Company
FAQS
Electric Vehicle (EV) Questions
What are the benefits of driving an electric car?
There are many: reduced dependence on foreign oil, zero emissions, and a cost of less than two cents per mile driven. Many areas also offer carpool lane access and/or special parking privileges for electric cars. Check with your local DMV for details.
Don't electric vehicles actually just move pollution to another location?
No. Plug-in electric vehicles use power from the grid which comes from power generation plants. Power generation plants, even coal burning ones, are inherently more efficient and less polluting than vehicles due to efficiency of scale at which they convert fossil fuels to electricity.
Also, an electric car is far more efficient than a gasoline car, so the amount of pollution generated by producing the electricity to drive an EV a given distance is much less than the pollution from the gasoline to drive an internal combustion car the same distance. Whereas an internal combustion engine car – even those powered by hydrogen, ethanol, and biodiesel – can make use of only about 20 percent of the energy that it consumes, a battery electric car is able to put more than 80 percent of the energy it consumes to use in moving the car down the road.
What are the incentives for driving an electric car?
There are numerous incentives for driving an electric car, and they vary by province or state. Incentives include single-occupancy driving in carpool lanes, free parking, and tax breaks. We're working with various government groups to be able to offer all purchasing incentives that will be available in your area.
What's the difference between an EV and a hybrid?
Electric vehicles (EVs) do not have an internal combustion engine. The batteries are recharged from the electric power grid, for example your home electric system. Hybrid vehicles have both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. In most systems the internal combustion engine is used to recharge the batteries as well as power the car directly when necessary, but the only way you get energy into the car is to put gas into the gas tank. Therefore hybrids, while more efficient than standard cars, still use petroleum products and at the current time none on the market can use energy from the power grid or "plug in."
What's a "plug-in hybrid"?
Plug-in hybrids are the same as a hybrid with the added ability to charge the battery from the electric power grid as well as from the internal combustion engine. However, there are currently no plug-in hybrids on the market. There are hobbyist conversion kits for some models of hybrids. Many manufacturers are working on plug-in hybrids, however, and we will see them on the market in the very near future.
Can an electric vehicle use solar power?
Yes. Electric vehicles can be recharged using solar energy, wind or any other form of electric energy.
Service Questions
How much service does an electric car require?
Far, far less than gasoline-powered cars. Most cars require service every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Electric cars have no motor oil or oil filters to change, no smog equipment to check, no air filters to replace, no power steering fluids to refill. REV's current service plans expect our customers to bring in their cars every 12,000 miles or every 12 months.
Battery Questions
How long does it take to recharge?
That depends on how far the battery has been discharged and what source is being used to charge the batteries. REV offers 110v or 220v charging solutions, with which a full charge can be achieved in as little as 2.5 hours.
However, an electric car is a bit like a cell phone: it does not matter how long it takes to charge as long as a charge lasts all day. You plug it in when you get home, and unplug it when you leave in the morning.
How do you recharge it?
Unlike EVs of the past, modern electric vehicles have a built-in battery charging system that can basically plug into any outlet. Many also have an optional mobile charging kit that allows you to charge from any available electrical outlet (110V or 220V) wherever you happen to be.
Is there an optimal time (financially) during the day for recharging?
This depends on the billing method of your particular electricity provider. In general, there is a trend towards "time of use" pricing. This means that it will be cheaper to charge at night, when the demand on the electricity grid is lowest.