Sunday, March 10, 2013

Hybrid and Electric Cars -- Are they worth it?

Updated(2020):
Since the introduction of Hybrid cars in the US market with the Honda Insight in 1999 and release of plug-in electric car GM Impact EV1 in 1996, I have long considered the benefits of owning one.   The promise and perception of high MPG and helping the environment has been extolled for years since.  Does this really add up to being beneficial to owning one?

Fuel Savings (aka Save me money):

In order to understand the fuel savings we need to factor both the initial and recurring costs of operating the car.   Lets model out two choices available on the market today for my 50 mile daily commute:

  • Chevy Volt
    • MSRP: $39,995
    • Recurring:
      • Cost per day: 
      • Cost per year:
        • $3 * 5days * 52 weeks = $780.00
  • Hyundai Veloster
    • MSRP: $17,999
    • Recurring:
      • Cost per day:
        • 50 gas miles = $3.70 @ 31 Mpg = $5.96
      • Cost per year
        • $5.96 * 5 days * 52 weeks = $1550
  • DIFFERENCE
    • MSRP: $22,000
    • Recurring: $770/year
Obviously the plug-in EV gets better recurring costs, but factor in the initial price difference of $22,000 and I would need to drive the Chevy Volt for over 28 years to start saving money!

Environmental Impact:

According to EIA.gov , Georgia electricity comes from 30% coal fired (1001g/KwH), 34% natural gas (443g/KwH), and 31% Nuclear (66g/KwH) plants, so lets look at the environmental impact for both of the cars listed above:



    For a yearly commute, amount of CO2 produced
    • Leaf (EV) - 1,908 Kg
    • Volt (Hybrid) - 3,068 Kg 
    • Veloster (Gas) - 7,277 Kg 

     Summary


    • I am publishing this out to the internet in order to get feedback to help catch any errors in my logic and will happily adjust anything that is brought up.  




    Interesting Reading:



    1 comment:

    1. I think "Kw/h" should be "Kw*h" in both places (not that it changes the math)

      ReplyDelete