Research out of Griffith University has revealed some interesting stuff about early-adopter electric vehicle owners in Queensland.
Dr Anna Mortimore (pictured above) from Griffith Business School led the first comprehensive survey of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid car owners in Australia, which kicked off in February. Among aspects Dr. Mortimore was keen to understand were how owners were using their vehicles, how satisfied they were, and how and where owners are charging their EVs.
Climate Conscious And Cashed Up
The results of the survey, carried out in collaboration with QLD’s Department of Transport and Main Roads and Energy Queensland, are in and indications are early adopters of electric vehicles in Queensland are generally:
“climate-conscious tech enthusiasts willing to pay more to reduce their carbon emissions”
Dr. Mortimore said she was surprised with the owners’ focus on emissions reduction. But it was a similar situation in the very early days of Australia’s solar revolution, when the cost of solar panels was far more than now. I distinctly remember a fairly sudden shift from the focus being on environmental benefits to the financial benefits of installing PV – but generous subsidies played a major role.
Dr. Mortimore points out:
“There are no significant subsidies or incentives for buying an EV and consumers are concerned with range anxiety and the availability of public charging infrastructure. Early adopters are essentially paying more for their cars and are adjusting their lifestyle, driving habits and energy needs.”
Survey Says..
Among the findings of the survey, which involved 370 respondents:
- Most early adopters are men, university-educated and high-income earners.
- The majority live in detached homes.
- 93% recharged at home during off-peak hours to reduce charging costs.
- More than half surveyed were using a combination of grid electricity and solar power for charging.
- 6% of respondents were only using their solar power systems.
- Most weekday travel did not exceed 70 kilometres daily.
- Up to half of respondents drove no more than 50 kilometres daily.
- Weekend driving patterns shifted slightly upwards.
- Over half of the owners were extremely satisfied with their EV.
- More than two-third were extremely likely to buy another electric vehicle in the future.
Dr. Mortimore said the survey results match up with similar international surveys and should act as a flag to policy makers that there’s an opportunity to build on the early adopter base through targeted incentives.
“But without a mandatory national policy to reduce carbon emissions on our road, our climate future could depend on the goodwill of consumers paying more to drive EVs.”
Back in 2017, SQ’s Ronald outlined why electric cars will roll over the competition. On the topic of the provision of subsidies, he wasn’t so enthusiastic; later stating:
“Nope! But we should make cars pay for pollution“
For the EV-curious out there who are also wondering how many solar panels are needed on a home to support an electric vehicle, check out SQ’s Homeowner’s Guide To Solar And Electric Cars.
About Michael Bloch
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1. Electric cars are nothing new – electric cars have existed for over a century – they existed in the late nineteenth century, before internal combustion engine powered cars.
2. Most modern electric cars do not have more than one forward gear and one backward gear; they have “Continuously Variable Transmissions”. drivers buy them, because the drivers are not capable of coping with changing gears, or, even, with the lazy and incapable drivers’ “automatic transmissions, that change gears for the drivers, because the drivers are lazy and incapable.
3.” indications are early adopters of electric vehicles in Queensland are generally:
“climate-conscious tech enthusiasts willing to pay more to reduce their carbon emissions””
This is absolute rubbish, as shown by
“6% of respondents were only using their solar power systems.”
What should have been considered, and, published in the survey results, are the statistics involving how much coal and gas is burnt to produce the electricity used to power the cars.
The cars, like the electric trains, are less environmentally friendly, than coal fired steam powered motor transport (and, yes, coal fired, steam driven, on road (such as the roads were, that existed) carriages, did exist, and, were used for transport, at one stage).
Wht people need to learn, and, remember, that the electricity in Australia, is mostly (apart from Tasmania) generated from burning stuff, and, much of it is generated from burning coal, which, like chain smoking tobacco, is nor known to be unhealthy (and, equally, if not more, unhealthy, compared to chain smoking tobacco).
And, at each transfer of energy (solid coal to heat plus pollution, masses of extremely dangerous pollution, heat of flames to heat of water, heat of water to water pressure, water pressure to mechanical energy, mechanical energy to electrical energy, electrical energy to mechanical energy (electrons pushing electrons along transmission lines; a simplistic way of relating to the loss of energy over distance, for transmission lines), mechanical energy to electrical energy (popping the electrons out, at the other end), transforming the AC current to DC current, to charge an EV battery, transforming the electrical energy to potential energy (the energy loss in storing it in the battery),transforming the potential energy back into electrical energy (retrieving the charge from the battery), electrical energy to mechanical energy (the energy retrieved from the battery, going through the electric motor that turns the wheels), an energy loss occurs. Now, if a 10% energy loss occurs; if a energy transferal is 90% efficient, then, after two transferals, it is 0.9 squared; 81% efficiency. After 5 transferals, 90% efficiency at each transfer, become 53% of the original, and, after 8 transferals, 90% efficiency at each transfer, becomes 43% of the original.
So, apart from the driver and passengers getting soot all over their faces and their lung linings, coal fired, steam driven motor cars are healthier and better for the environment.
The only difference with electric cars and electric trains, is that the filthy generation of the electricity, is out of sight of, and, removed, from, the people being transport.
And, especially in Queensland,, where the state government, in its ivory tower, supports the Adani Carmichael coal mine, for the Queensland people, the Adani coal mine, and, the electricity generation for the electric cars that the filthy rich (and, yes, in this instance, the use of the word filthy, is extremely appropriate) have, itis very much a case of “Out of sight, out of mind”.
Not until all electricity used in electrical transportation, is cleanly generated, by photovoltaic generation and wind power (hydroelectric electricity generation, whilst not producing poisonous pollution, still harms the environment), will electric cars, trains, and other means of transportation, be environmentally friendly.
Shame that you both can’t read the article that you are commenting on and also lack any ability to use logic to compare the electric power train to the alternative, the internal combustion engine. You clearly didn’t see the part where it said over 50% use solar and grid to charge. Only a tiny fraction of people go totally off grid with their solar systems in general, so it would be expected that only a small proportion would be use only solar to charge their cars. Everyone agrees that coal is a stupid way to generate electricity. That is why coal fired power plants only rapidly being closed, no new ones are being built, and the fraction of Australia’s power generated by them is rapidly dropping. The vast majority of new generation in Australia is solar and wind. Electric cars get cleaner the longer you own them. If you look at a wheel to well energy analysis, and a life time energy analysis of the cars environmental impact, you will see that electric cars are already superior to conventional petrol cars in Australia already, even when using the dirtiest electricity. Only hybrid petrol cars are superior in this worst case for electric, but the electric car owner again is better that the hybrid owner as soon as they install solar panels on their roof. There are multiple articles on this site that explain this concept. Try reading them first, and don’t waste your time explain how stupid coal is, everyone already knows this industry is as dead as the dinosaurs they love to burn so much.
Bret Busby in Western australia,
You state:
“Not until all electricity used in electrical transportation, is cleanly generated, by photovoltaic generation and wind power (hydroelectric electricity generation, whilst not producing poisonous pollution, still harms the environment), will electric cars, trains, and other means of transportation, be environmentally friendly.”
I don’t see any comparison from you of CO2 emissions per km between electric trains powered by coal-fired electricity generation, and your ludicrous suggestion of “coal fired steam powered motor transport” (or even with diesel-powered trains). Nor is there any CO2/km emissions comparison between BEV’s and ICE’s.
On the ABC’s “Fight For Planet A”, Craig Reucassel in a Tesla S drag raced a Holden HSV GTSR W1.
The Holden HSV GTSR W1 reportedly produces 476 g/km of CO2 emissions.
The Tesla S produces 153 g/km of CO2 emissions utilizing the grid, or zero with renewable energy.
See: https://twitter.com/ABCTV/status/1295118136937795589
The Driven posted “Is a diesel cleaner than an electric car in Australia?” on 15 Dec 2019, stating:
“In Australia Whitehead, Smit and Robinson reveal that, primarily through their efficiency, even on the coal rich Australian grid, EVs produce 40% less GHG when compared with equivalent ICE vehicles.”
See: https://thedriven.io/2019/12/15/is-a-diesel-cleaner-than-an-electric-car-in-australia/
The ultimate goal is to end the combustion of all fossil fuels. Until we do – and that certainly won’t happen overnight – the evidence I see indicates it’s still better from a GHG emissions perspective, to switch to electric transport, wherever possible, even if they are powered via fossil fuels, because electric motors already have much higher energy efficiencies compared with equivalent ICE powered transport. And as the electricity grid gets GHG ‘cleaner’, BEV’s will get ‘cleaner’.
Bret, electric cars do not have ‘Continuously Variable Transmissions’. They have a single gear because their electric motors generate maximum torque at zero revs so have no problem moving a car from rest while in a gear that is high enough to also achieve a high speed. Internal combustion engines only produce decent torque in a fairly narrow rev range at relatively high engine speeds so a gearbox is essential to allow the car to operate over a decent speed range.
“Nope! But we should make cars pay for pollution“
The mantra of Australian Governments State and Federal, for years!
Yes, even well before EV’s became popular…
(Yes, I saw the catch 22)