From Guest Blogger Christine: Electric Car Batteries – Just How Far is 300 Miles?

One of the biggest arguments anti-electric vehicle protesters make is the fact that many batteries only allow you to travel 300 miles on a single charge. For many, 300 miles may not seem like a very long distance. However, it may be much longer than you may think. The entire aspect of the distance is nothing more than a desperate attempt to argue against electric vehicles for no other reason than to argue.

Daily Travel – Did you know that those that drive between 21 and 30 miles per day make up the majority of drivers? Depending on the location you live in, this could be more or less. According to these statistics, the average driver could go about his or her daily business for up to 10 days without recharging the batteries in the electric vehicle. As most people would undoubtedly plug in the car every night out of fear of being stranded without energy, the average driver may never experience an empty battery unless it was done on purpose. If your daily total commute is less than 10 miles per day, you would charge your car once per month.

Reality of 300 Miles – The length of Wyoming is only 280 miles. This means that an electric car could cross the entire state without needing a charge. Now, this doesn’t bode well for those who travel across country during vacations or holidays. The need for fast charging power stations is great for long distance travel to be a reality. However, in order to consume 300 miles worth of power just by driving around your local area you would have to ignore all stop signs and lights. You would have to maintain an average pace of 30 miles per hour for 10 straight hours in order to tap the battery dry. Considering all of the stops you would have to make inside that 10 hours in your community, it is extremely unlikely you would be able to accomplish this feat without finding some back road that you can drive up and down on without restraint.

Average American Commute Distance – According to some reports, the average daily commute distance for Americans 32 miles round trip. Of course this is also based on average workdays. For many people, this only spans Monday through Friday. This means you would have to charge the batteries in the car once in just over nine days of actual use. Again, most serious electric car owners will feel compelled to plug the auto in every night.

Cost Comparison for Travel – Although the price of electricity in your particular area will adjust how much extra you’ll have to pay in order to get a full charge, it’s still vastly cheaper than gasoline. Many electric vehicles could travel for 100 miles on less than two dollars’ worth of electricity from the grid. This isn’t including those who have made an effort to charge the automobile with solar arrays. Can you travel across Wyoming on less than $6.00?

Three hundred miles may not seem like a lot until you consider just how much actual driving is involved. As long as they practice logical charging methods, most people will never exhaust the battery. How far does your household travel in a day and how much do you spend on gasoline? Considering the monetary aspects of driving, you may easily be able to justify the expense of buying an electric car today.

Author Bio:

This post is contributed by Christine Maddox. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree from University of Texas as well as blogging for 4nannies. She loves to write anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care etc. She can be reached via email at: christine.4nannies @ gmail.com.