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Cold Weather Tradeoff - EV Wins For Me!


Doc Rock
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Some info first:

 

My work commute is roughly 4.3 - 4.5 miles one-way (depending on where I park), all on city surface streets;

 

It typically takes me around 12 - 15 minutes one-way;

 

My Fusion is garaged at home, so on a cold day, I start with a battery that is slightly warmer (5-10 degrees F) than the ambient air temperature. Not garaged at work;

 

Fuel economy using the ICE really drops off below 40 degrees F since I have a relatively short commute (engine is still warming up during most of the commute);

 

I always charge at home using the OEM wall charger, and have a kWh meter connected between the charger plug and my 110V outlet. My charger efficiency hovers around 75%;

 

Using the fuel economy I would get using the ICE, I measure the eGallon Price when using EV.

 

My results:

 

Even though battery efficiency suffers in cold weather, it doesn't suffer as much as the MPG I get using the ICE. So, I don't even think about using the ICE for my commute in cold weather. During January and February, the ICE came on during my commute only twice - both times because I activated the defroster at a temp well-below freezing.

 

Based on my electric cost, charger efficiency and fuel economy I could have gotten using the ICE, I am averaging the equivalent of $1.50 per gallon using EV in cold weather. That's even better than in warmer months when EV gives me the equivalent of about $1.57 per gallon.

 

Since gas here in the Peoples' Republic of Pennsylvania is about $2.50 per gallon (thanks to the highest gas tax in the nation), I have yet to put a drop of Pennsylvania gas in my Energi. Plan to keep it that way.

 

Cheers!

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What are your electric rates? Mine is $0.09/kwh (with $0.06/kwh for everything above 750kwh) in the fall/winter/spring and $0.12/kwh in the summer. It's usually cost effective to use EV as much as possible anytime of the year for me, but I normally curtail in the summer mostly to prevent heat stress to the HVB.

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What are your electric rates? Mine is $0.09/kwh (with $0.06/kwh for everything above 750kwh) in the fall/winter/spring and $0.12/kwh in the summer. It's usually cost effective to use EV as much as possible anytime of the year for me, but I normally curtail in the summer mostly to prevent heat stress to the HVB.

 

My cost for each additional kWh is about 12 cents (that's generation plus transmission and distribution plus taxes). During the winter, I can go a mile on EV for about 4 cents. During the summer, it's about 3.5 cents.

 

I would love to get my electricity (generation plus transmission and distribution plus taxes) for 6 cents per kWh! I pay a flat 7.5 cents per kWh just for generation.

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My cost for each additional kWh is about 12 cents (that's generation plus transmission and distribution plus taxes). During the winter, I can go a mile on EV for about 4 cents. During the summer, it's about 3.5 cents.

 

I would love to get my electricity (generation plus transmission and distribution plus taxes) for 6 cents per kWh! I pay a flat 7.5 cents per kWh just for generation.

 

It pays to be in the midwest :) And yes, $0.06/kwh is for everything. It's not split out into generation and transmission here. I am literally paying $0.06/kwh total (including tax) for anything above 750 kwh and it's still only $0.09/kwh for anything less than 750 kwh.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Yes, the rates in the Midwest are nice.  In Peoria Illinois we have variable rates based on the time of day.  It changes daily based on demand but it's still damn cheap.  Here are today's rates (Date/Hour/Rate).

 

It seems like during the weekdays I've seen it as high as 0.059 but when I charge at night the average seems to be around 0.02 per KWH.

 

7/2/2017 1 0.0174

7/2/2017 2 0.01582

7/2/2017 3 0.01483

7/2/2017 4 0.01373

7/2/2017 5 0.01373

7/2/2017 6 0.01364

7/2/2017 7 0.01643

7/2/2017 8 0.0192

7/2/2017 9 0.02168

7/2/2017 10 0.02327

7/2/2017 11 0.02389

7/2/2017 12 0.02501

7/2/2017 13 0.02669

7/2/2017 14 0.02782

7/2/2017 15 0.03007

7/2/2017 16 0.03305

7/2/2017 17 0.0368

7/2/2017 18 0.03512

7/2/2017 19 0.03087

7/2/2017 20 0.02789

7/2/2017 21 0.0266

7/2/2017 22 0.02469

7/2/2017 23 0.02264

7/2/2017 24 0.02131 

Edited by muzicman61
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