Electrify Everything

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SAVINGS!

Solar and wind energy are now the cheapest form of new energy systems. The cost of producing solar panels, and of producing batteries to go with them, has been coming down rapidly. You may choose to go off-grid, however most households are 'grid-tied' and therefore generate a financial return for the energy that is sold to the grid. Grid capacity challenges that you may have heard about are a temporary problem that will be solved. In the meantime, you can invest in solar and carve out ways that maximize your savings - such as by directly charging your Electric Vehicle!

A COOLING EFFECT

Because they absorb the sun, solar panels have a cooling effect, no matter where they are placed. If they are on your roof, your house will be cooler. If they are in the neighbouring field, the neighbourhood will feel cooler. If they are on a carport in your yard, both your yard and your vehicle will be cooled. Can we cool environments by installing solar panels? Yes!

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Although nearly everyone chooses to be 'grid-tied,' as opposed to 'off-grid', you can still achieve a degree of energy independence if you install a solar system. For example, a solar carport that directly charges your Electric Vehicle can for most drivers adequately provide for your all your driving needs. You would literally be driving for free.

Because the planet needs all the help it can get

Experts agree: climate change is real, and is a serious threat. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the past few decades, carbon emissions have been increasing exponentially. Those emissions will stay in the atmosphere for decades to come, and the planet's ultimate reaction to that reality is yet to be known. The effect of one person switching from a combustion to an Electric Vehicle may seem negligible, but it is one small step needed in the direction we all need to go. In short: getting an EV makes you a part of the solution.

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Because you will save a ton of money

The verdict is in and there is no doubt about it: Electric Vehicles are way cheaper to operate than combustion vehicles. There are two main ways that you save: 1) the cost of electricity is about 1/3rd the cost of fuel required to power a vehicle, over the same distance travelled. If you spend $400/month on gas or diesel you can expect to pay not more than $150/month if you charge at home, your cheapest electricity (*note: if you add solar at home you can then literally be driving for free). And 2), they are cheaper to service. You can say goodbye to having to ever again having to pay for: an oil change, an oil filter, an air filter, a muffler, catalytic converter, spark plugs, or timing belt! The fact is, the sooner you switch to an EV, the sooner you start to $ave.

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To cool our environments

First, think about how a combustion vehicle works. We all put a petroleum product (gas or diesel) into a little engine, and then drive around our neighbourhoods. What happens then is less understood: 80% of the energy produced when petroleum is ignited goes towards the creation of heat, while only 20% goes towards the energy required for the propulsion of the vehicle. What a waste! That engine under the hood becomes very hot. You would never put your hand on an engine that has been running even an hour after it has been turned off. So imagine the heat that is collectively created when dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of these little mobile heaters are concentrated into an urban environment. With an Electric Vehicle, you have none of that. Collectively, EVs will go a long way towards cooling our local environments, especially our cities.

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Performance

When it comes to performance, Electric Vehicles are just better. They: 1) are better at hugging the road, given that the central positioning of the battery gives them a lower centre of gravity; 2) respond immediately when you step on the accelerator (none of the delay to engage that you experience with a combustion vehicle); 3) have a higher torque than a combustion vehicle; 4) have faster acceleration, in most cases, and; 5) are quieter. The experience of driving an Electric Vehicle is just, well, electric.

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Air quality

At one time or another we've all been behind a vehicle that is spewing out noxious smoke. It's disgusting! But less appreciated is the insidious effect that the accumulation of all these emissions has on human health. It has been estimated that nearly 90% of people worldwide live in regions where average air pollution levels exceed acceptable ranges. Poor air quality leads to reduced lung function, increased risk of asthma complications, heart attacks, heart failure, and death. Imagine how much cleaner our air would be if we all drove an EV!

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Electric Vehicles are more expensive.

We can understand why you might have that impression, but not so at Energy Mart. The EV industry is changing rapidly and new, top quality brands are coming onto the market that are at price parity with combustion vehicles. This is attributable to EV industry trends, namely: increasing production and so economies of scale, increasing production efficiencies, and decreasing costs for EV components, especially battery minerals. Battery prices have been coming down sharply owing to increasing production and decreasing prices of, in particular, lithium, the primary battery element. The sooner you move over to an EV, the sooner you start to $AVE!

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EV batteries don’t last.

First, a quick primer on how EV batteries work. Surprise! They are much like any other battery: you have a battery with a charge, you use it, the charge level drops, and then you recharge it. Over time, with the repetition of this cycle, batteries gradually lose their capacity. The RATE that EV battery capacity goes down is already known from EVs that have been on the road for years, or that have been used a lot in a short period of time (i.e. taxis). On average, studies show that EV batteries can be expected to comfortably maintain 80% or more of their capacity after 250,000 Kms of driving.

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EV batteries are expensive to replace.

Whoever says this must have a time machine that lets them travel into the future. Why? Because things are changing so rapidly that is impossible to know what the future cost of a battery will be. But one thing is for sure: because of declining materials costs and increasing production efficiencies, the cost will undoubtedly be lower than what it is today.

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EVs don’t have the range that I need.

EV manufacturers are coming out with products that have all sorts of ranges, normally between 250 and 400 kms. Considering that the average driver travels about 30-40 kms per day, EVs will easily provide most people for days of driving on a single charge. Range is no obstacle to having an EV, especially if you live on a small island!

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Charging is too slow.

Snap question: how long does it take to charge an EV? Answer: eight seconds. Why? Because that's how long it takes to plug a charger in! Owning an EV means a new way of 'fueling' your vehicle that, in total, will mean you spending far less time managing your charging than you have been spending while waiting at the gas pump. All you do is plug it in when you get home, unplug it the next morning and ... Boom! ... you're good to drive for days. 'Fast charging' is simply not something that most people ever need to think about. Just charge at home, and $AVE baby $AVE! Think about charging your EV just as you do about charging your phone. It's easy!

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Electric Vehicles are bad for the environment.

Wrong. Just wrong. To start, Electric Vehicles produce no emissions, while a combustion vehicle spews out C02, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, benzene, and formaldehyde. How nice. EV naysayers will then argue that when you take into account an EV’s production, including mining the materials for the battery, their advantage is negated. This is also just flat out WRONG. Remember that there are a lot more similarities than differences between a combustion and an Electric Vehicle, the battery being the main difference, and battery minerals, especially lithium, are abundant in nature. It is true that you need to consider the source of electricity that charges an EV. But if that source of energy is a renewable one (solar or wind energy), then you are truly minimizing your climate impact. Peer-reviewed scientific studies show that, overall, when it comes to the climate, EVs top gas-powered vehicles, and it isn’t even close.

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Karen Byer

Head of Operations

Colin Daniel

Business Advisory Support

Carol-Ann Haynes-Bispham

Head of Service for Energy Mart

George Wieringa

Chief Executive Officer