Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular because of their lower environmental impact. But do you really know how an electric car works? In this post we tell you what it is, how it works and the parts of its engine so that you can understand it perfectly.

How electric cars work

An electric car is a car powered by one or more electric motors, using electrical energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Charging time varies by model and battery capacity, but it can take from a few minutes to several hours to fully charge an electric car.

Difference with internal combustion cars

The main difference with internal combustion cars, i.e. traditional vehicles, is that electric cars do not emit exhaust gases that harm the environment. In addition, the electricity used to charge them can come from renewable sources, such as solar or wind power, which further reduces their environmental impact. Another big difference is the driving experience, as it is much quieter. Electric cars offer fast and smooth acceleration. Electric motors give electric cars instant torque, creating strong and continuous acceleration. They are also up to three times more efficient than an internal combustion engine. However, there is some environmental impact when the batteries are manufactured, but let’s remember that the possibility of recycling them is very high, as all their parts are recycled at specific sites, and this is because the European Union has taken care of this through a regulation.

Plug-in hybrid cars are also electric cars because they combine an electric motor with a combustion engine.

Parts of an electric car engine

Electric car engines are very different from those of conventional cars. Instead of burning fuel to create energy, they use electricity to generate it. To give you a better understanding of how an electric car works, here are the parts that make up electric motors.

The motor

The motor of an electric car can be an AC or DC motor. It may have one or several, depending on the design.

Charger

The charger draws electricity directly from the grid and converts it into direct current, so that the main battery can be charged. There are different types of chargers for electric cars. On the one hand, there are wall chargers, portable chargers, or chargers that are located on the public highway.

Batteries

The battery is the power source for the electric motor. It is responsible for supplying electricity to the controller and the motor coils. Lithium-ion electric car batteries store the energy from the charger in the form of direct current. This powers the entire electric car. When the electric motor is AC, the battery is connected to an inverter.