My new “electric” Toro snowblower was delivered a couple days ago. Yes, I know it will likely be eight months before I’ll actually need to use the snowblower. However, I needed a new snowblower, so I got one. Now I don’t have to think about it.

This post is not about my new snowblower as such. This post is about why I went electric instead of gas powered.

About a week before I bought the new snowblower, I finished the second of two classes on Electric Vehicles at the University of MN’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies. Look up OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) if you are interested in attending lectures on this and a wide variety of other topics.

The surprising thing I learned is: Convincing the skeptical to buy an electric vehicle is not the constraint on the electric vehicle market. Most vehicle manufacturers felt demand for electric vehicles would be slow to develop. They were wrong. The demand for electric vehicles here in the USA and around the world far exceeds the available supply of electric vehicles.

Here is the deal. Gas powered engines are about 30% efficient. Meaning about 30% of the energy produced in a gas fired engine actually propels the vehicle and the remaining 70% of the energy is wasted as heat off the engine through the radiator or out the tailpipe. Electric vehicles are about 85% to 90% efficient, meaning they are about three times as efficient as a gas vehicle.

A gas powered engine needs to be revved to about 2,000 RPM (revolutions per minute) to develop enough torque to move a vehicle forward and a transmission to move it faster. To reach maximum torque and horsepower a gas fired engine needs to be revved up to its maximum RPM.

Electric motors have maximum torque and horsepower at the first revolution. There is plenty of torque and horsepower available at any RPM. It’s weird, however as a practical matter, most electric cars are faster and more powerful than most gas cars.

To my street rod loving buddies one of the huge downsides of an electric vehicle is how quiet the engine is even at high speeds. There are no flames shooting out of the headers. The tires will still squeal because there is more torque than they can handle. Unfortunately, a very powerful electric motor is really not very impressive to look at.

Most people focus on how far an electric car can go on a single charge. Which means if you drive further than that, the vehicle will need to be recharged (half hour to an hour) to go further. Yes you might be charged for the charge however there are apps to show you where charging is available and more changing stations are being added all of the time.

However, on most days, we drive far less than the maximum distance an electric car can go on a single charge.

Think about your typical day of driving. You drive to work, to school, to the grocery store, to soccer practice, to pick up fast food, to the party, to drop off tickets for the dance recital, etc. and then you go home.

Once home, you plug your electric car in to recharge it. The next morning, repeat. Months will often go by without using a public changing station. You might go to a gas station to buy a lottery ticket but otherwise your frequent trips to fill up the tank will become a distant memory.

Did I mention electric cars don’t need the oil changed or a tune-up. There are no spark plugs or spark plug wires. No carburetor or fuel injectors. No gas tank or fuel pump. There are no tail pipes, no mufflers and no catalytic converters. There is no transmission so the transmission fluid never needs changing. No air filter needs changing. There is no alternator or starter. An electric motor is very simple as it has only one moving part, a turbine.

Most of the electric cars use a heat pump to warm the passenger compartment. They work well. Electric cars are popular in the cold northern European countries where climates are as cold as Minnesota. An electric vehicle can be warmed up while in a garage with the garage doors closed because there are no emissions from an electric vehicle.

Which brings me to the story of why I bought an electric snowblower. Between two cancer surgeries, a multi year pandemic and the severe labor shortage, my old snowblower did not get serviced for multiple years. Yes it is partially my own fault but not entirely. By the end of this winter the snowblower was in sad shape. It worked but only barely.

By coincidence I took the classes on electric vehicles. The instructor mentioned how the new electric snowblowers are very powerful, easy to maneuver and very low maintenance. They don’t need oil or draining the gas tank etc. Besides once you pick your brand, the battery packs can be used for lawn mowers and a wide variety of other power equipment.

We are in the first year of a three year lease on our Subaru Forester. Come 2024 the lease will be up and most vehicle manufacturers will be in full electric vehicle production. I suspect there will be an electric vehicle in my future.

Renewable energy is rapidly becoming the primary source of power in the USA. The average age of vehicles in America is 8.2 years and as a result month after month, the number of old vehicles being scrapped continues to increase. The number of charging stations is growing exponentially . There will likely be an electric vehicle in a lot of people’s future.

The closer you look the more you see.