Energy efficiency and energy savings

In-depth studies show that, all figures being equivalent, taking into account the energy efficiency at both production and distribution level, the consumption figures are as follows:

	conventional cars		electric vehicles
	fuel consumption / 100 km	electricity equivalent	electricity consumption
Car	8,5 l gasoline	909 Wh / km	488 Wh / km
Van	12 l gasoline	1283 Wh / km	600 Wh / km
Small Lorry	16 l diesel	1910 Wh / km	1000 Wh / km

 

Table 1: Average consumption of conventional cars and electric vehicles [1]

[1] G. Maggetto, P. Van den Bossche and J. Van Mierlo, CITELEC report "Force electrique en Wallonie: les vehicules electriques et hybrides en Wallonie, une solution ecologique durable pour la circulation urbaine"

These figures show that electric cars, vans or small lories, respectively consume 54%, 47% and 52% of the primary energy needed by internal combustion vehicles. It is clear that electric vehicles are much more energy efficient. This advantage will increase when it will be possible to recharge vehicles by connecting them directly to electricity production sources with a total output efficiency exceeding 50% (plants with combined gas/steam cycle, fuel cells, buffer batteries, etc.).

Taking into account an average mileage of 10000 km per year, which is the standard figure for vehicles in urban areas, the energy savings obtained by replacing conventional cars by electric vehicles are:

	energy savings [kWh / year per vehicle]	energy savings converted into fuel volumes [l / year per vehicle]
Car	4210	438
Van	6380	709
Small Lorry	9100	84

 

Table 2: Energy and fuel savings due to electric vehicles

When regenerative braking is applied, kinetic energy can be recuperated and sent to the batteries. This can lead to an economy of about 10%.