Inside Line: our Chevy Volt's battery miles cost more than the gas ones
11-12-10, 12:43 AM
#1
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Inside Line: our Chevy Volt's battery miles cost more than the gas ones
During its time with us, our 2011 Chevy Volt tester consumed energy at the rate of 39.0 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles when in electric-only mode and averaged 31.1 mpg in gas engine assistance mode. We paid an average of $0.31 per kilowatt-hour of electricity and $3.31 per gallon of 91 octane swill, so the magic of arithmetic tells us that each one of the Volt's miles driven on electricity cost us more money than if it'd simply consumed gasoline instead. That's due in part to our high electricity rate - had our rate dropped to $0.24 per kilowatt-hour, we'd have reached parity on a cost-per-mile basis between electrons and dinosaurs.
p.s. keep in mind they are using 31 MPG from Volt to compare the costs... if they used >50% more efficient Prius, it would be very hard to get such cheap electricity because you would spend more than baseline and your costs would go up.
11-12-10, 01:22 AM
#2
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When they plug in the hybrids into the wall the power company has to burn coal to supply that electricity so instead of making co2 at the exhaust tip they are making it at the chimney. Yay green. 
11-12-10, 04:13 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
The best place for electric cars is Quebec. You get charged around 5.45¢/kWh 
Got to love Hydro electricity. We just need more Nuclear power plants (way more clean).
Got to love Hydro electricity. We just need more Nuclear power plants (way more clean).
Last edited by JessePS; 11-12-10 at 06:29 AM.
11-12-10, 05:25 AM
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11-12-10, 05:56 AM
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31 cents per kwh? Holy crap. I thought mine was expensive at 15 cents per kwh. So if 24 cents is the magic number, then at 15 cents I'd be in the zone...until PA rate caps expire in January.
11-12-10, 07:08 AM
#6
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sorry, that's a stupid argument....and its been rebuked many times....look it up...even if the electricity is generated via coal its STILL way way way cleaner than the equivalent ICE tail pipe emissions.
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11-12-10, 10:17 AM
#8
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From a pure emissions perspective, the EV movement is just silly until electric grid energy production moves away from coal.
11-12-10, 11:15 AM
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insideline is based on socal right? That electric chart doesnt show anything higher than 20 in California...
anyways, the good news is that by 2020, PGE in california will have 40% of its energy made by alternative sources (wind, solar, and wave)
anyways, the good news is that by 2020, PGE in california will have 40% of its energy made by alternative sources (wind, solar, and wave)
11-12-10, 11:47 AM
#10
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And again, 24c is breaking point for Volt which gets 31MPG... with Prius and 45-50 MPG, you would need to pay less than 15-18c just to break even, forgetting how much extra you paid for the car.
11-12-10, 12:34 PM
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But for all we know the Plug in Prius will go further on a Kwh than the Volt does.
Using a Kill-a-Watt, I measured the total consumption in that time of 3.66 kWh. My electric cost is 8.8 cents per kWh so that charge cost me a total of 32 cents. Considering that the estimated charge time for the pack is 3 hours, I would expect that to be consistent night after night. Quick calculation: 14 miles of EV for 32 cents is 2.29 cents per mile. Compare that to my ’04 Prius averaging 60 mpg at $3.00 per gallon, which is 5.00 cents per mile. Compare that to a family sedan averaging 30 MPG and a cost per mile of 10.00 cents.
@ 31 cents per Kwh it would cost 8 cents per mile. Still seems awfully high for electric...I would go solar if I lived there.
14 miles on 3.66 Kwh = 3.8 miles per Kwh in the Prius
100 miles on 39 Kwh = 2.56 miles per Kwh in the Volt.
Unofficial of course, but that is a significant difference in efficiency. However, I would imagine that Inside Line drove the Volt hard, given the 31 MPG average, whereas all of the other reports I've been reading about the Volt have stated 38 MPG consistently.
Last edited by SLegacy99; 11-12-10 at 12:50 PM.
11-12-10, 12:52 PM
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I shall refer you to my original post.
11-12-10, 12:55 PM
#14
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most mags got mid 30's.... few got mid 20s.
I also wonder at miles per KWh rating basically (or KWh per 100 km), it will sure be very different between different manufacturers, just like different cars get different mpg.
I also wonder at miles per KWh rating basically (or KWh per 100 km), it will sure be very different between different manufacturers, just like different cars get different mpg.
11-12-10, 12:58 PM
#15
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http://www.eia.doe.gov/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
Code:
Table 5.6.A. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, July 2010 and 2009 (Cents per Kilowatthour) Residential Commercial[1] Industrial[1] Transportation[[1]] All Sectors Census Division and State Jul-10 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-09 Jul-10 Jul-09 New England 16.12 17.32 14.68 16.42 13.45 11.42 8.64 7.57 15 15.56 Connecticut 19.03 20.44 16.51 16.73 14.54 15.4 11.29 10.03 17.44 18.02 Maine 15.44 15.2 12.18 12.15 9.21 9.54 -- -- 12.62 12.54 Massachusetts 14.71 16.69 14.92 18.63 14.41 10.87 6.78 6.08 14.65 15.53 New Hampshire 16.11 16.4 14.13 15.3 12.75 13.74 -- -- 14.74 15.46 Rhode Island 15.11 14.55 11.54 13.02 15.5 9.88 13.46 -- 13.55 13.13 Vermont 15.27 14.88 13.21 12.89 9.35 9.14 -- -- 13.06 12.69 Middle Atlantic 16.72 16.29 15.1 14.34 9.11 8.37 13.7 13 14.78 13.98 New Jersey 17.37 17.86 15.17 16.18 13.17 11.34 12.94 18.3 15.99 16.39 New York 19.58 19.13 17.88 16.16 10.27 11.27 15.27 13.95 17.89 16.7 Pennsylvania 13.34 12.44 10.32 9.7 8.03 6.97 8.29 7.69 10.83 9.81 East North Central 11.67 11.15 9.14 9.14 6.74 6.9 7.06 8.94 9.49 9.21 Illinois 12 10.95 8.31 8.3 7.42 7.89 6.82 8.74 9.65 9.13 Indiana 9.28 9.4 8.19 8.24 5.91 5.81 9.33 9.49 7.73 7.63 Michigan 12.86 12.23 10.16 9.98 7.77 7.42 9.97 12.3 10.64 10.16 Ohio 11.72 11.43 9.5 9.85 6.38 7.07 9.8 11.1 9.44 9.54 Wisconsin 12.51 11.88 10.22 9.78 7.07 6.97 -- -- 10.11 9.58 West North Central 10.66 10.03 8.78 8.24 6.64 6.46 8.3 8.06 9 8.48 Iowa 11.26 10.92 9.16 8.8 6.55 6.41 -- -- 9.07 8.74 Kansas 10.62 9.98 8.7 8.24 6.59 6.28 -- -- 9.02 8.46 Minnesota 10.9 10.44 9.04 8.53 6.72 6.81 7.68 7.75 9.07 8.75 Missouri 10.53 9.62 8.85 8.13 6.58 6.27 8.99 8.39 9.29 8.51 Nebraska 10.35 9.95 8.29 8.06 6.85 6.63 -- -- 8.48 8.19 North Dakota 9.43 8.92 7.72 7.16 6.69 6.28 -- -- 7.88 7.37 South Dakota 9.85 9.32 8.01 7.33 6.1 5.68 -- -- 8.31 7.7 South Atlantic 11.34 11.52 9.46 9.58 7.13 6.79 10.45 10.8 10.03 10.09 Delaware 13.97 14.5 11.37 12.02 10.58 9.1 -- -- 12.39 12.26 District of Columbia 14.23 14.25 15.26 14.18 10.05 10.7 12.58 13.93 14.85 14.12 Florida 11.68 12.31 9.81 10.6 9.04 9.25 8.81 10.19 10.79 11.45 Georgia 10.85 10.75 9.24 8.99 7.17 6.44 8.5 7.91 9.61 9.35 Maryland 15.02 15.99 11.9 12.09 9.96 10.02 11.01 10.88 13.24 13.58 North Carolina 10.41 10.17 8.41 8.09 6.75 6.22 7.39 6.56 9.12 8.78 South Carolina 10.52 10.27 9.05 8.72 6.03 5.92 -- -- 8.83 8.62 Virginia 10.78 11.01 7.7 7.83 6.76 6.58 7.25 8.43 8.97 8.97 West Virginia 8.9 7.88 7.52 6.49 6 5.08 7.86 5.6 7.53 6.51 East South Central 9.79 9.64 9.33 9.28 6.24 6.04 10.64 9.55 8.57 8.42 Alabama 10.79 10.71 10.09 10.24 6.28 6 -- -- 9.14 9.09 Kentucky 8.65 8.53 7.81 7.95 5.36 5.42 -- -- 7.16 7.09 Mississippi 10.22 10.13 9.41 9.34 6.81 6.49 -- -- 9.03 8.9 Tennessee 9.52 9.08 9.72 9.34 7.04 6.67 10.64 9.55 8.99 8.58 West South Central 11.02 11.35 8.83 9.08 6.32 6.1 10.01 9.93 9.14 9.42 Arkansas 8.96 9.6 7.06 8.04 5.77 6.34 10.78 13.7 7.47 8.2 Louisiana 9.19 8.14 8.49 7.53 5.81 4.93 10.42 10.41 8.01 7.12 Oklahoma 9.59 8.64 8.29 7.59 6.13 5.05 -- -- 8.42 7.54 Texas 11.99 12.72 9.16 9.7 6.59 6.55 9.94 9.84 9.75 10.39 Mountain 11.3 10.87 9.32 9.11 6.98 6.99 9.8 9.2 9.48 9.23 Arizona 11.79 11.3 10.38 10.1 7.48 7.37 -- -- 10.77 10.39 Colorado 11.76 10.4 9.59 8.92 7.46 6.69 10.11 9.01 9.86 8.87 Idaho 8.56 8.43 6.93 6.91 5.64 6.19 -- -- 6.72 7.05 Montana 9.66 9.5 8.55 8.36 5.77 5.65 -- -- 7.79 7.55 Nevada 12.08 12.88 9.49 10.58 10.01 10.41 10.42 11.6 10.8 11.49 New Mexico 11.63 10.74 9.48 8.78 6.6 6.12 -- -- 9.39 8.66 Utah 9.49 9.07 7.56 7.43 5.65 5.47 9.14 8.69 7.75 7.5 Wyoming 9.38 9.13 7.63 7.53 4.91 5.07 -- -- 6.27 6.32 Pacific Contiguous 13.31 13.58 14.21 13.78 8.72 9.02 8.78 8.88 12.65 12.71 California 15.52 15.92 16.57 16.12 12.36 12.1 8.85 8.94 15.43 15.33 Oregon 9.22 9.05 7.78 7.5 5.95 5.77 6.95 6.8 7.79 7.6 Washington 8.29 7.88 7.34 6.87 3.82 4.38 6.44 5.8 6.48 6.5 Pacific Noncontiguous 24.26 21.22 21.07 18.25 20.02 16.43 -- -- 21.69 18.56 Alaska 17.13 18 14.61 15.01 13.81 14.53 -- -- 15.2 15.8 Hawaii 28.3 22.99 25.96 20.74 22.23 17.07 -- -- 25.3 20.06 U.S. Total 12.01 11.9 10.7 10.63 7.31 7.13 11.59 11.41 10.5 10.37 [1] See Technical notes for additional information on the Commercial, Industrial, and Transportation sectors. Notes: • See Glossary for definitions. • Values for 2009 and 2010 are preliminary estimates based on a cutoff model sample. See Technical Notes for a discussion of the sample design for the Form EIA-826. • Utilities and energy service providers may classify commercial and industrial customers based on either NAICS codes or demands or usage falling within specified limits by rate schedule. • Changes from year to year in consumer counts, sales and revenues, particularly involving the commercial and industrial consumer sectors, may result from respondent implementation of changes in the definitions of consumers, and reclassifications. • Retail sales and net generation may not correspond exactly for a particular month for a variety of reasons (i.e., sales data may include imported electricity). • Net generation is for the calendar month while retail sales and associated revenue accumulate from bills collected for periods of time (28 to 35 days) that vary dependent upon customer class and consumption occurring in and outside the calendar month. • Totals may not equal sum of components because of independent rounding. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-826, "Monthly Electric Sales and Revenue Report with State Distributions Report."