The Basics of Electric Vehicles: A Simple Explanation

As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to gain popularity, it's becoming increasingly important to understand how they work. While many people are familiar with the basics of EVs, there is still much that can be learned about these innovative cars. In this article, we will explore the five main components that make an EV an EV, and provide a detailed explanation of each part.

The Charger: The Power Source

Contrary to common belief, the charger on your garage wall or at the shopping center parking lot is not the charger that powers your car. Instead, it provides power to the charger that is built into the car itself. This charger converts AC power from the grid into DC power, which is what the car's battery stores. The level of charge can vary depending on whether you're using a Level 1 charger (120 volts) or a Level 2 charger (240 volts). Level 2 chargers support faster charging and are often used at public charging stations like Tesla Superchargers.

The Battery: The Heart of the EV

The battery is the heart of an electric vehicle, and it's what determines the car's range. Most EVs use a flat, mattress-style battery that stores DC power. However, some models may diverge from this design and use smaller batteries tucked away in different parts of the car. Regardless of the design, all EV batteries hold DC power, which is put into them by the charger.

The Power Control Unit: The Brain of the Operation

The power control unit (PCU) is a critical component that oversees the entire powertrain of an EV. While it may not be as flashy as other components, the PCU is essential for converting DC power from the battery back to AC power, which the motor can use. It also interfaces with the rest of the car, allowing it to respond to driver input and send power back to the battery during regeneration.

The Motor: The Turning Point

The motor is what turns the wheels of an EV, and it's a crucial component in determining the car's performance. Unlike gas engine cars, which may use one or multiple motors depending on the vehicle's intended performance, most electric cars use a single motor. However, more advanced models may use multiple motors to grant the car a sophisticated form of all-wheel drive.

Reduced Transmission Needed

One surprising aspect of EVs is that they don't require as much transmission complexity as gas engine cars. This is because electric motors are efficient and happy across a wide range of RPMs, making them well-suited for high-performance driving. Most electric cars use a rudimentary transmission called a reduction gear, which doesn't require the same level of complexity as traditional transmissions.

The Future of Electric Vehicles

While EVs may still be more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts, they are becoming increasingly affordable and accessible to a wider audience. As technology continues to improve and production costs decrease, we can expect to see even more innovative designs and features emerge from the electric vehicle market. One day, EVs will make up a significant portion of new car sales, and it's essential that we understand how they work in order to appreciate their unique benefits and advantages.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis may seem basic but with all the noise around evs has anyone stopped to explain to you how they work here's a simple version for people who just want to know what they're buying and not geek out there are five main components that make an ev an ev roughly in order they are the charger the battery the power control unit one or more motors and a gear yep usually just one contrary to common belief the thing on your garage wall or at the shopping center parking lot isn't the charger it just provides power to the charger which is built into the car that charger converts the ac power that you'd have at home or at the mall to dc power which your car's battery stores now that can either be a level one charge when it's 120 volts like a common outlet or it's a level two charge when it comes from a higher level of voltage like 240 and supports a faster charge as a result here's an exception when you go to a really fast charger like a tesla supercharger that is dc power and it's at far higher levels of power than your home could ever provide both of which are part of how that charges a car so much faster the battery is the heart of the thing this is what mostly determines an ev's range makes an ev typically cost more than a combustion car and makes them weigh quite a bit more it's the magic and sometimes the curse the battery is typically laid out as a big flat thing under the belly of the car inside of which there are many smaller cells now some evs will diverge from this mattress style battery and use a few other batteries that are smaller and tucked away in different parts of the car in any event batteries hold dc power and that's what gets put into them by the charger the power control unit is something that's usually not touted to loudly in the advertising for an eevee it's kind of inside baseball but really critical it's a box or maybe two that oversee the entire powertrain easy to spot because you'll usually see big heavy duty orange cables going to and from it now most tvs use motors that run on ac power so the first job of the power control unit in that case is to convert the dc power in the battery back to ac power again that the motor can use the pcu also interfaces the entire powertrain to the rest of the car like making it respond to the accelerator pedal wake up when you press the start button and critically can send power back to charge the battery when you coast or brake lightly something called regeneration now we get to the motor and the motor is of course what turns the wheels but unlike a gas engine car you might have one motor or several depending on the vehicle's intended performance more motors can make an ev faster or can grant it a very sophisticated form of all-wheel drive or both don't get excited about lifting the hood to see the motor it's much more compact than an engine it's not much to look at and it can be squirreled away in different parts of the car you may not see it at all this one's interesting most electric cars have a very rudimentary transmission called a reduction gear which is why you almost never hear it talked about there's no 6 or 7 or 10 speed gearbox that you have to deal with or that the car maker wants to brag about that's because electric motors are efficient and happy across a much wider range of rpms so they don't really need much of a transmission to help them deal with different vehicle speeds or different loads you may place on the motor a tesla model 3 a nissan leaf a chevy bolt they all use a single gear and you don't ever really interface with it the guts of an ev may be unfamiliar but they are definitely simpler and one day will make electric cars less expensive than the ones that run gas todaythis may seem basic but with all the noise around evs has anyone stopped to explain to you how they work here's a simple version for people who just want to know what they're buying and not geek out there are five main components that make an ev an ev roughly in order they are the charger the battery the power control unit one or more motors and a gear yep usually just one contrary to common belief the thing on your garage wall or at the shopping center parking lot isn't the charger it just provides power to the charger which is built into the car that charger converts the ac power that you'd have at home or at the mall to dc power which your car's battery stores now that can either be a level one charge when it's 120 volts like a common outlet or it's a level two charge when it comes from a higher level of voltage like 240 and supports a faster charge as a result here's an exception when you go to a really fast charger like a tesla supercharger that is dc power and it's at far higher levels of power than your home could ever provide both of which are part of how that charges a car so much faster the battery is the heart of the thing this is what mostly determines an ev's range makes an ev typically cost more than a combustion car and makes them weigh quite a bit more it's the magic and sometimes the curse the battery is typically laid out as a big flat thing under the belly of the car inside of which there are many smaller cells now some evs will diverge from this mattress style battery and use a few other batteries that are smaller and tucked away in different parts of the car in any event batteries hold dc power and that's what gets put into them by the charger the power control unit is something that's usually not touted to loudly in the advertising for an eevee it's kind of inside baseball but really critical it's a box or maybe two that oversee the entire powertrain easy to spot because you'll usually see big heavy duty orange cables going to and from it now most tvs use motors that run on ac power so the first job of the power control unit in that case is to convert the dc power in the battery back to ac power again that the motor can use the pcu also interfaces the entire powertrain to the rest of the car like making it respond to the accelerator pedal wake up when you press the start button and critically can send power back to charge the battery when you coast or brake lightly something called regeneration now we get to the motor and the motor is of course what turns the wheels but unlike a gas engine car you might have one motor or several depending on the vehicle's intended performance more motors can make an ev faster or can grant it a very sophisticated form of all-wheel drive or both don't get excited about lifting the hood to see the motor it's much more compact than an engine it's not much to look at and it can be squirreled away in different parts of the car you may not see it at all this one's interesting most electric cars have a very rudimentary transmission called a reduction gear which is why you almost never hear it talked about there's no 6 or 7 or 10 speed gearbox that you have to deal with or that the car maker wants to brag about that's because electric motors are efficient and happy across a much wider range of rpms so they don't really need much of a transmission to help them deal with different vehicle speeds or different loads you may place on the motor a tesla model 3 a nissan leaf a chevy bolt they all use a single gear and you don't ever really interface with it the guts of an ev may be unfamiliar but they are definitely simpler and one day will make electric cars less expensive than the ones that run gas today\n"