A post by guest author Hans Fischer, electric car expert, owner of technikblog.ch and co-founder of Solar Manager AG.
80% vs 30% – why efficiency makes the difference
As an electrical engineer, I have been fascinated with the electric drive system and battery technology for years, particularly the high level of efficiency of electric motors. While a combustion engine only converts around 30–35% of the supplied energy into motion, an electric motor achieves an efficiency of around 80%. This means that a larger proportion of the energy is actually used for propulsion, instead of being lost as heat.
Anyone who drives an electric car for the first time is sure to be impressed by its ability to recuperate energy. In this process, the brakes are not initially used for braking; instead, electric cars can use the electric motor to decelerate. This energy is fed into the battery, in other words recuperated, which further increases efficiency.
70% solar power – my energy footprint
With the PV system we had installed in 2017 and our at-home charger, it was only logical for us to make the switch to an electric car. As I described in my detailed article about solar power, the combination of power you generate yourself from PV and driving an electric car is simply perfect. Over a year, an electric car draws 70% of its power from direct, renewable energies – amazing, isn’t it?
Very little maintenance required
Future-proof thanks to bidirectional charging
Electric cars can not only receive energy, they also deliver it – this is called bidirectional charging. This technology enables the car to be used as an energy storage system – be it for your own home (Vehicle-to-Home, V2H) or the public grid (Vehicle-to-Grid, V2G). I’m delighted by the extra flexibility the PV system will give me in future, especially given all the issues surrounding the Swiss electricity market at the moment. Bidirectional charging could play a key role in the energy transition in the future – electric cars are becoming not just a means of transport, but also active parts of an intelligent electricity grid.
Passing something onto the children...
For our children, electric cars are matter of fact – they don’t know any different, as these are the only cars they’ve grown up with. Quietly gliding down the road and having a wallbox at home as a “filling station” – all this is completely normal to them. For them, a combustion vehicle is not the default car, but rather a “relic from a bygone era”, which makes lots of noise and smells unpleasant.
This change of perspective is fascinating. While we are able to consciously experience and compare the switch to electric cars in real time, they are the only logical form of mobility for our children. One day, they will barely have any nostalgic memories of filling stations or engine noise.
Perhaps one day they will ask us: “Why did you used to build cars that produced so much noise and emissions?” The answer to this is a piece of history. But one thing is clear to them – electric mobility is the future.
About Hans
Hans Fischer is a long-standing electric car expert in the field of technology and renewable energy. On his blog, technikblog.ch, he regularly shares his expertise and experiences on the topics of solar energy, electromobility, smart home, etc. As co-founder of Solar Manager AG, his main job is to find efficient ways to make the most of solar power production.
One fixed price. Everything included.
You choose the right electric car and set the desired minimum term between one and 48 months as well as the monthly mileage package between 250 and 4,000 kilometres. You then pay a fixed monthly rate that covers all costs, even electricity if you like. Welcome to Clyde.
