Are EVs worth it? Study helps calculate savings on emissions, fuel.

If you have a place to plug it in, it is worth it. The only difference is in how much you save.

But it assumes you don't buy an electric Sherman Tank or an electric SUV that seats 9.

The EV is for commuting and short haul to the store.

Compared to a 15 mpg internal combustion engine(ICE) vehicle, a 100mpg-equivalent electric car will save bigtime. Over a driver's lifetime of driving, say 800,000 miles, the ICE driver uses ~53,000 gallons. The EV driver uses 8000 gallons-equivalent. The difference of 45,000 gallons-equivalent, at $4 will cost the ICE driver an extra $180,000. For places where electricity is cheaper than average electrical rates, more than $200,000 in savings will be possible.

Of course, in-city pollution from 53,000 gallons of fuel is nearly eliminated. Given hydro & wind turbine electrical generation, total emissions from electrical generation is 4%, electrical KW to gasoline Horsepower. Given that electrical motors are 3 times more efficient than gasoline engines, total EV emissions can be driven below 2% of ICE pollutions.

Well, it isn't just the cost of fuel. There is also electriphobia, tailpipe anxiety, etc

http://tinyurl.com/7cn5d8m

litesong wrote:
Compared to a 15 mpg internal combustion engine(ICE) vehicle, a 100mpg-equivalent electric car will save bigtime. Over a driver's lifetime of driving, say 800,000 miles, the ICE driver uses ~53,000 gallons. The EV driver uses 8000 gallons-equivalent. The difference of 45,000 gallons-equivalent, at $4 will cost the ICE driver an extra $180,000. For places where electricity is cheaper than average electrical rates, more than $200,000 in savings will be possible.

Of course, in-city pollution from 53,000 gallons of fuel is nearly eliminated. Given hydro & wind turbine electrical generation, total emissions from electrical generation is 4%, electrical KW to gasoline Horsepower. Given that electrical motors are 3 times more efficient than gasoline engines, total EV emissions can be driven below 2% of ICE pollutions.
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LessHypeMoreFact wrote:
tailpipe anxiety.......
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litesong wrote:
Tailpipe anxiety!? I didn't know they had ex-lax for automobiles.

litesong wrote:

litesong wrote:
Compared to a 15 mpg internal combustion engine(ICE) vehicle, a 100mpg-equivalent electric car will save bigtime.

You lose some credibility by using such extreme figures. There are few 15 mpg gas guzzlers or 100 mpg equivalent electrics and they wouldn't be the equivalent car size. Nor do people drive 800,000 miles in the same car. 200,000 or twenty years might be more like it if the driver doesn't upgrade every three to five years as is the pattern of the past.

A Ford Focus electric would be a good choice for comparison.

Onboard 6.6 kw charger adds about 30 km of range per hour of charge, so figure 220 watt hrs per km or 22kw hrs per hundred km. This figure includes efficiency of charger.

22 kwhr would cost between $1.10 and $2.20 at todays range of electricity prices.

A Ford Focus gas car gets about 4.8L per 100 km. So figure about 1.27 gallons of gas (if you believe epa mileage figures) or say 1.5 gallons if you are more realistic at $3.50 to $4.20 a gallon.

Obvioulsy fuel costs are about four to five times higher for gas.

BUT here is the kicker. The Ford Focus Electic is $42k msrp while the Ford Focus is $15.5k mrsp. Those kinds of initial price barriers are one of the main reasons that electrics don't sell so well yet. But there is NO reason for that kind of price other than the 'premium' price of a low production car and R&D costs.

Once the EV becomes common, the prices will be much more equivalent and the advantage will go to the electric.

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LessHypeMoreFact wrote:

You lose some credibility by using such extreme figures. There are few 15 mpg gas guzzlers or 100 mpg equivalent electrics.....

Naw. Lots of vehicles give sub-20mpg, specially people with lead feet & doing their vast amount of driving in-city & in stop&go conditions.
The Nissan Leaf has EPA 99mpg-equivalent in-city. With care, the Leaf willingly exceeds the EPA ratings, even as high as 135+mpg-equivalent.

Yeah, lead feet & feather feet must be considered.

LessHypeMoreFact wrote:

Nor do people drive 800,000 miles in the same car.....

Never said in the same car. I said a lifetime of driving in like mpg vehicles.

LessHypeMoreFact wrote:
You lose some credibility by using such extreme figures. There are few 15 mpg gas guzzlers or 100 mpg equivalent electrics.....
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litesong wrote:
Naw. Lots of vehicles give sub-20mpg, specially people with lead feet & doing their vast amount of driving in-city & in stop&go conditions.
The Nissan Leaf has EPA 99mpg-equivalent in-city. With care, the Leaf willingly exceeds the EPA ratings, even as high as 135+mpg-equivalent.

Yeah, lead feet & feather feet must be considered.
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litesong continues:
I have a car whose EPA highway rating is 27mpg, altho I have driven it to an average of 31mpg, with a high of 37.5mpg
However, on a number of forums for my car, lots of people have mpg stories nearing 20mpg & several people say they are averaging as little as 16mpg.