[cyclone]

I'm currently looking at purchasing a Bolt. My local dealers (long Island, NY) are starting to get cars in inventory. I've always been attracted to off-beat vehicles. I had a 1962 Beetle (the first model with an actual gas gauge). Then there was a 1974 Mazda RX-3 Wagon, Followed by a 1980 Olds Diesel station wagon. Next came a 2006 Prius (The best of the bunch). How can I not seriously consider the Bolt? By the way, all of these cars were purchased new.

My question is this: Current electric rates in my area are .195/Kwh. What should it cost to charge a Bolt using a 240 Volt charger? Let's assume that I've gone 200 miles before starting the charge cycle. The number that I came up with was ~$12.00.

I'm a newbie here - treat me gently.

 

[Cardyin]

The cost would actually depend on the range you are getting out of your car. I live in So Cal, and the weather has varied (but not as near as much as in NY).

During the colder times, I've averaged around 3.5 mi/kwh (the heater really sucked up a lot of juice) and currently with good weather (almost no climate control used), I'm averaging around 5.4 mi/kwh.

Using these two values, the cost for 200 miles would vary from $13 to $7 using $.195/kwh as the cost of electricity.

Hope this helps you.

 

[V7i7c]

Many utilities have special rates for off peak charging of electric cars with greatly reduced rates. Best check with your local provider of electrons!

 

[masters]

Check to see if your utility has a time of use charging. The car can be set up to only charge during those times. (After 11pm)

I calculate about .04 cents per mile with the Bolt.

Our minivan is about .15 cents per mile. (California gas prices)
My 09 diesel Jetta was about .08 cents per mile.

 

[EldRick]

And my BMW 1M was costing about $.21/mile on Premium gas.

 

[Efthrreoh]

I found a good source for calculating fuel cost regardless if it is gasoline or electricity is http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/charging.shtml. The EPA rates the Bolt as 28kWh per 100 miles. That works down to .28 miles per kWh. At $.195/kWh that works out to be $.0546 per mile (5.46 cents per mile). 200 miles x $.0546 = $10.92

As Cardyin stated, electrical consumption in EVs is more prone to variation based on the prevailing weather the vehicle is operated in and the level of interior comfort the driver wishes to maintain. And as was stated, off-peak electrical use is less than daily peak hour use.

 

[cyclone]

Thanks all, for the quick replies. If I compare the Bolt to my 2006 Prius which usually averaged 46 MPG, the numbers are almost identical (for New York). 200 miles would have cost $9.78 with gas at .249/gal. As far a fuel economy goes, the Prius wins.

 

[Raymondjram]

Use the numbers to calculate the cost per mile (or per kilometer if you prefer going Metric) to compare your true cost running on electricity instead of on gas. Then add the savings of not having to visit any gas station, no oil changes, and virtually no maintenence (except tires) for the next 100,000 miles! Even if gas was much cheaper, the TCO savings will actually pay off the cost of the EV versus starying with a gas engine vehcile.

Ditch the Prius and get a Chevy Bolt EV!

 

[TotaledJetta]

Check to see if your utility has a time of use charging. The car can be set up to only charge during those times. (After 11pm)

I calculate about .04 cents per mile with the Bolt.

Our minivan is about .15 cents per mile. (California gas prices)
My 09 diesel Jetta was about .08 cents per mile.

At off peak electrical rate in CAL my is running about 3.5 cent/mi, very similar to your number. Much cheaper than my old Jetta.

 

[cyclone]

Use the numbers to calculate the cost per mile (or per kilometer if you prefer going Metric) to compare your true cost running on electricity instead of on gas. Then add the savings of not having to visit any gas station, no oil changes, and virtually no maintenence (except tires) for the next 100,000 miles! Even if gas was much cheaper, the TCO savings will actually pay off the cost of the EV versus starying with a gas engine vehcile.

Ditch the Prius and get a Chevy Bolt EV!

I actually ditched the Prius 2 years ago - currently driving the "anti .Prius", a 2006 (same year) Audi A4 Cabriolet. Classy looking car - couldn't get more than 25 MPG rolling downhill with the engine off:laugh:

 

[masters]

At off peak electrical rate in CAL my is running about 3.5 cent/mi, very similar to your number. Much cheaper than my old Jetta.

I rounded up, I figured others would use more hvac or temperature variations. I run about 3.6 - 4Miles per kwh .

OFF PEAK ELECTRIC RATE
Winter Off-peak
0.12503 / 3.6 = .0347 (cents per mile)

VW Jetta Diesel @ $2.89 / 40 MPG = .072 cents per mile.

 

[David M O'Rourke]

California off-peak rate with Pacific Gas & Electric EV-A plan - http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_EV.pdf

off-peak winter is $0.12503
off-peak summer is $0.12225

driving 200 miles with a Bolt is about 50 kWh @ 4 miles per kWh

cost to charge in winter is therefore 55 kWh (10% loss for charging AC/DC conversion) - or 55 * $0.12503 = $6.88

$6.88 / 200 = $0.034/mile (winter rates)
$6.72 / 200 = $0.033/mile (summer rates)

200 miles @ 48 miles to the gallon = 4.16666 gallons (4.167)
4.167 gallons @ $2.93 gallon (AAA app @ 12:46 am 3/24/2017) = $12.21

$12.21 / 200 = $0.061 per mile

the Prius cost 2x to drive 200 miles.

@ $0.19 kwh = the Bolt costs $10.45 to charge and for 200 miles would cost $0.0527/mile in "fuel" costs - as gas cost rise the EV will do better, but basically at $0.20/kwh they are about equal - but I'd rather drive an EV than a Prius - the performance is sooooo much better with instant torque and no maintenance

 

[TotaledJetta]

In my case, I am getting about 4.5 mi per kWh and pay 12 cent/ kwH. That is $0.0267 per mile. At most I will drive 5000 miles this year or $133.00. That is considerable less that one month's cable bill (to entertain the better half) and is a ridiculously low cost. Of course after rebates I will still have spent something like $37 k just to purchase it. Still under $3.00 per hundred miles is something.

 

[theonlypheonix]

Don't forget you have head winds to figure into the equation. While my Cruze TD was in for a recall I had a loaner Bolt for about a week.
My drive was 60 mi each way to/from work. Living near the windy city we have plenty east/west wind up to 25 mph. On day i was driving into a 25 mph headwind I notice a calculated loss of 30 miles as compared to a day with little to no head wind. The Bolt is known for it higher drag as compare to other EV.

 

[discodanman45]

To fill your battery from empty it would be closer to 67 kWh because of the 10% plus loss of charging. I take that into consideration when I calculate the cost of driving. At $0.195 per kWh it would cost you $13 for 220 mile range. I think the 220 mile range is a fair average due to using the heater during the winter and highway mileage. So that is about $0.06 per mile. A prius at $3 a gallon in California would be about $0.07 per mile. A lot of us have special EV rates and it can even get better with solar panels. For my offpeak charging I am about $0.035 per mile, half the cost of a prius. However, I could never drive a Prius after having the torque and HP of an EV.

 

[barjohn]

"Thanks all, for the quick replies. If I compare the Bolt to my 2006 Prius which usually averaged 46 MPG, the numbers are almost identical (for New York). 200 miles would have cost $9.78 with gas at .249/gal. As far a fuel economy goes, the Prius wins."

You need to recalculate: 200 miles divided by 46 miles per gallon = 4.35 gallons gas @ $2.46/gallon times 4.35 gallons = $10.70 for 200 miles assuming you could buy regular gas for that price. Here in CA it is now running over $3/gal.

 

[jimmyspeed]

Reading this makes me happy that I live in Canada - Off peak electricity rates are ~0.08/kWh ( a couple cents more if you calculate in all the taxes and fees) and gas prices linger between $1.10 to 1.20/L. So not only is the car cheaper to charge here, the gas alternative is also much more expensive.

Edit: Actually its more than a couple cents extra for taxes and fees (it basically doubles if you take your entire bill and divide it by the number of kWh used). I'm not sure if that is how others are coming up with their actual cost. If they are, then my electric costs are higher here.

 

[David M O'Rourke]

Edit: Actually its more than a couple cents extra for taxes and fees (it basically doubles if you take your entire bill and divide it by the number of kWh used). I'm not sure if that is how others are coming up with their actual cost. If they are, then my electric costs are higher here.

this becomes even harder with TOU rates - but yeah you need to take your entire electric bill kWh and divide it by the entire amount paid…then you get a "real" average cost per-kWh…

for my posting I use the direct per-kWh rate - which ignores taxes/fees but I feel reflects predictable costs…

 

[redpoint5]

Actually its more than a couple cents extra for taxes and fees (it basically doubles if you take your entire bill and divide it by the number of kWh used). I'm not sure if that is how others are coming up with their actual cost. If they are, then my electric costs are higher here.

The proper way to calculate the incremental cost of EV ownership is to only consider the incremental cost of the electricity. That means adding up all of the taxes and fees levied against each delivered kWh, and ignoring all of the fixed fees that are not based on usage. Then you divide that number by the number of kWhs consumed.

In my case, the bill is very straight forward. I'm billed at $0.0816 / kWh, minus a credit of 0.00119 / kWh = 8.041 cents per kWh. I'm also charged $12 monthly just for having the connection to the grid, which is ignored since it is not an incremental cost, but a fixed sunk cost that I would have regardless of EV use.

At 8 cents per kWh divided by 4 miles per kWh, I'm looking at 2 cents per mile for electricity.

 

[jimmyspeed]

The proper way to calculate the incremental cost of EV ownership is to only consider the incremental cost of the electricity. That means adding up all of the taxes and fees levied against each delivered kWh, and ignoring all of the fixed fees that are not based on usage. Then you divide that number by the number of kWhs consumed.

In my case, the bill is very straight forward. I'm billed at $0.0816 / kWh, minus a credit of 0.00119 / kWh = 8.041 cents per kWh. I'm also charged $12 monthly just for having the connection to the grid, which is ignored since it is not an incremental cost, but a fixed sunk cost that I would have regardless of EV use.

At 8 cents per kWh divided by 4 miles per kWh, I'm looking at 2 cents per mile for electricity.

Based on this I'm at about 0.095/kWh but we also pay tax on that (which I suppose is relative to the usage ?) conclusion = Electric is much cheaper than gas.