The Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf.
Switching to a battery-powered vehicle will yield measurable savings in a motorist’s energy bills, according to a new study, while also reducing global warming emissions.
But the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, or UCS, finds that the advantages vary widely depending upon where you live. In the best regions, savings on energy can add up to more than $1,000 annually – with battery cars cleaner than anything else on the road. But even in the worst regions, those heavily dependent upon coal to generate electricity, the UCS report says battery vehicles retain a significant advantage over traditional automotive powertrain technology.
“No matter where you live in the United States, electric vehicles are good choice for reducing global warming emissions and saving money on fueling up,” said Don Anair, the report’s author and senior engineer for UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program.
The organization bills the new study as a first-of-its-kind, and unlike some more limited reports, it tracked total energy use on a wells-to-wheels basis. In other words, it measures everything from the energy actually used to pump and then refine oil to the energy used to run an internal combustion engine. For electric vehicles, the study also considered such things as the energy used and pollution created while mining coal.
But the advantage, reports the UCS, is clearly in favor of pure battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, as well as plug-in hybrids.
The study shows that 45% of Americans live in what are categorized as “Best” regions, where battery vehicles result in reduced energy costs and lower greenhouse gas emissions than even the best hybrids or internal combustion-powered automobiles – those now getting at least 50 miles per gallon.
In fact, in California and New York State, a hybrid or conventional gas vehicle would need to yield at least 80 mpg to keep up with the likes of a Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt (the latter operating two-thirds of the time on battery power).
About 37% of Americans live in “Better” regions, according to the new study, where a battery car still is likely to meet or exceed the emissions performance of a 40 mpg hybrid. And in “Good” regions, like Midwest states heavily dependent upon coal power, battery car emissions are equal to the best non-hybrids, such as a Ford Fiesta or Chevrolet Cruze, Anair said.
- States in the “Best” category are located primarily along the East and West Coasts and include: California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho and Arizona, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia;
- “Better” states include Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee;
- “Good” states are largely concentrated in the Midwest and Plains states and include Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Kansas and Minnesota.
“No matter where you live,” he added, “electric vehicles save you on fuel costs.” With the Chevy Volt, for example, the annual savings are likely to range between $580 and $890 annually. The fully electric Nissan Leaf should bump that to anywhere from $770 to $1220 annually, according to the UCS.
The UCS study acknowledged significant differences in the nationwide electric grid that need be addressed, said Anair, but he added that with such efforts already underway, “The good news is that as the nation’s electric grids get cleaner, consumers who buy an EV today can expect to see their car’s emissions go down over the lifetime of the vehicle.”
Consumers have a fair degree of control over how much they save on energy by choosing rate plans – as well as when they actually charge up their vehicles, noted the UCS. Many utilities now have or are planning to offer interruptible or time-sensitive rates. And early adopters appear to be taking advantage of these. The study found the majority of current electric vehicle owners charge up overnight.
That not only means lower-cost power but also reduces the strain on the electric grid as there is less overall demand. This could permit a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles on the road without forcing the addition of more generators, the UCS report suggested.
Whether that will continue to be the case is far from clear. Some industry analysts warn that as more battery cars get on the road – and as the number of public charging stations increases – it will become more common for vehicles to power up during daytime. This could be especially true with the addition of high-speed “Level III” charging systems that could permit a vehicle like the Leaf to get an 80% recharge in as little as 15 to 20 minutes.
That, experts are betting, will enhance the appeal of battery technology beyond the relatively marginal audience now turning to the technology. So far, plug-ins and battery-electric vehicles are capturing barely a tenth of a percent of overall U.S. new vehicle sales.
But Anair said the UCS is betting that demand will also increase as new models roll out, giving consumers greater choice. Before the end of this year, a wide variety of makers will enter the market, including Toyota, with its RAV4-EV and Plius Plug-in; Ford with its C-Max plug-in and Focus Electric, and Honda, with its first battery-electric vehicle since the early 1990s, a version of the subcompact Fit.
Bull. Pure and simple.
Coal is a dirty fuel. Electricity for cars is generated primarily by coal or natural gas. Gasoline engines are about 90% percent efficient at converting potential energy in usable kinetic energy to roll.
Electricity is less than 40% efficient no matter WHERE it is used or generated. Thus, no matter where you go and what you do, plug in vehicles produce MORE CO2 emissions per mile drive than gasoline or diesel vehicles when you include the manufacturing costs and CO2 used to make and dispose of the batteries.
Finally, every single cost estimate for charging ev’s is predicated upon the LOWEST Kwh cost for electricity. I dare say that once you use 20kwh a day to charge an EV your power consumption will drive you into the 4th or 5th tier of power use – 5 days a week of charge, 4 weeks a month is 4.00 Megawatts just for the car. That puts me in Tier 5 here in SoCal which means is 40 cents a Kwh for power – or $16 a DAY to charge my car. $80 a week. I do not spend $80 a week in gasoline.
The numbers for estimating use and cost are simply wrong. The only place you can get cheap 12 cent per kwh flat rate consumer power is in Texas, the south and the midwest. That said – distances there preclude the use of EV’s because you cannot go roundtrip 20miles each way in summer with AC or winter with heat and be able to go that distance . . . . its been proven the mileage estimates are overstated by a factor of 2 in the real world.
Hi, Comanche,
While I might raise some questions about the UCS study’s conclusions if I were to do a commentary v straight news report, I’m not sure about some of your own numbers.
First, while the gasoline engine HAS become much more efficient, with something like 99% of *emissions* cleaned up by the tailpipe, the actually amount of the energy contained within a set amount of gasoline that reaches the wheels is closer to 25% to 30%, with a good diesel pushing that perhaps to 35% to 40% — if you are lucky. I need to validate your 40% number for electricity, so no immediate comment. But I can assure you, the numbers for the IC engine are frequently discussed and accurate. The typical engine loses about 2/3 to 3/4 of its energy through heat, ie out the radiator or tailpipe, through friction in the driveline, etc.
My own energy in Detroit is not far off the 12-cent figure…to start with. And, yes, you are right on the fact that most residential rate plans rise according to amount of consumption BUT a number of utilities provide alternative rate plans for electric vehicle users and more are planning to do the same. In my Detroit suburb, one can choose an interruptible rate plan that lowers the cost to the A/C unit substantially. That is also common. Charging overnight gets a massive discount by some utilities. I now have a number of friends who have purchased the Leaf, the Volt and the Mitsubishi i, and their numbers are (for a 100 miles of electricity) about 2-3, maybe 4 cents/mile real world. If you are lucky. a Prius might get you to 8 cents and even an Elantra is, in a combined cycle of use, around 12-14 cents/mile.
Now, I happen to strongly argue against assuming that if/when battery cars go mainstream most consumers will continue charging overnight. The initial usage data DOES show night charging dominates. But I think more and more people will not want to wait and will use chargers at work, stores, etc., even just to “top off.” That will prove significantly so — I argue — when we see high-speed 440-volt DC chargers. Oh, and those will likely not be free like most chargers today, so we might see a mark-up. How much? A penny or two a mile? A 20% premium? I don’t know.
Yes, “mileage estimates may vary,” much as they do for gasoline vehicles. Significantly, there is a large body of data showing the average American drives less than 30-40 miles a day (I believe its 70% of commuters less than 30, but I am working from memory here). So, for most Americans an EV, never mind a range-extender like Volt, will actually operate to satisfaction. What’s interesting is a recent nugget I garnered from earlier users: while most had anticipated their new battery car would serve as a second vehicle, maybe short commutes, maybe household errands, the majority have now made it the #1 vehicle because it DOES meet daily needs even with limited range. Key, most households do not purchase an EV or a range-extender as single home vehicle.
Now, the last few issues, range, charging patterns, usage issues, and such, are anything but set in stone by early adapters. Things could change significantly, as I suggested, if/when the tech goes mainstream.
Before you think I am simply issuing a rah-rah on battery power, I am not. I am a skeptical proponent, meaning I find it very interesting and promising, but there are so many potential pitfalls I can issue equally strong arguments against battery power — as a search of TheDetroitBureau.com’s long-term coverage might suggest.
Paul A. Eisenstein
Publisher, TheDetroitBureau.com