EV vs ICE Jargon
Confused how an Electric Vehicle is compared to an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) Vehicle – here are the answers.
Internal Combustion Engine |
Electric Vehicle |
|
| Engine |
Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) usually running on fuels such as Petrol and Diesel. |
Electric motor or motors running on electricity from a batter. |
| Efficiency |
litres / 100km Consumption of fuel to travel 100 km. |
kW / 100km Consumption of electricity in kilo Watts (kW) to travel 100km. A kW is 1000 Watts. Note kWh is kW hours, the consumption of 1000W watts of power over 1 hour. |
| Range | Is determined by efficiency above and the size of the petrol tank in litres |
Is determined by the size of the battery in kW and efficiency above. |
| Fuel |
|
Electricity via a connector. AC (Alternating Current – Mains) or DC (Direct Current) for Rapid charging.
|
| Cabin Heating | From waste heat from engine as at least half of the expensive fuel you have poured into the engine becomes waste heat! | In an EV heating takes extra energy usually with a heat pump in modern EVs. Generation 1 Nissan LEAFs only had a resistive heater that quickly drains the battery. Using the AC will effect the range of the EV. |
|
Torque Nm – Newton meters |
ICE engines have a Torque curve, which is why a gear box is required. Torque is specified at the optimal RPM, which is dependent on the engine and how sporty the car is. | Electric motors have much more consistent torque across all speeds, with lots of torque at low speed. Most EV’s can easily out drag an ICE powered vehicle. |
|
Power kW |
Power is measured in kW for both ICE and EV cars. However for ICE cars the peak power will be at a specific high RPM. | |