Wednesday, 10 Jul 2002

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada

Planning for winter — it’s a weird thing to be thinking about at the beginning of the summer, but with my busy schedule I don’t really have a choice. I need to repair the electric heaters located under the dash of my EV car before the cold weather comes. The car survived a spell of -35 degree Fahrenheit temperatures this past winter, but one of the heater cores stopped working in the middle of a cold snap. I was glad that I had worn mittens that morning!

The heat isn’t on.

The heaters are a critical system in my car that will have to be fixed while I can still work out in the garage comfortably. Since an EV has no need for a radiator, you have to find other ways to heat the car’s interior. My Saturn EV employs twin electric heating elements that have been completely integrated with the original ducting under the dash. These ceramic elements can be thought of as big hair dryers that draw their power from the main battery packs. The range of your EV is significantly reduced in the winter months when these are turned on.

A lot of people have stopped to ask me questions about the car’s construction. They want to know what parts are required to build an EV and where one would find such items. All electric vehicles generally have the same categories of components. Most conversion projects begin with a small car or a light truck; unnecessary parts and systems are simply removed from the chassis. Obviously, the original gasoline engine is removed, but most often the transmission and drive shafts get to stay, as they are still needed by the electric drive components. Even though most electric motors have a broad power range, the original transmission acts to multiply the torque, and keeps the motor turning fast enough for the small fan inside to provide enough cooling at slower speeds. The fuel tank, pumps, and exhaust systems are stripped away, along with the radiator and its hoses. Your conversion project can start in earnest after you spray wash the grease and oil from under the hood. You really don’t need that stuff anymore!

EV a la carte.

If I were in a restaurant ordering an “EV a la carte,” I would select the following:

  • An electric motor. Take your pick from many varieties.
  • A custom adapter plate to mate the motor to the original transmission housing.
  • A motor controller known as a motor drive.
  • An assortment of fuses, relays and a main power switch, known as a contactor.
  • A set of batteries to store the electric energy needed by the vehicle.
  • A set of racks or boxes to contain the batteries.
  • A charger to “refill” the batteries as required.
  • Lengths of heavy cable to interconnect the batteries and to bring power to the motor and its controller.
  • A small computer known as an “E-Meter” to act as a fuel gauge
  • And for dessert, I would request a handful of brackets topped off with some connectors and do-dads for holding everything together.

There you have it! A quiet, smog-free meal for two in a romantic setting where you can actually stop to smell the flowers without choking on the fumes of a stinking diesel engine.

Actually, I should mention that no EV meal is complete without a generous helping of manual labor. The cost of this “sweat equity” is hard to determine, as most EV enthusiasts undertake these conversion projects as labors of love.

For the majority of you out there concerned with pollution and climate change issues, one of the hybrid vehicles from Honda, Toyota, Ford, or another car company will probably make the most sense. The gasoline engines in these vehicles are ultra low-emission, and with their amazing fuel economies, they use far less fuel per mile of travel. Hybrid drive technology was designed to provide a “bridge” to the future. What the future looks like, of course, is anyone’s guess!