Range anxiety is overrated

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by JSH

I then read about the Spark EV which is the "hot hatch" of the EV world with a 0-60 time of 7 seconds. I found one at my local Chevy dealership and took it for a spin. It was a fun little car and drove like a go-cart. I asked how much it was and the salesman said I could lease it for 0 down / $100 per month / 39 months.

...What has been a problem is keeping the mileage under the 10,000 miles per year the lease allows.

$1,200 lease cost per year / 10,000 miles = $0.12 per mile!

That's less than most people spend just in fuel per mile. In Portland, you're probably paying $0.03 per mile in electricity to drive the thing, giving a total cost per mile of just $0.15 per mile (not including insurance). That's just about as cheaply as you can travel using a powered vehicle.

I might have to look into one for myself or for my parents.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

$1,200 per year / 10,000 miles = $0.12 per mile!

That's less than most people spend just in fuel per mile. In Portland, you're probably paying $0.03 per mile to drive the thing, giving a total cost per mile of just $0.15 per mile (not including insurance). That's just about as cheaply as you can travel using a powered vehicle.

I might have to look into one for myself or for my parents.

Yes it is about as cheaply as I can drive a vehicle. That is why I bought it, I couldn't come up with a way to drive for less.

I pay $0.115 per kWhr for power, the Spark has been getting 5.5 miles per kWhr. If I was paying for electricity it would be $0.02 per mile. However, my work has free EV charging so the fuel is free. The car is under warranty for the entire lease and there is no maintenance to do in that time period. So that $0.12 per mile is all in except for insurance.

In comparison my 2005 Toyota Prius that I bought used in 2007 / kept for 10 years and 123K miles / and did all the maintenance myself cost me $0.26 per mile

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by Ryland

Power goes out and gas stations are dead too.

But in this situation its easy enough to have 5 or 10 gallons stored in a couple of gas cans in the shed behind the house, plus with a gas car with its typically longer range you are less likely to be getting home from your commute running on fumes.

So I take it from the lack of responses that no one has been in the position of trying to recharge their nearly dead EV batteries from a home or portable generator?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by basjoos

But in this situation its easy enough to have 5 or 10 gallons stored in a couple of gas cans in the shed behind the house, plus with a gas car with its typically longer range you are less likely to be getting home from your commute running on fumes.

So I take it from the lack of responses that no one has been in the position of trying to recharge their nearly dead EV batteries from a home or portable generator?

I have not charge my EV on a generator but doing so would not be difficult. It would be horribly inefficient and rather pointless but it could be done. The internal charger in my Spark maxes out at 3.3 KW so you would need a generator larger than that.

If I came home to a house with no power I would park the car just like I normally do (I charge at work not home). If my work is without power there isn't much point in me going. If I charged at home and was without power for days and my place of work had power: I would drive my wife's car and drop her off on the way to my work.

Something else that is different between gas and electric vehicle is drivers of EV's don't wait until their battery is depleted and then recharge. I driver of a Bolt isn't going to drive to work for a week and then charge. They will top off daily. Someone getting home with an almost dead battery is pushing the range of their vehicle to the max. I can drive to work and back two days on a charge but I have only done that once to confirm I could do it and get a better idea of what the actual range of my car. (About 95 miles instead of the 82 EPA rating)

It also comes down to planning my car purchase on what I do 95-99% of the time not the random outliers. What if my power went out? Doesn't happen enough to worry about. If it happened enough I would get a generator but for now I have my Prius and an inverter. I've never used the inverter as I haven't lost power.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by basjoos

So I take it from the lack of responses that no one has been in the position of trying to recharge their nearly dead EV batteries from a home or portable generator?

On purpose I have charged my old lead acid EVs off a portable genset.

When we would travel to mission lake it was just outside the range of our old batteries round trip.

I would charge a few hours with a generator I brought along, then be able to make it home without range anxiety.

It was still higher "fuel" economy than any other car we owned at that time and the trip was still mostly electrically motivated.

Now that I own a volt that has a built in generator such antics aren't necessary

[Hersbird]

If my power goes out the generator is powering the fridge and freezer so I don't lose $500 in food. Occasionally I switch it over to the well pump to recharge the pressure tank. Then if it's winter I run the blower in the gas furnace for a little heat. Nice to not need to also charge the car so I can get to work again the next day. I only have a little 2000w inverter generator though. Thankfully our house here seldom loses power and only for a few hours it seems. In Washington state we used to lose it for over a week once a year it seemed. At least it was warmer there.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by JSH

I pay $0.115 per kWhr for power, the Spark has been getting 5.5 miles per kWhr.

That seems much better miles/kWh than other EVs. Quick bit of Googling says a bit over 3 miles/kWh for the Tesla S, about the same for a Chevy Volt in EV mode. Which at current gas & electric prices hereabouts makes them more expensive per mile than my Insight.

If I was paying for electricity it would be $0.02 per mile. However, my work has free EV charging so the fuel is free.

Not free, you've just gotten your employer to give it to you as a perk, no different than if they let you fill up at the company gas pump.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

That seems much better miles/kWh than other EVs. Quick bit of Googling says a bit over 3 miles/kWh for the Tesla S, about the same for a Chevy Volt in EV mode. Which at current gas & electric prices hereabouts makes them more expensive per mile than my Insight.

The Model S is a luxury performance car that weighs 5000 lbs and has wide performance tires to allow 3 second 0-60 times. The Volt drags around an ICE and all the accompanying equipment.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Not free, you've just gotten your employer to give it to you as a perk, no different than if they let you fill up at the company gas pump.

Call it what you like. I don't pay for the electric to run my EV. Yes it is a perk, one that the vast majority of employees don't use.

[dremd]

I haven't read through this thread yet, but I can say that range anxiety is severely overrated. Sure occasionally it can be an issue, but I haven't really had any issues in the Leaf and I'm on track to drive it 20,000 miles this year.
I've got very limited public charging in my area, basically 2 Nissan dealers (and 3 dealers that don't have chargers) plus shared home chargers, all level 2 nearest Chademo is 120 miles away.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by basjoos

So I take it from the lack of responses that no one has been in the position of trying to recharge their nearly dead EV batteries from a home or portable generator?

I've done it, but only as a test. Had to simulate a ground with a high value resistor on both generators, but added about 10 miles of range with each generator just to verify that I can in case I need to.