For and against the electric car. Let’s look at the efficiency from the power generation to the electric motor on the drive axis (without gearbox, of course, as no longer necessary!) I standardize the values to 1. That means 1=100% Starting from the fossil energy source I start at 1 so 100% I take the summary of the individual efficiencies at the end. Who wants to skip the individual loss levels can jump right to the table. r provided that I start in the petrol.- Oil or gas tank of the power plant, which has to give you electricity so that you can drive. Information on the proportion of regenerative energy fluctuate in Germany between 6.8 and 10% depending on the district. I assume in favour of the e-mobile times 10%. The conversion in the power plant to electricity begins with the combustion. Good thermal values reach 0.96 of the rest is radiation and exhaust losses (0.04) For the extermia (mechanical conversion) can be caused by the Turbine only half of the heat is converted into mechanical energy by changing the pressure. The other part is in the residual heat of the water, which does not leave the turbine cold. Now I have hot steam for the turbine. The turbine also has an efficiency of 0.48 (world record SIEMENS). The rest goes as no longer usable steam, since already pressure as with the cooking pot is reached in the cooling tower to be liquefied again to feed water of the boilers. Here too we can achieve an efficiency of 0.97 (bicycle dynamo approx. 20-30%) This current has for isolation reasons “only a voltage of about 400 volts and is too low for a transmission into the European-wide grid. So a substation is necessary at each power plant. 250,000 volts (250kV) and some 100-1000 amps are sent on the journey. The substation at best comes to an efficiency of 0.98 The cable losses up to to your city are also around 0.9. You can’t start with 250 kV but not much. So, again a medium voltage station on 10 kV with 0.9 and then with you on site in the road on 400 / 230 volts also with 0.9 Now we have arrived at your socket in the garage to charge your e-car. Up to here we have reached an overall efficiency of optimistic 0.35 = 35%. Now your high-tech charger comes to the socket and continue with 0.9 With the battery has been n I saved it and used the best principle in your car. Sorry. But still we can’t get beyond 0.8 by the chemical conversion with the heating. So, now off to the engine on the axle. However, the detour still leads over a power control that from any signal of you tells the engine how fast you want to drive. So 0.9 x 0.9 = 0.81 If we look at the e-car alone, it doesn’t look bad at first sight! Charger 0.9 x battery 0.8 x control ung and electric motor 0.81 = 0.58 = 58% respect, respect ! A conventional car just comes to about 35-37% Now we want to complete the calculation. Table of the individual efficiencies in the technical order: steam generator 0.96 turbine 0.48 Dynamo 0.97 substation 250kV 0.98 power transmission 0.9 substation 10kV 0.95 low voltage transformer by location 0.95 charger battery 0.9 battery efficiency 0.8 power control 0.9 engine on the axle 0.9 total efficiency electric mobile = 0.207….. so about, 21 % you get out of the fossil energy that supplies your electricity in the end. Please calculate !!! A share of 1 % of regenerative energy with an input mix of 10 % of the total share of the production !! For comparison: Steam engine about 20% on coal-based car with petrol engine 35-37% on fossil energy like the power plant. Diesel of course slightly better Source of the individual values: Company information Siemens, E-ON Technical reports of various universities, lectures, lectures Bez you drive around with a steam engine of 1850. Shame on you!