Real Driving Range in Electric Vehicles: Influence on Fuel Consumption and Carbon Emissions

This paper is focused on the determination of real driving ranges for electric vehicles (EV’s) and how it influences fuel consumption and carbon emissions. A precise method to evaluate the driving range of an EV can establish the correct reduction in GEI amount, mainly CO and CO₂, ejected to the environment. The comparison of the daily driving range between an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle and an EV provides a useful tool for determining actual fuel saved during a daily trip and a method to compute carbon emissions saved depending on the type of ICE vehicle. Real driving range has been estimated on the basis of a daily trip consisting of five different segments, acceleration, deceleration, constant speed, ascent and descent, which reproduce the different types of driving. The modelling has been developed for urban routes since they are the most common and the most polluted environment where the use of electric vehicles is applied. The effects of types of driving have been taken into account for the calculation of the driving range by considering three main types of driving: aggressive, normal and moderate. The types of vehicle in terms of shape and size as well as dynamic conditions and the types of roads have also been considered for the determination of the driving range. Specific software has been developed to predict electric vehicle range under real driving conditions as a function of the characteristic parameters of a daily trip.