By Ray Iannuzzelli
Editor’s note: Thanks to Ray for this comparo, and Happy New Year to all of you! – Jeff
I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a car guy. At the age of 16, my brother and already had three cars and performed a nearly successful engine rebuild on our 1957 Chevy convertible. During my adult life as a parent, engineer, runner, amateur cook, and car aficionado, I’ve had several GTOs, BMWs, and other non-performance cars. My two most recent BMWs are shown below.
2008 BMW 135i 2000 BMW Z3
However, my 2012 Volt is unique among all of them. Although not as peppy as the 135i that I traded in on my Volt, it is nearly as much fun to drive.
My recent fascination with electrics started a few years ago when I started a consulting gig for a battery supplier. Although not responsible for the design of vehicles, my job brought me close enough to get bitten by the electric car bug. I knew I had to have one. At this point I must give some credit to my dear wife of nearly 40 years. As an environmentalist of long-standing she convinced me back in 2004 that the new model Prius would be a wise investment. So, now on our second Prius (a 2010 model IV), we have some street credibility when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles.
2012 Volt and 2010 Prius IV (background)
So How Do They Compare?
When you read that I was an engineer you just knew there would be some tech talk. I promise it will be short and sweet. I have compared my Volt and Prius. I wanted to know which car to drive on a trip. If we are planning a 100 mile journey which car is most economical? How about a 200 mile journey or longer?
The graphs below make the decision easy. Figure 1 is a comparison of the Volt vs. Prius mileage based on the energy used. It shows the breakeven trip at around 125 miles, i.e. for trips less than 125 miles the Volt is the clear winner.
Figure 1 Volt vs. Prius Mileageenergy
Figure 2 shows a similar graph to figure 1 except the mileage is based on the cost of the energy.
Figure 2 Volt vs. Prius Mileage$
Figure 2 shows the breakeven mileage at around 85 miles, i.e. for trips greater than 85 miles the Prius is the winner.
The assumptions used to generate figures 1 & 2 are:
1) average EPA gasoline mileage
2) see figure 3 which is based on data from my volt between 11/18/11 and 12/25/11
3) average NH price between 11/18/11 and 12/25/11
4) based on recent PSNH electric bills
5) average Prius mileage between 11/18/11 and 12/25/11; below the yearly average of 50.1 mpg
6) data averaged from several Web sites
Figure 3 Volt Measured Electric Mileage
What I find interesting comparing figures 1 & 2 is the extreme volatility in the price of gasoline as compared to electricity. I would have expected a technical comparison to be much closer than is in fact the case.
Conclusions:
1. The criterion upon which a comparison can be made between the performance of the Volt and Prius is technically straightforward. If we use as a criterion the amount of energy consumed, the Volt shows a miles-driven breakeven of about 125 miles. Whereas, if we use the cost of the energy consumed, then the miles driven breakeven falls to about 85 miles. A clear implication here is that as gas prices rise relative to the electric rate, the $-breakeven will approach the energy-breakeven.
2. Of course the electric rate and gas price are both relative to the local market in which the comparison is made.
3. Also, the time-of-year and temperature are additional variables that will affect the comparisons.
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This entry was posted on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+4
Dec 30th, 2011 (6:13 am)Thanks for the informative article. Having driven a Volt on several occasions, it is an excellent example of engineering know-how. The full EV experience is not appreciated until experienced.
Any guesses on when this technology will become affordable to Joe Q Public? Based in-part on the cars previously and currently owned by the author, the initial price of the Volt appears to not have been the primary reason for the purchase. I hope one day to purchase an EV but if the upfront costs are significantly greater than a non EV car, I cannot benefit from the decreased running costs. This effectively shuts me out of the EV market.
The first volume manufacturer who can sell an EV with range extender option at $25-$35K without tax subsidies will own the market.
+7
Dec 30th, 2011 (7:52 am)Thanks for the article. Taking what you have done and applying it to my own situation is a bit of an eye opener. Two of my variables in the equation are far different from yours. My lifetime MPG when in CS mode is about 43 MPG or roughly a 20 percent increase in my personal mileage in the Volt. The second is that my electricity is below $.11 per kwh while yours is over 60 percent higher at $.18 per kwh. Needless to say (and as you pointed out in your article) my personal graphs and breakeven points would be significantly different.
But perhaps more to the point, if you leave aside the cost and efficiency issues, if you had to go on say a 300 mile trip would you actually choose the Prius over the Volt? I’ve only test driven a Prius (back in 2006) and it was perfectly acceptable and we almost bought it. However, after driving the Volt I no longer enjoy driving “acceptable” cars. 9 months into living with my Volt and I still thoroughly enjoy driving it and can imagine that the minor efficiency gains would cause me to want to be in a Prius for 6 hours when I could be in my Volt.
Is this how you view it or would you simply take pride in your better efficiency and hop in the Prius?
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:17 am)Great article Ray,
How do you get .252 kwh/mi
The EPA sticker is .36 kwh/mi
You are getting 30% better electric mileage??
Is your number at the wall??
Thx,
GSB
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:18 am)The average US driver is spending about $168 a month on gas and the average family is spending about $4100 a year on gas. With no brake adjustments, brake pad replacements, brake rotor resurfacing, oxygen sensor replacements and an average cost of about $40 a month for electricity, an EV may be more affordable than most people think. Even if the up front costs are higher.
Some use time of day metering, or a few LED lights here and there, and spend nothing extra on electricity after buying an EREV or BEV. Of course people in good solar areas pay nothing for fuel, and the price for solar has even come down nearly 70% in the last 36 months.
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:30 am)Ray,
Shouldn’t the units of the y axis on figure 2 be miles/$??
I guess you converted back to miles per gal using your cost of gas…..
+6
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:37 am)“2. Of course the electric rate and gas price are both relative to the local market in which the comparison is made.”
—————————
My market is heavily weighted towards the Volt. $3.50/gal for gas and only $0.08/KWh for electricirty.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:38 am)My big reply got eaten by the spam filter… (here gas is $3.00-3.30 and electric is $.177 with no TOU available – weighted towards a Prius or TDI)
Anyway – good review. Do consider an comparison in terms of “cost per mile” based on overall ownership costs as well. This compare does not take into account the purchase price or ongoing maintenance costs of either vehicle. If you put 100 miles on a Prius engine, that may be indeed getting it closer to its next scheduled maintenance work and that costs something too. 100 miles on a Volt is maybe 60 miles on its engine. Small things like that. And, whenever talking economies of scale of cars – everyone remember that buying a showroom-new car is always a more expensive proposition than a slightly used one of two years old. A 2005 Prius versus 2011 Prius (if bought at the same time), the 2005 wins every time on a “cost to own per mile” approach.
Some folks who are greenies who really want a Volt may indeed be waiting for the first round of off-lease Volts to appear because their green may also be “green” (conservation of dollars as well). For us in SE PA, it’s tough to make the dollars-only comparison. A full Volt charge in summer of 40 miles per charge is $2.37 electricity and about $3.49/gal premium. (in winter at 30/mpc it is almost a match) Or, $3.19/gal for say an econobox of 40mpg on regular gas. I hope we can eventually get those Smart meters and TOU rate plans to open up PA to more EV usage. Federal government gave our local utility tens of millions of money to help roll them out… We may need a Federal mandate to offer TOU rate plans to get the EV wave moving.
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:40 am)See figure #3.
+3
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:42 am)I agree. Each week I drive my 2011 Volt. I marvel at the engineering. GM actually did it. A first year electric car. Car of The Year no less. With the highest consumer satisfaction ratings in the GM line. Rated 5 stars safety. With stability control that has already saved my a&& in one freeway wheel jerk to daylight maneuver.
The question of which car being better to drive on a trip of 110 miles, 130 miles, or 140 miles. This should be worded, “If each drive train was built into the same body….which would be best”. Do you really want to drive a Prius over a Volt.. at all? Honestly?
NPNS
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:42 am)Is that factoring in charging losses? Using 10.4 kWh for full Volt or the actual paid-for kWh of about 13.0-13.5 kWh?
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:50 am)kdawg,
I saw figure 3. but these data are wayyy better than any I have seen. As I pointed out EPA number is .36 kwh/mi and Ray is only using .252kwh/mi
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:52 am)Your graph is similiar to the one GM put out.
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:52 am)Ray must be back calculating kwh/mi from miles driven in electric mode as opposed to measuring it at the wall.
Dec 30th, 2011 (8:55 am)Ah, so your question is how is he driving his car differently to get those #’s. Maybe the EPA’s way of measuring is flawed or padded (did they include the cost to get the electricity to the plug or the inefficiency of the charger)? What are some of the other Onstar data reports for kwh/mile?
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:16 am)EPA numbers are at the wall they include the charger losses.
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:30 am)Im wondering if the OnStar data does not. Maybe the car just calculates what it uses from the battery.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:34 am)Note, higher gas prices, either caused by Iran/whoever or by increased taxes, would accomplish the same thing.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:37 am)Nice article, though as an engineer.. error bars on the graphs, or multi-curves with slightly different parms would be nice
While I do beat the EPA measures (I’m getting 38-40 m per charge now and high 40′s/low 50s in better weather, with the last two months being .33kwh/mi at the wall). I do highway driving a lot, but .252kwh/mi is fantastic, implying he’s getting 53.4m per charge. That would be very impressive this time of year.
+6
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:38 am)You need to include a “fun meter”. Looks like it is nearly pegged with the volt and far ahead of the prius. Suggest you compare fun meter readings versus a BMW, Audi, Corvette etc as part of the analysis
+12
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:41 am)I love the part of the one graph that says, “Son discovered sport mode”. LOL! My kids asked me about the “S” next to the shift lever in my Honda Insight. I told them the “S” stands for slow.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:44 am)Thank you for the article.
I see you use EPA numbers for the Volt and real world data for your prius. It would probably be more reliable to use the same type of info for each car, have you not had the Volt long enough to gather real world data?
I agree with posters above that its not a purely economic decision, driving the more enjoyable car (Volt) has value in itself.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:50 am)Would be nice if there was a spreadsheet where you could plug in your own electricity costs, gas costs, personal mpg rates, etc. and see what the breakeven points are in each individual case
+3
Dec 30th, 2011 (9:51 am)Every day it becomes more apparent to me how important ubiquitous charging is for EREVs. Yesterday is a perfect example. If I could have charged at work, on a university campus, near a Barnes and Noble, and in the downtown area where we had dinner, I could probably have reduced my gas consumption in half on a 115 mile day (12 miles RT to work, 90 mile RT to a nearby town, plus some around-the-town driving).
Dec 30th, 2011 (10:22 am)You could try this site: http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/hybrid_calculator/
Its pretty generic and doesnt let you put in too many variables.
+9
Dec 30th, 2011 (11:10 am)Hello everyone!!
I live in Quebec, Canada. Here, gas is at 4.78$ per gallon and electricity is at 7.7 cents per Kwh.
I am wondering if I would be nearing the 125 miles energy breakeven point?
Moreover, electricity here is 98% green (Hydro and wind).
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
PS: Temperature was at -5.8 degrees F this morning and I got only 36 KM on a full charge (22 miles) !!
Dec 30th, 2011 (11:42 am)Not sure whether the graph or your story is funnier. They’re both hilarious.
No kidding.
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (11:51 am)Great article. Since the majority of drivers average less than 40 miles per day, the Volt is designed to cost less to operate. Charge at work and the savings are even greater. Happy New Year!
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:03 pm)The funny thing is his son got BETTER MPGe in Sport mode. If you notice, the energy consumption WENT DOWN
+12
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:14 pm)#21
No s__t! +1
Somebody nailed it here the other day saying that, if the bottom line of cost was the only reason to buy a car, everybody in the country would be driving a Kia Rondo, or whatever their bottom feeder model is. Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Audi et al would have been out of business a long time ago.
We’ve only had this discussion about 1000 times
+9
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:15 pm)I’ve made a 100 mile (one-way) trip in a 2005 Prius and a 2012 Volt, and I say the energy costs are not the story here. My body told me which one was better: the Volt. I had aches and pains in the Prius, but not in the Volt.
+5
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:15 pm)Where’s the chart which shows passenger anxiety and comfort level (PACL) vs. total miles driven?
I’d imagine those results added to the mix could cause the curves for each car to never intersect….
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:27 pm)Love the analysis! Two comments from my perspective as a Prius II owner:
1. Average mpg on the Prius is optimistic for its economy on a long drive. With its best economy typically happening in the city, it will yield below its average on a long trip. My lifetime average was 46mpg, but I got 38-40 mpg on all highway trips and around 50-52 mpg around town. Obviously highway speed and other driving conditions may keep the Volt from attaining its EPA rating, too. But based on this breakout of Prius average vs. use numbers, the gas-only mpg on the Volt and the highway-only Prius are much closer to even. The Prius will take a long time to make up the Volt’s electric only miles with just a 1-3 mpg spread (compared to 8 in the analysis).
2. The cost of electricity varies greatly from region to region. I live in TVA country and kh/hr is more like 7¢/kWhr. So the total cost of ownership skews greatly in the Volt’s favor.
Thanks again for the analysis! If everyone were so careful in choosing the right tool for the job (if they drive mostly city or highway), we’d probably see a lot different mix of cars on the road today. Perhaps we’d see some more high-mileage champs like the Cruze ECO and VW Jetta TDI for the long-distance runners out there.
Has anyone done this sort of analysis with the new plug-in Prius? It supposedly gets 15 miles on a charge before going into its original EV/gas power management mix.
+3
Dec 30th, 2011 (12:51 pm)George S. Bower,
i’m getting much higher than the EPA rating (0.238 kWh/mile) as I don’t drive with a lead foot, I don’t accelerate fast, break hard, or anything else that harms efficiency – I’m not hypermiling, I’m just not in a rush like everyone else. I get about 44mpc with no problems; only recently has that dropped due to the weather getting near freezing.
I’d like to see these graphs be interactive, where the user can change the values according to their local rates. In Atlanta GA, my electric rate is <$0.10 a kWh, while premium gasoline is closer to $3.80!
Dec 30th, 2011 (1:16 pm)OT:
Is this the last post of 2011? Any type of “year in review” type of post, or did Lyle already cover that the other week?
+5
Dec 30th, 2011 (1:20 pm)Last year at this time when the VOLTs were first arriving in showrooms, many of you here helped me develop this chart to explain to customers what the “MPG’s” are for a VOLT. I had this blown up and I have it on an easle in the showroom for presentations to this day… Thanks guys!
Back then, the EPA was giving out a preliminary figure of only 36 MPG in Ext Range Mode. Now it’s 37, but as we all know the real-world number is 40. So the numbers on this chart are low now.
+3
Dec 30th, 2011 (1:21 pm)CoretteGuy – isn’t it funny how all the detractors of the Volt (typically Prius-advocates) use excuses that tend to fall in the bottom 2% of that chart but most drivers fall into the top 70%?
Volts should be flying off the showrooms there. Great place for the EREV (or long-range EV) with electricity that low. I know that back in my hometown near the Niagara power project, electricity is more like $.13 there due to taxes and other things on the US-side. It should be dirt cheap there because of the 2.4 GW hydro plant.
+5
Dec 30th, 2011 (1:53 pm)Bonaire,
Yes you’re right …Volt’s are flying off … only 500 was available in the entire Canada in 2011. I’ve been told by my dealer that there won’t be more available until March-April 2012 !!
And gas just got over 5$ a gallon today !!
Sly
+3
Dec 30th, 2011 (1:55 pm)The first graph shows terminal gas mileage for the Volt in your hands is about 40 mpg. Your Prius gets 45 mpg. Is the Volt more comfortable and/or fun to drive that you might sacrifice the extra 5 mpg and take the Volt on a 126 mile trip?
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (2:17 pm)126miles – 40 EV miles = 86 gas miles
(86miles/40mpg) – (86miles/45mpg) = .24 gallons
.24 gallons x $3.50/gallon = 84 cents
However for the first 40 miles the Volt used $1 of electricity where the Prius used 0.89 gallons of gas, or about $3.
So on a 126 mile trip, for about $1 less, you get to ride in a much nicer car. I cant speak for Ray, but yes, I would “sacrifice” the 5mpg and pocket the $1.
+13
Dec 30th, 2011 (3:10 pm)Even a llama knows…
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (4:46 pm)I’ve been tracking the electric usage of my Volt at the wall and have also done better than the EPA rating. My usage averages out to 0.280 kWh/mile since April of this year over 7000 electric miles.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (4:57 pm)I ran your numbers on a spreadsheet. You show 3.64 miles per kwh (very good) at a cost of .18 ( this is much higher than the average) which results in a cost per mile of .0495 on electric based on 37.5 miles on a full charge.
You show 37 miles per gallon based on $3.20 per gallon (premium is much higher in many areas).
This results in a cost of .0865 per mile for the Volt and at 45 mpg .0711 per mile for the Prius.
The Cross over point is now 91 miles based on cost.
If I used the Countrywise average numbers for the cost of electric and gas, the crossover point would be more like 125 miles.
Of couse this does not factor in engine maintenance cost, or the fact that we can generate our own solar electricity at a much lower cost than .18 cents with zero pollution and with no money sent to foreign Countries that despise our way of life. In our case, we have driven our Volt for almost 8,000 miles and not used an gas yet except for the 2 minutes it runs avery 6 weeks for “engine maintenance”.
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (5:01 pm)No kidding! Hey, I get it–it’s fun for some people to compare stats. But every engineering post frames the discussion in those narrow terms. Then a couple of us have to put it into perspective: the buying decision is HEAVILY tilted towards emotional factors. With our current technologies, no clean stats there, though: “Wow! The new owners’ dopamine pumpage rate was 1.67x greater for the Volt in the 1st month as compared to competitor vehicle X, and 1.53x in those who were in contact with such owner within 5 minutes of such owner having driven a Volt…”
+2
Dec 30th, 2011 (5:02 pm)Thanks again for the Daily Llama.
+8
Dec 30th, 2011 (5:31 pm)Dave K.,
How about 3 Volts at the same time? (can’t take credit for this. Someone named Jim Barber posted this on the Volt Stats FB page)
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (6:34 pm)Looking forward to these comparisons being GM vs Ford, instead of Volt vs Prius
+7
Dec 30th, 2011 (7:48 pm)#43
Amen. +1
I an sort of at the lower end of the demographic in my little corner of the world which is heavily populated with the aforementioned Benz, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Lexus, et al drivers. All I can say is, that when I sit at a stoplight surrounded by same, I ( please forgive the smugness, LOL) feel like I am getting a way better value in terms of fashion statement, “greenness”, protecting US jobs and businesses, getting off foreign oil, pushing back at the trade imbalance, and superior engineering than they are. I smile every time.
+1
Dec 30th, 2011 (11:13 pm)I’d like to see a lighter nextgen Volt (more aluminum and plastic), higher CS mpg, more robust traction motor (no need for planetary gears) – simple serial hybrid traction motor + small genset. More use of the huge battery for smoothing out power demand surges. A little less ‘equivalent hp’, less “fun to drive” that Bob Lutz thought was so important, a cheaper, higher mpg Chevy.
Under $30,000 (tail end of the tax credits), over 42 mpg.
2013, 2014 time frame.
Economies of scale (on multiple parts) and li-ion battery improvements should make this possible.
Nextgen Volt or nextgen Prius ? Should be a no-brainer.
+3
Dec 31st, 2011 (12:02 am)Amen back at ya brother. And Happy New Year!
Dec 31st, 2011 (12:21 am)Sylvain,
Nice to see the first year experiment of widely available EVs and EREVs spreading north.
I apologize for injecting a note of seriousness here, but I’m curious. How far do you drive daily; and between charges? Did you replace a guzzler or an efficient car, and how did the weather affect that mileage?
Looks like 22 miles is the low range point, in comparing your AER with your more southern located Volt driving counterparts.
+1
Dec 31st, 2011 (12:46 am)Truman,
I’d rather them make the power available if you want to use it, or stay in Econ mode if that’s your thing.
Oh, and I want a sunroof
I haven’t heard any talk of that yet.
Hopefully they ditch the black paint on top. That extra paint-step for non-black Volts has to add some cost and I think the tops would look better as the same color as the rest of the car anyway. (Yeah, i know they were trying to mimic the concept car, but its been long enough, people have forgot what it looks like anyway.) It will be interesting when they do, do a revamp. I’m sure the overal shape can’t change too much due to aerodynamics, but a lot of other things can change, and I want to see what the designers (Bob Bonifice & his team) come up with when their hands are not tied.
+3
Dec 31st, 2011 (7:12 am)That’s pretty good. Here is a photo of my shadow. With Volt #555 parked behind my condo. And another red Volt behind my neighbors condo. Mine has stock wheels. The other has chrome.
No Plug, No Sale!
+2
Dec 31st, 2011 (7:51 am)Noel Park,
“I an sort of at the lower end of the demographic in my little corner of the world which is heavily populated with the aforementioned Benz, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Lexus, et al drivers. All I can say is, that when I sit at a stoplight surrounded by same, I ( please forgive the smugness, LOL) feel like I am getting a way better value in terms of fashion statement, “greenness”, protecting US jobs and businesses, getting off foreign oil, pushing back at the trade imbalance, and superior engineering than they are. I smile every time.”
My feelings exactly. I also enjoy a smoother ride than even V12s (until the 4-cyl fires up – LOL). V12 (and V8) owners have my deepest sympathy for their plight, as I feel quite superior! Also, the Volt is the most fun to drive in actual traffic of any car I have owned.
Now I understand why people thought early Prius adopters were smug. Like me, they couldn’t help it.
GSP
+1
Dec 31st, 2011 (3:43 pm)great article Ray……don’t you wish you had kept the ’57 chevy convertible ?
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family & all the fans and contributers of gm-volt.com !!!
-17
Dec 31st, 2011 (4:54 pm)(click to show comment)
+6
Dec 31st, 2011 (5:03 pm)Net after the tax credit: $24,500? Awesome for buyers!!
+4
Jan 1st, 2012 (8:17 am)Good comparison. I will say that for my usage the Prius would be more efficient for about 20 days of the year. But for the other 345 days my VOLT wins easily. So I would rather save more energy 345 days a year and have a blast doing it (VOLT is so much fun to drive)! Happy New Year to all!
+3
Jan 1st, 2012 (9:50 am)One of the responses to my article claims that GM dealers are disappointed with the Volt. I have limited data to dispute this but I can add my observations from nearly 1500 miles of driving my Volt:
1) the Volt is fun to drive ; it offers a new driving experinece that engages the driver like none other I have experienced.
2) the Volt is expensive and will have to come down in cost to gain wider acceptance. I believe this will happen. However, it is still less expensive than some of my recent German imports.
3) The reaction of family and friends to my Volt is universally positive. Lots of questions, comments about its good looks, and thumbs-up that it is made in America.
4) Just wish it had a longer EV range
I recently saw a documentary called: “Revenge of the Electric Car” which documents the development (lots of behind the scenes footage) of Volt, Leaf, and Tesla. I highly recommend it. I hope GM sticks with the Volt.
+4
Jan 1st, 2012 (10:05 am)Dealer name please? I don’t see any “offers” below MSRP on cars.com from dealers near Dover NJ. You may sell a Volt below MSRP but offers? I doubt it. Dealers do that – deal. Start with MSRP and barter down.
Sell me a Volt well below MSRP at the numbers you state and I’ll actually deal with your dad. I’m in PA and do have a Volt on my plans for this quarter.
Jan 1st, 2012 (11:22 am)OT scientific breakthru eventually having potentially-important automotive applications:
The California Institute of Technology, HRL Laboratories and the University of California-Irvine have combined to develop a micro-lattice material that is said to be 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and strong like steel. The research was supported by DARPA. We’d call this material paper-thin, but the truth is even more impressive: the material is comprised of tiny woven tubes that are 1,000 times thinner than a human hair & could conceivably both increase car safety & improve fuel efficiency*…
*Video & further details at: http://www.green.autoblog.com/2012/01/01/auto-applications-sought-for-new-advanced-metal-thats-100x-ligh/
Jan 1st, 2012 (11:33 am)The .275 kW/mile number for Volt is too optimistic compare to the EPA number by 30%
while the 45mpg number for Prius is too pessimistic compare to EPA number by 10%.
why did you use EPA number for Chevy Volt, but use a lower personal number for Prius?
The plots and analysis were good, but I wish it was compared more fairly.
-11
Jan 1st, 2012 (12:14 pm)(click to show comment)
Jan 1st, 2012 (2:56 pm)yoyo,
As stated in my article, I used measured data, wherever possible. However, I have very little gasoline mileage for my Volt, so I am forced to rely on EPA data. As I gain more data with my Volt I will update the constants that I use in my spreadsheet. Also, please note that my data is from Nov 18 to Dec 25. I’m sure the constants will change throughout the year.
+1
Jan 1st, 2012 (3:39 pm)Happy countdown to the apocalypse, everybody!!!
…
Jan 1st, 2012 (3:45 pm)Ray – did you ever answer on the one open question of how many kWh you calculate for your recharging – is it off the wall or is it what Volt says? Difference would swing your kWh/mile computation up more towards EPA #s. It’s best to use off the wall kWh of something like 13.3kWh/full recharge.
Jan 1st, 2012 (4:47 pm)Bonaire,
I have a 240 volt charger but it does not report energy as far as I can see. So I am using the Kw-hr reported by the Volt which is usually 10.4 kw-h for a full charge. The My Volt website also does not appear to report energy just estimated range. I would appreciate any heads-up on a better way to get these numbers.
+1
Jan 1st, 2012 (8:09 pm)Some members here have TED 5000 energy monitoring units on their breaker panels and have determined that a 220V charge is roughly 12.4 kWh overall. There is one way you can do a single-time test. I sent a Kill-a-Watt to Brandon here on the forum. I want him to forward it to anyone who is interested – and you can borrow it for a while, if you wish. You plug in the 120V charger through it and do a full charge. You should see roughly a 13.0 to 13.3 kWh for a full charge cycle. 220V charging uses a little less due to higher volt efficiencies.
Or just use a number such as 12.4 or 12.5 as your full charge amount and go with it. Enough guys here have done tests and found that we see about 20-25% charging loss based on the input kWh.
With that – you will find your kWh per mile is more in line with the EPA number. I would use the “what I paid for” kWh amount rather than the “stored energy” reported by the Volt as that is actually the true energy used as fuel (the amount pulled off the grid).
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Jan 2nd, 2012 (11:15 pm)Send the Volts in Canada, we’ll buy them all.