors, with a knee bar steering control rod, motor drive system that features break regenerative braking that boosts range 10-15% from its faded 348WH lithium ion battery pack. At 23 LBS the Alloy Segway MP OG much lower mass than the 36 lbs Hiboy S2 Pro with its 617WH battery, and both get over 1000 MPGe as ultra high energy efficiency personal mobility assist devices or last mile battery electric vehicles, low speed low power personal EV's.
EV batteries are 10X more durable that smartphone batteries, similar to the batteries used in space satellites, EV batteries are made to last 10+ years to automotive standards since the Automakers have to give longer warranties to EV batteries than any company gives to a smartphone or other tablet or consumer electronics which typically only have a 90 day or 1 year warranty that you can extent to 3 years buy paying for longer warranties. Most Hybrid & EV battery packs have 8-10 years of warranty coverage & cost more to replace than the depreciated value of the used EV to replace at that point, when the battery pack faded.
Beware of Higher EV Annual Registration Fee's
Our 19 Nissan LEAF SV my 3rd Nissan LEAF and I have been to the $650 Registration Fee zone before. Some states charge higher registration fee's for EV's because of the lost gas tax revenue since battery electric vehicles never consume gasoline so their owner operators never pay gasoline taxes, at least not for the EV operation. Our 13 Honda PCX150 scooter, 20 Yamaha MT03 Motorcycle, 10 Toyota Prius III, 01 Audi A4, Honda EU2000 generator & GX200 pressure washer all use gasoline, the Audi A4 2.8 Quattro from 2001 requires Premium Unleaded Gasoline too, which costs even more! So I not only get railed paying huge EV registration fee's in Washington State, but I also pay a lot of gas taxes to fuel those other vehicles in the fleet we share & operate relatively sparingly thankfully.
Meet Intelligent People at Public EV Charging Stations
On an unrelated note, you will probably meet other likeminded people at public EV charging stations who will want to strike up a conversation about your EV or theirs & the state of EV battery technology, charging options or other related topics about battery electric vehicles or Transporation energy, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, biofuels, hydrogen fuel, ammonia fuel, natural gas fuel, propane conversions, and similar DME conversions for diesel trucks & busses.
EV's Destroy Tires Faster
EV's can garble tire tread away much faster because of the instant torque acceleration that can also be super fun or highly enjoyable since EV's launch and accelerate rapidly with very little noise at face bending acceleration rates that Tesla call Ludacris mode on the Model S P100D launch mode :) Consider than many longer range battery electric vehicles are heavier than similar gasoline powered vehicles, so they place more loads on the tires that cause tire tread to wear out faster. This means that EV release more microplastics as tire wear products, or the tire tread that wear away faster on typical EV's who's owners fancy rapid acceleration bursts :)
Heavier vehicles wear out tires faster in all conditions because they place more stress on the tire tread. Some Tesla Model 3 owners end up selling their Model 3 because of being outraged by the $6000+ annual tire replacement costs, some people having to shell out thousands because of a tire blowout that damages the expensive alloy wheel, required the Model 3 owner to buy a new wheel & tire, and the high performance tires used on the Model 3 are expensive, especially on the larger 19 & 20 in wheels, with low profile tires. Some people with Tesla Model 3 who drive it aggressively have to replace the tires after only 1500 miles.
Way Less Maintenance for EV's
No oil changes, no gear oil checks, no engine air filters, no oil filters, less brake pad & brake rotor wear, no money buying gas, charging with relatively cheap electricity. 40kWh LEAF SV battery only costs about $4 of electricity to fully charge and can power the vehicle for 130+ miles. Name a gasoline car that can go 130 miles on $4 of gasoline. I can think of an example.
A 2023 Toyota Prius in some parts of America where gasoline sells for $2.13 per gallon without major hills, getting 52-65 MPG real world can get almost Nissan LEAF like operating costs similar to charging on grid power in areas where electricity sells for $0.15/kWh or less. No spark plugs, no timing belts, no alternator or starter motor, there are so many less moving parts in a typical battery electric car. They are also very quiet, which means you can listen to the stereo system to enjoy music at lower volumes :)
On the other hand, a Nissan LEAF operated in Grant County, Washington State, which has electricity for sale for only $0.03 or 3 cents per kWh, cheapest electricity in the world, makes a 40kWh recharge cost under $1.50, something no gasoline powered car can achieve in terms of cost per mile, especially not around town. Its worth noting that the Nissan LEAF & other low range electric vehicles are idea In City or around town, as local commuter vehicles & terrible for road trips because of the slow charging & air cooled battery pack that is damage by hot summer high temperatures while fast charging L3 on the go.
Most EV's have liquid cooled battery packs to reduce summer hot weather & fast charging damage to the battery pack. I do L3 charging around 5am during the coolest part of the day to minimize this issue, or L1 charge using the extension cord EVSE off the outdoor power outlet of our Apartment, strewn over the handrail to the parking lot, and thankfully no one ever messes with it. Probably because we live at Anthology for another month, after 3 years of overpaying, and the people that live here have no incentif to steal anything or mess with other people stuff, since most of them make 10x more income than Meg or I combined.
EV's are not ideal for road-trips because L4 charging not a widespread technology yet. Typical EV batteries are faded by L3 DC fast charging too, especially at higher temperatures, like during hot summer weather near the hottest part of the day when your likely to be driving on a road trip. I think EV's are terrible for road trips, but that most vehicles are not regularly used for road trips. You can use a Toyota Hybrid vehicle for road trips & your EV around town, as a grocery getter or commuter vehicle with super ultra low operating costs.
To go 10000 miles per year in the LEAF SV requires about $400 of electricity + $600 in tab fee's, so $1000 per year. Most people spent a lot more than that buying gasoline for their ICE or conventional gasoline fueled vehicle. Many people spend $2500-$8000 per year on gasoline for example. It really depends on gasoline prices nearby, which very considerably around the world.
I have RandomX miner friends in Venezuela who are able to buy gasoline locally for $0.16 per US gallon. Similar friends in Norway are paying about $9 per US gallon. So the operating cost of an ICE vehicle strongly influenced by gasoline costs nearby, where you are operating that gasoline fueled vehicle. Well the same is true for electric vehicles.
If you live in Grant County, Washington State, USA and electricity only 3 cents per kWh, then charging your EV almost free. In Toyko Japan, where electricity can cost $1 per kWh depending on time of day, charging an EV would be really costly by comparison. Many people would not scoff at putting $40-60 of gasoline in their car, but $40 to charge a Nissan LEAF for only 130 miles of real world driving range, that's more expensive than operating a 45 MPG Toyota Prius on $5/gallon gasoline.
Again, fuel & energy prices locally influence the energy operating costs of vehicles. Choose wisely based on local market conditions & long-term thinking. Toyota makes the most reliable vehicles for example that you can expect to last 30 years of daily use with basic maintenance. That new BMW or AMG Mercedes, no on expects those to be reliable as daily drivers for 20+ years, and they would cost a fortune to fix & repair along the way. There are a lot of reasons that rich people drive cheap cars & poor people drive used luxury cars.
Paying $0.37 per kWh for EV charging like paying $6/gal for gasoline. Hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles like paying $18 per gallon for gasoline and hydrogen stations for refueling are only available in single digit number locations in a few places in the state of California in the USA for example.
There is a lot of work happening in the hydrogen fueled engine space because Japan & Germany and most of Western Europe have been cut off of Russian Oil & Gas & Gasoline & Diesel because of sanctions imposed on Russia because of the War in the Ukraine. So these countries are big on propane conversion, liquid hydrogen conversions, liquid natural gas conversions, DME & biofuels, biodiesel, bio-gasoline, ammonia fuel in low speed two stroke diesel marine engines, blending gasoline, ammonia, diesel and all sorts of other ideas about how to mix different fuels to fuel vehicle engines in countries without crude oil resources, like Germany, France & Japan as examples.
France went big on Nuclear Fission Grip Power Production because France values its environment for cheese and wine exporting industries & does not want to ruin the local ecosystems to harvest low quality coal from under mountains where hydro-electric damns also make abundant clean electricity for local use :)
The sugar cane ethanol industry in Brazil offered another path away from crude oil based gasoline & diesel Transporation energy.
EcoCeres in Asia already commercializing cellulosic ethanol production, while Methanol being embraced as a fuel in tug boats & large low speed diesel 2 stroke engine applications. Bio-fuels are poised to enable net-zero carbon emissions transportation energy to fuel new piston engine powered vehicles, direct injection & turbo-charged 2L used in more than 600 models :)
We are going to see the ICE technology get way better thermal efficiency with better ECU control of pneumatic or solenoid controlled continually variable intake & exhaust valves, new higher pressure gasoline direct injection + intake valve cleaning maintenance injection pulses to prevent coking of the intake valve seats by rinsing the valves with specific interval port injection cycles on otherwise direct injection engines. New HCCI and SCI fueling modes will get more of the fuels energy transferred as torque to drive the vehicle, with earlier torque & lower emissions & less fuel consumed.
We are going to see Liquid Piston engines & other rotary engines & DUKE engines & all sorts of emerging engine technologies with higher thermal efficiency extend ICE use in passenger vehicles long beyond 2035 new MY vehicles. The Gasoline Ban by 2035 a lot of smoke & mirrors or political pandering & will probably not pan out the way zealots EV wackos think. I would even argue that we will see new gasoline powered cars sold around the world for hundreds of years, since not all governments update laws at the same rate or have the same vehicle restrictions. In India for example, many vehicles do not have a catalytic converter. In underdeveloped countries many vehicles still do not have fuel injection, using carburetors from antiquity. Many small power tool engines still use carburetors. Many generators & even some scooter & motorcycles are still using carburetors.
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