Is there a ZEV in your future?

Don Francis, Senior Marketing Engineer for Georgia Power, believes that the answer is a resounding "Yes!". ZEV stands for Zero Emission Vehicle, and the prototype electric cars that his company is testing have achieved zero emission. Francis is convinced that ZEVs have so many advantages over conventional cars that the ZEVs will soon replace them.

Electric vehicles have zero emissions the same way your vacuum cleaner or radio has zero emissions. That's because electrical machines don't have to burn anything in order to run. Because of their zero emissions, electrical vehicles don't even have an exhaust pipe.

Electric vehicles may be clean, but what about their performance? After all, no one wants to cruise around the superhighways in a golf cart.

Francis has an answer to any objections people might have about performance. "Drive one," he urges. "You'll become a believer."

If you were to accompany him in one of the demonstration electric vehicles, the first thing that would strike you as you entered the car is that it has all the features of a regular car. There's air conditioning, a radio, and power windows. Just because electricity powers the car doesn't mean that the car skimps on power features.

When you've been driving for several minutes, something else hits you. Or rather its absence hits you. This is an unusually quiet car. A gasoline powered car is much noisier. "A gas engine is noisy," explains Francis, "because what really powers the car is small explosions happening inside the engine. These explosions occur when gasoline ignites and pushes the pistons down.

The energy released by burning the fuel is what makes the car run."

The electric vehicle, he goes on to explain, gets its power through magnetism. Electricity creates a magnetic field through the coils inside the motor and this magnetism causes the motor to spin.

There's also another reason why the electric vehicle is quieter. In a gasoline vehicle, when you press the accelerator, you mechanically move cables or levers that cause the air to flow into the engine. Inside the engine, fuel mixes with the air, explodes and pushes the pistons down. As a piston comes down, the crank shaft converts the energy to rotational motion which eventually turns the wheels of your car and moves you forward.

The electric vehicle functions differently. When you press its accelerator, there are no cables and levers. Instead, a wire transmits an electrical signal to the controller which manages the flow of electrical energy to the motor. The motor rotates, not because of explosions, but because electrons are pushing it.

Francis's demonstration car is quiet, peppy, and non polluting. But what about its range? "It averages 70 to 90 between charges," he answers. "Since the average commute is far less than that, it would work well for a commuter car." The commuter would recharge the car overnight, using electricity from a 240 volt outlet like what you use for your electric clothes dryer. For the few times each year when the family wants to take a longer drive, they rent a car.

Francis believes that a clinching argument is economy. Fuel for a ZEV is only one penny per mile. Fuel for a gasoline car is five cents a mile. Imagine reducing your fuel costs 80% while driving a completely non-polluting car. Maybe there is a ZEV in your future.