Why electric cars are more efficient than fuel-burning cars

EV motor efficiency

Let's start with electric vehicle motor efficiency.

An EV directly converts electricity into movement. This makes it far more efficient than a conventional car, which has to burn fuel (creating heat) and then convert that heat into motion.

Did you know that an EV can be more than 70% efficient from the moment you turn it on? Even the best diesel engine, fully warmed up, struggles to get to 40% efficiency. In other words, a conventional car wastes well over half the energy in its fuel.

Reusing brake energy in electric cars

Unlike a conventional car – when an EV brakes, much of its energy is recovered and put back into the battery, so it's available to help it accelerate again. In a regular car the energy is simply converted into heat by the brakes and wasted. Overall, an EV might be two to three times more efficient than an equivalent conventional car when braking.

Efficient charging

However you charge your EV it should create fewer emissions than a conventional car. Use low-carbon electricity and there's simply no contest.

Charging up versus filling up will be better for your wallet in the long-run. In fact, you'll save over the years with an EV. Keen to more about the exact costs and savings of owning and running an EV? Read more about electric car costs here. 

If you want to be even more environmentally-friendly then charge up by generating your own renewable, zero-emission electricity! This way you'll be really minimising the environmental impact of using a car. Discover more about the ways you can generate energy at home. 

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