Last summer, I interviewed Save The Bay’s Facilities Manager about his decision to lease a Chevy Volt. The Volt is an electric drive
vehicle with a gasoline engine for extended range. The all electric range is
about 40 miles, after which a gasoline engine takes over. This is slightly
different from a hybrid engine which switches back and forth from gasoline
power to electric power during driving. After doing some research of my own, I
decided last September to lease an all-electric Nissan Leaf, and go gasoline
free. I like the simplicity of having one engine and virtually no maintenance
other than tires and brakes.
Driving an all-electric car does take some planning
ahead, and is best for city driving. The range varies widely depending on
outside temperature and driving conditions. On good days, the range can top 90
miles with moderate driving speeds, but winter weather and use of the heat
lowers the range under 80 miles. The car starts to warn you when running with
under 20% of the battery remaining, so I generally take 20 miles off my
effective range when planning my driving. With a battery instead of a gas tank,
I feel like there is a direct feedback and connection to my own energy
consumption and driving habits.
Rhode
Island Supports Electric Vehicles
In 2013, Rhode Island partnered with National Grid to
install 50 public charging stations through the ChargePoint Network. These
stations are free to network members for the first four years while owners pay
for the electricity. After four years, owners of the stations can decide to
keep them free or begin using a fee based system. The stations are distributed
throughout the state and are located at the state beaches, malls and
restaurants such as Cilantro Grill and Chili’s, and at other locations such as
Rhode Island College and Bryant University.
But
what About the Electricity?
If you are interested in a direct comparison of
energy consumption and costs for an electric car and a gasoline car, here are
some of the things I have learned. One gallon of gasoline has the equivalent
amount of energy as 34 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. Our second car, the
Honda Fit, gets about 34 miles/gallon or about 1 mile per kWh. My Leaf
diagnostics tell me that I average about 4.6 miles per kWh, or the equivalent
of about 156 miles per gallon. The 2015 Nissan Leaf advertises an average miles
per gallon equivalent of 114 miles, so either I am very efficient or my car is
not very accurate.
The 2015 Nissan Leaf battery holds 24 kWh of energy.
This means that a full charge at 16 cents per kWh costs about $3.84. I have
been using about 200 kWh at home every month, for a cost of about $32. It also
means that at an average of 4.6 miles per kWh, I should have a range of 110
miles, which is kind of pushing it. I have heard that the diagnostics are not
very accurate, and that is something being worked on.
To me, all those numbers mean that my electric car
is almost five times more efficient than my gasoline car, regardless of the
fuel type. Because of regenerative braking technology, the brake pads last up
to three years longer. Fewer fluids and oils means less contribution to
stormwater pollution. No exhaust means I am not contributing to low level ozone
pollution, the major cause of air quality alert days in the heat of the summer.
In addition, electric vehicles emit only 19.8% of the total heat emitted by conventional
vehicles per mile, reducing the heat island effect in cities.
What
About other Sources of Pollution?
Electric vehicles do create more pollution during
the manufacturing process, and they do require electricity to be generated
somewhere, using some type of energy source. The best scenario would be to plug
in to a solar panel array or to purchase green energy through your electric
company. Not all parts of the country are set up to distribute electricity from
clean sources of fuel. The east and west coasts, however, happen to be areas
where the electricity mix is steadily becoming more and more renewable.
According to the Sierra Club, in Massachusetts EVs
have about 70% lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional cars.
The
Future of Electric Vehicles
In October 2013, eight states which include Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Washington and
California, signed a pledge to get 3.3 million EVs on the road by 2025. I am
fairly confident that we will soon reach a tipping point and this goal will be
easily surpassed. When the 2018 models start rolling out, we will see range go
up over the 200 mile mark and electric cars will be mainstream. Electric
options are available from most major car companies already.
The problem with being an early adopter, however, is
that depreciation is relatively high, given that the technology is getting so
much better with each new car model. This does provide some opportunities,
however, if you are looking to get into the electric car game and save a bunch
of money. I am very happy with my choice and am looking forward to seeing what
happens. I am already fighting for space at the public charging stations that I
use, so I know there is a growing crowd out there with me.
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