This story idea came from audience members, like you, who got in touch with us. Send us your questions about electric vehicles and climate change. We are listening: ask@cbc.ca
With gas prices continuing to rise, we have been listening to your questions about electric vehicles (EVs). Here’s what you want to know.
How much does it cost to operate an EV vs. gas vehicle?
According to a 2022 analysis of the total ownership costs of popular car models by Clean Energy Canada, the cost of every EV analyzed was lower — often much lower — than the cost of its gas equivalent, with only one exception.
An average EV will cost up to $5 to $12 to go from empty to full in Canada, said Joanna Kyriazis, clean transportation program manager at Clean Energy Canada.
“You’re looking at about $16 to go 100 kilometres [on gas] … where an electric vehicle uses about 20 kilowatt [hours] of energy to do the same,” said David Giles, EV technical specialist and founder of All EV Canada, a Canadian EV experts group.
To move an EV 100 kilometres, he said, the price would be closer to $2.
Most EVs tend to have lower maintenance costs, in part because they have fewer moving parts than a traditional combustion engine. That means they don’t require oil changes to keep those moving parts lubricated.
EV parts also require replacements less often. A standard battery pack lasts for about five to eight years.
However, when EVs do require repairs, it could be higher than conventional repair costs.
How often do batteries need to be recharged?
While range can vary based on the vehicle, battery health and driving conditions, most EVs now have a charge of approximately 400 kilometres, according to All EV Canada.
“It all depends on driving patterns,” Kyriazis said. For instance, if you are commuting 50 kilometres every day, a single charge could last up to eight days.
The charging port of the Chevy Bolt EV, an electric car compatible with multiple levels of chargers. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
However, it is not recommended to charge your EV past 80 per cent, according to Green Cars, an EV advocacy group, in order to allow space for regenerative braking, which converts kinetic energy to usable energy — if there is enough space in your battery.
You should also not let your EV fully discharge to zero per cent, which reduces the overall battery life, the group says.
So if you do own an EV, you may want to consider keeping your charge somewhere between 30 to 80 per cent to get the most out of your battery life.
When it comes to comparing a full tank of gas to a fully charged EV, “they are very close in their ranges,” said Giles.
How long does it take to charge?
The answer to this depends on the size of the battery, and the type of charging method used.
There are three levels of EV charging:
Level 1: Uses a common 120-volt household outlet. This method works great for hybrid EVs, which have smaller batteries. Depending on the charger and battery size, this could take up to 20 hours to fully charge an EV.
Level 2: Most commonly used method for EV daily charging. The charging equipment can be installed in your home. It can take up to six to seven hours to charge a regular EV with this method.
Level 3: Also known as DC fast chargers. These can be found in charging stations on highways and can charge an EV from empty to 80 per cent in 30 to 45 minutes.
WATCH | Explaining the different levels of EV charging:
The different levels of EV charging
2 days ago
Duration 1:46
Daniel Breton, president and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, explains the different levels of electric vehicle charging.
“Having driven electric cars for many years — it’s very rare actually that I use the fast chargers on highways, unless I go on a trip,” said Daniel Breton, president and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada.
How accessible are charging stations across Canada?
In provinces like B.C. and Quebec, charging infrastructure is really developed, said Breton.
“Where it gets a bit more complicated is when you live, let’s say, in downtown Toronto or Calgary or Montreal for that matter, because some people cannot charge at home,” he said.
If you live in an apartment or condo building and it doesn’t have infrastructure for EV charging, finding an outlet in an underground parking lot and keeping your EV plugged in overnight will help maintain the charge of the vehicle, Giles said.
As of May 2022, Canadian EV drivers have access to more than 16,000 chargers at over 6,000 public charging stations, according to data from Natural Resources Canada.
While most of these publicly available chargers are Level 2 chargers, there are about 1,200 DC fast charging stations across Canada.
“Eighty to 90 per cent of charging is at home when you have an electric car,” Breton said.
According to a 2021 analysis of EV readiness of the world’s 10 biggest auto markets, Canada ranks eighth among the 10 leading auto markets. The analysis by Ernst and Young attributes the ranking to low demand and an “insufficient” charging infrastructure.
Unlike looking for gas stations, drivers looking for an EV charging station may have to locate them on their phone using apps like ChargePoint and PlugShare.
“It’s a very different way of looking or trying to find a charger,” said Breton.
As of 2021, Canada had about 0.06 publicly available chargers for every EV on the road, according to the International Energy Agency.
Giles said the drawback in Canada right now is that the charging stations on highways don’t have enough chargers.
“I’m going to be at the charging station for 15 minutes — I pull up to a charging station and there’s only one charger and it’s already being used,” he said.
“Tesla is a good example of how it should look like — they have 10 charging stations at their charge points,” he said. The issue? Only Tesla models can be charged in these stations.
Many EV drivers have expressed their frustration over this issue.
A Tesla electric vehicle charging station is pictured in Surrey, B.C., on April 11, 2021. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
An analysis done for Natural Resources Canada suggested we will need, on average, one charger for every 20 EVs by 2025, and after more EVs roll onto streets, the ratio would fall to about one in every 49 vehicles by 2050.
In the longer term, EV charging in Canada needs to be high level, relying more on DC fast charging for public charging systems, the analysis noted.
Do you lose battery in cold temperatures?
The short answer is yes, but it’s not that different from what you might lose in a gas vehicle.
All electric cars experience some degree of range loss in cold weather, according to a report from the battery analysis firm Recurrent.
“Not all electric cars are equal in the cold. Some are more efficient. Some are less efficient,” said Breton.
Just like batteries in your cellphones, cold weather slows down battery chemistry, which in turn results in less energy for acceleration.
EVs also draw from the battery to either heat or cool the battery pack to keep it at a safe temperature. That energy being used to maintain the temperature of the battery also contributes to the loss of range.
However, gas vehicles also lose fuel mileage trying to heat the engine in cold weather at a similar rate.
Cold winter air is denser than summer air, which increases the wind resistance, which in turn increases the fuel consumption by about 1.3 per cent, according to Natural Resources Canada.
It becomes “harder to run through the air with any car,” Breton said.
WATCH | Do EVs lose more range in the winter compared to gas vehicles?
Do EVs lose more range in the winter than gas vehicles?
2 days ago
Duration 2:06
David Giles, EV technical specialist and founder of All EV Canada, talks about the range of EVs in winter in comparison to gas-powered vehicles.
Can our grid support it?
Right now the answer is yes, but in the longer term, changes would be needed.
Canada will need to make significant changes to its power generation and distribution systems to meet the rising demands and climate goals, according to a 2022 report by the Canadian Climate Institute.
Currently in Canada we have a “surplus of electricity overnight” produced to meet the needs of peak hours, said Kyriazis.
For many years, Canada’s surplus power has been sold to the U.S, according to Natural Resources Canada. Kyriazis said she thinks the best use of this surplus is to have more EVs plugged in to charge overnight.
“EVs can play a very positive role because it’s very easy to pre-program an electric car,” said Breton.
“What I would do is just use my phone, pre-program it to start charging at eight, and then it would be full by the morning.”
Giles said some people are also shifting to solar and wind power to produce energy for their EVs.
“However you want to produce that energy to fill your vehicle, you’re in control of that,” Giles said.
More and more electric vehicles are also becoming capable of not just storing energy but also powering a wider grid through bidirectional charging.
With bidirectional charging, vehicles are also able to discharge power from their batteries, feeding it back into buildings and the grid when plugged in.
How bidirectional charging works: When the wind is blowing, power can feed through the charger to the car. When demand is high, the car feeds power back to the grid. (CBC)
The simplest use of this technology is what’s being marketed by vehicle manufacturers: spare power when you need it most.
TORONTO – MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley and Toronto FC’s top officials have promised change at the ailing MLS club, which is sitting out the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Pelley says while the franchise’s entire organizational structure is under review, it is going to take some time to find the right answers.
Coach John Herdman says he is looking for young, athletic and durable talent to help turn around a club which he said started the season strongly but finished weakly.
Toronto (11-19-4) was eliminated from playoff contention in a 1-0 loss Oct. 5 to visiting Inter Miami. It will watch the regular season finale from the sidelines, with a bye the final weekend.
Toronto has not made the playoffs since 2020, when it exited at the first hurdle in an upset loss to expansion Nashville. Its regular-season record since then is 30-75-21, with coaches Chris Armas and Bob Bradley fired along the way.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024
HAMILTON – There’ll be no playoff games this year for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but head coach Scott Milanovich feels the club can get a head start on changing that narrative in 2025.
Hamilton hosts Calgary on Friday night in a battle between two non-playoff teams. The Ticats will finish fourth in the East Division while the Stampeders remain fifth in the West, three points behind idle Edmonton with two regular-season games remaining.
“There’s momentum that can be built at the end of the season,” said Milanovich, who’s completing his first season as Hamilton’s head coach/offensive coordinator. “I’ve been part of situations where momentum was built and then the following season it took off.
“What I don’t want to have happen is have a lull where you lose what we’ve kind of started building over the last six weeks. I want to take that into the off-season and training camp.”
Hamilton (6-10) played itself back into playoff contention with four straight victories before suffering a 31-10 home loss to Winnipeg on Oct. 4. The Toronto Argonauts (9-7) eliminated the Ticats from post-season contention with a 14-11 road win over the Blue Bombers last Friday.
For some coaches, that would present an opportunity to audition new players under game conditions. But Milanovich said his priority is to field the best team possible in order to secure the victory, although he did leave the door open to getting backup quarterback Taylor Powell some reps down the stretch.
“He may not play, I’m not making any promises,” Milanovich said. “But other than him we’re playing the best guys available.”
With that in mind, rookie Greg Bell will start at running back ahead of veteran James Butler, who’ll come off the roster. Cornerback Jamal Peters (neck) is out while defensive lineman Nick Usher (ankle) returns.
For Calgary (4-11-1), receiver Cam Echols (head) comes into the lineup while receiver Cam Tucker (hamstring) goes off.
Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell will get a second shot at earning his first win over his former team. Mitchell, who spent his first 10 CFL seasons with Calgary before joining the Ticats in 2023, completed 27-of-38 passes for 300 yards with a TD and interception in a 32-24 season-opening road loss to the Stampeders on June 7.
Mitchell leads the CFL in passing yards (4,576), touchdowns (26) and interceptions (16). The 34-year-old Texan, a two-time Grey Cup champion and twice the league’s outstanding player, is closing in on his third 5,000-yard passing campaign.
The contest is Hamilton’s last this season at Tim Hortons Field, where it is 3-5. But the Ticats have won three of their last four home games against Calgary.
Life on the road has been miserable for the Stampeders, who’re 0-7 this season away from McMahon Stadium. In fact, they’re just 1-12 in their last 13 games away from home.
Having said that, though, Calgary is looking for its first season sweep of Hamilton since 2018.
“We’re trying to win, that’s the first priority and will always be,” Dave Dickenson, Calgary’s head coach/GM, told reporters in the Alberta city this week. “We’ll probably rotate more, for sure we will … but we still expect the same performance and the same execution no matter who plays.”
American Matt Shiltz will start at quarterback for Calgary. He was 18-of-33 passing for 215 yards with a TD an interception in the Stamps’ 23-18 home loss to Edmonton (6-11) last week while rushing five times for 64 yards.
Shiltz spent two seasons in Hamilton (2022-23) before joining the Stampeders in free agency.
“I think he did some good things for us (versus Edmonton),” Dickenson said of Shiltz. “He’s going up against his former team and probably has some familiarity there but different coaches.
“Hopefully he feels good with how our offence is structured and can make plays.”
Calgary is riding an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1) and sports a 2-4-1 record against East Division teams. Hamilton is 2-7 versus the West Division.
Both teams will finish their season on the road. Hamilton travels to Ottawa on Oct. 25 while Calgary visits Saskatchewan the following night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Immanuel Quickley is questionable for the Toronto Raptors final pre-season game.
The guard has missed Toronto’s first four tune-up games with a sprained thumb.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic says that Quickley has been cleared for all practice and team activities but that the team would be cautious about putting him into an actual game.
Toronto visits the Brooklyn Nets on Friday to close out its pre-season, then hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in its home opener.
Quickley moved over to point guard after the Raptors acquired him on Dec. 30 in a trade with the New York Knicks.
He averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 38 games for Toronto in that new role last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
