View Single Post
Old 11-28-2010, 10:12 PM   #16 (permalink)
SoobieOut
Polymorphic Modder
 
SoobieOut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 307

2006 DaCivic Hybrid - '06 Honda Civic Hybrid
90 day: 45.16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 188
Thanked 40 Times in 25 Posts
The numbers on the EPA label seem to not be reality based. For instance they base the electric cost on 11 cents per Kilowatt hour. See this info on this link Electric Power Monthly - Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, and you will see that very few states are below the 11 cent cost per Kilowatt hour cost! This means all of the cost calculations on this label are questionable at best. Thanks to the Government Motors lobby I bet for the twilight zone sticker.

Also many residential customers will get sticker shock when charging the EV puts them into a higher bracket for KWH charges. I recently attended an Energy Management course for businesses. There is a charge for business customers called Peak Demand charge. This charge is carried through for a period of time, sometimes an entire year based on the peak electrical use for a 15 minute period. So if you plug in your car to a business and it happens to be a 100 degree day, with the Air conditioners using max power, the business will pay more all year!

This peak demand charge will sour most businesses allowing folks to recharge EV's at work. I spoke with one business property manager who said he would turn off the circuit breakers for the charging stations in his parking garage. Imagine driving to work, and not being able to recharge for the trip home?

Last edited by SoobieOut; 11-28-2010 at 10:48 PM..
  Reply With Quote