Mileage report

We now have about 1500 miles on the Volt—after two weeks! Of course about 1200 of those miles were from our trip to San Diego the first week, which used mostly gasoline out on I-5, getting 37 miles per gallon. Since we returned to Oakland, we have driven 311 miles, including trips to San Francisco, Hercules (about 50 miles round trip), and Santa Rosa (about 150 miles round trip). The Santa Rosa trip was mostly gasoline. So for the whole week we used 3.6 gallons of gas and averaged 84.8 miles per gallon. Not bad, but we're hoping to use zero gasoline for most weeks—the trip to Santa Rosa was not in our normal routine.

Updated fact sheet--new numbers

Chevy Volt Fact Sheet

January, 2011

What is different about the Chevy Volt?

               The car runs on electricity for the first 40 miles or so, and then uses a gasoline generator to go up to 300 miles.  You can refill the gas tank just like an ordinary car.

How much does it cost to run?

               The car goes about 4 miles per kilowatt hour (kwh).  PG&E has a special nighttime rate for charging electric cars overnight--about 4 cents per kwh.  Dividing 4 cents per kwh by 4 miles per kwh means that the Volt costs about 1 cent per mile!  After running on batteries for the first 40 miles, the gas generator/engine takes over and the car then gets about 35 miles per gallon.  It takes about 10 hours for a full charge using standard 110 volt house current.

How does that cost compare to most cars?

               Average mileage in the U.S. is about 20 miles per gallon.  At $3.20 per gallon, that comes to 16 cents per mile.  So, the Volt saves about 15 cents per mile.  If you drive 1,000 miles per month on the electric motor, that is a savings of about $1,800 per year.

What about the cost of the car?

               The retail price of the Volt is $41,000.  There is a $7,500 tax credit so the net price is $33,500.  Assuming that a comparable gasoline engine car would cost about $15,000 less than that, the annual savings of $1,800 is like loaning someone $15,000 and getting paid back with 9% interest—not bad!  And the price of gas is going up, so the rate of return will keep getting better.

Should I buy a plug-in hybrid like the Volt or an all-electric car?

               This depends.  If you only have one car, and you want to be able to travel long distances, the Volt or plug-in hybrid makes sense.  If you have two cars, then it would probably be cheaper to make one an all-electric to use around town, and the other a plug-in hybrid for long trips.  Also, if your daily commute is more than 40 miles, you may be better off with an all-electric like the Nissan Leaf, which goes 100 miles on a charge.

What about combining the Volt with solar panels?

               Solar panels and electric cars go together very well.  PG&E pays 28 cents per kwh for peak summer electricity.  Since the solar power on our house costs 19 cents per kwh, combining the revenue from the peak rates and the savings from the overnight car charging rates brings the total cost of electricity down to less than 12 cents per kwh—the same as PG&E’s lowest residential rate.  

What are the other advantages of electric cars/solar panels?

               There are many advantages besides saving money—no oil imports, no oil spills, no carbon dioxide, no air pollution, no pipelines through the Alaska wilderness, lots of local jobs.

For more information check out www.calcars.org and www.pluginamerica.org

PG&E rates for Electric Cars

Today there was a misleading article in the Oakland Tribune headlined "Power rates might make electric cars costly choice".  The article is not aware of PG&E's electric vehicle rates--E9A and E9B.  The E9A rate is the one we are using--it is a time of day rate that reimburses our solar power at 28 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) in the peak hours of the summer (2 - 9 PM) and only charges 3.5 cents per kwh in the off-peak (midnight - 7 AM).    Since the car goes about 3.2 miles per kwh that is about 1 cent per mile!!  Also, the peak rate is more than the cost of the solar power--19 cents/kwh so it helps to bring down the cost of the solar power.  I calculate that my total cost for solar electricity will be about 12 cents/kwh.  Below is the exact rate schedule for both summer and winter for Oakland.  Note that there is no peak rate in the winter.

Summer rate schedule:

Rate Structure	Baseline	130%            Baseline	200%          Baseline	300%            Baseline
Territory T	249.0	323.7	498.0	747.0
Peak ($/kwh)	0.28741	0.30470	0.44575	0.55420
Partial Peak	0.09406	0.11135	0.25240	0.36207
Off Peak	0.03565	0.05294	0.13998	0.18172

Winter rate schedule:

Rate Structure	Baseline	130% Baseline	200% Baseline	300% Baseline
Territory T	294.0	382.2	588.0	882.0
Partial Peak	0.09394	0.11123	0.25227	0.36194
Off-Peak	0.04457	0.06186	0.13998	0.18172

parting shot from San Diego

People in San Diego are so excited about electric cars that they even are painting graffiti on their fences to urge people to get EV chargers!  :-)

Some lessons from San Diego

While visiting here in San Diego, I notice that we are driving a lot more than we do in Oakland.  Yesterday we drove over 100 miles visiting people and running errands.  So the car was running mostly on gas.  Of course with the Volt that is very convenient since you don't really notice the switchover from electric to gas.  However, if we drove that much every day, the real advantage of the Volt--running on electricity--would be lost.  This was the point of the Consumer Reports review of the Volt--if you drive over 80 miles a day, the fuel economy is much less than if you can keep under 40 miles a day.  So given how sprawling San Diego is, I'm wondering if the Volt is the best answer here.  On the other hand, in small towns and smaller cities the size of my home town--Peoria, IL pop. about 120,000--and in compact cities like Oakland/Berkeley/San Francisco, and for people who don't need to drive too much, I think the Volt should work very well--I'll let you know how it works for us!

One other lesson--don't forget to plug in every night! 

Trekking On

My heat has been installed for some time and it functions! It does defrost the EV, but really doesn't do much more than that. My voltage just isn't high enough at 96 volts to heat the EV up, but I get by. I have to drive the EV everyday just to keep the batteries nice and toasty around 80F, but I go places each day and it isn't a problem.

Over the past 8 months of EV driving I have made quite a few notes for my next build. I have noticed that past 50% DoD the performance is just awful on lead acid batteries. My automatic transmission is a real power hog. I estimate that I get 10% less power and range than a Civic using a manual transmission and in the cold upwards of 25% less power and range just due to the automatic transmission. My batteries stay nice and toasty in their boxes, but the transmission fluid gets real thick in the freezing weather. My 96 volt systems works fine for most things on my commute, but I really need at least 120 volts to keep up with traffic on the last hill home and to run the heater to do more than just defrost the windshield. But overall I am very happy with my EV, and in the next week or so I will be going to get is inspected for the year.

Now I am planning to do another EV, this time a Generation 7 Civic (2001-2005 model years). I am going to reuse almost all my parts, but this time go for a manual transmission and a 156 to 160 volt system using lithium batteries. I am looking for a 60 mile back road range and about 40 miles highway, and I am hoping to start doing research into charging stations. I am hoping to build this EV in the next year or so when I get the funds, and after my lead acid pack dies out in my Civic now. I am expecting at least another 6,000 miles out of it so I have plenty of time to plan this EV. I do own a 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe that I find extremely comfortable and peppy, and my new EV will be designed to maintain the same pep, but I want to try and get a Civic EX coupe for my next EV.

xO sportscars. South Africa

I am glad to introduce the company and products of one of our AADA members, namely Mr Abdul Gakiem Fakier.

The companies name is xO sportscars.
The offices are located in South Africa.

Imagine driving to the race track on the perfect day in a low slung sports car and the engine roaring as you start your journey. As you get to the race track you either race straight away or you do some quick adjustments. The flags drop, lights green, and the engine screams as you launch full thrust! Acceleration and handling come together as though they are one.

We manufacture a range of products and custom fabrications to suite our clients needs.
Current production models are the xO500 and xO400.

Model specifications.

xO500

Weight: 500kg+
Engine: VW or Audi engines
Gearbox: 5/6 Speed Manual
Front Brakes: 2 Pot
Rear Brakes: 1 Pot
Suspension: Rosejointed Double Wishbones
Body armour: GRP Panels


xO400

Weight: 400kg+
Engine: Busa and other engines
Gearbox: 5/6 Speed Sequential
Front Brakes: 2 Pot
Rear Brakes: 1 Pot
Suspension: Rosejointed Double Wishbones
Body armour: GRP Panels

A wonderful job indeed.

Response to questions about buying gas

Rose Ibanez ‎...so main question - did you have to buy any gas? ....sounds like a cool deal and environmentally correct!

Vince Calcagno pardon my ignorance....do you have to plug in along the way...or does it make it to SD on one charge.....I am so interested in this!

Imelda Lucero-Mendoza hehehe...funny coincidence, Vince! I was gonna ask the same thing. pardon my ignorance as well... I was wondering how long will it run in one charging. What happens when you are in the middle of the hi-way and it runs out of charge? Just being curious :)

Yes, this is the main question that comes up.  Sam wondered if I had an extension cord that ran all the way back to Oakland!  So the answer is that the Volt can operate just like an ordinary car once the batteries run down to about 20% charge.  At that point the gas engine starts to run a generator that keeps the batteries charged so the electric motor keeps running.  It's not the same as a Prius hybrid motor that has both an electric motor and a gasoline motor that power the car.  The Volt is an "extended range hybrid" where the gasoline motor acts to extend the range of the batteries, but the car is always being powered by the electric motor.

drive to San Diego

I had a blast on Wednesday 1/12/11 driving down I-5 to San Diego.  The car handles great and I just set the cruise control to 72 and played with the stereo--

• KFCF in Fresno,
• KPFK for the Presidents speech from Tuscon in LA,
• all of Ayda's iPod music plugged in on a USB connection,
• all of my recent chorus rehearsals on my digital recorder plugged in through a line-in cord,
• the XM Sirius radio stations with jazz, pop, and lots of music,
• CDs of Pacifica archives of the civil rights movement--James Baldwin, Ozzie Davis, John Lewis, ML King, Stokely Carmichael, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others

I had nothing but fun enjoying the ride.  Got some curious looks and at least one big thumbs up from a fellow traveler.  The Highway Patrol guy with the radar gun also gave me a long look.

After the first 35 miles on the batteries, the car's gas generator starts running and keeps the batteries charged up.  That happens seamlessly and you can't tell the difference as a driver.  The car got about 37 miles per gallon on gas, which is about what I had been led to expect.  I filled up around Buttonwillow, which is half way to San Diego, and is where we usually stop to get gas for our Honda when we drive to San Diego.

I plugged in at my mother-in-law's house in San Diego, and it took about 10 hours to re-charge.  This is a bit longer than I had anticipated, and leads me to consider getting the 220 volt charger when we get back home.  This is so I can be sure to charge the car between midnight and 7 AM to take advantage of the lowest electric rates.  My understanding is that the off-peak rate is about 4 cents per kilowatt hour compared to about 10 cents for the partial peak.  So if I run three hours five times a week on partial peak, that is about 1200 watts x 3 hours x 5 days/week x 6 cents x 52 weeks = $56 per year.  That expense would justify spending at least $500 to hook up a 220 volt charger.  So I'll look into the cost of that and see if it is worth it.

Trying out the new car

Got the Chevy Volt today--whew--that was a lot of money!  Hope it's worth it!

The car is very easy to drive, so that is really nice.  The dashboard looks really cool, but I have a lot to learn.  The radio works and I can listen to KPFA, so that's good.  Also, I can plug my digital recorder in and play the songs we just rehearsed at La Pena Community Chorus, so I'm very happy about that.

I just got back from chorus rehearsal, and plugged in the car since I had used all the battery in driving it from San Leandro to Berkeley and back.  I was surprised to see it say that the battery would be fully charged at 9:30 AM tomorrow--I thought it was supposed to charge in about 8 hours.  This is more like 11 hours, so that is a problem to be examined.

Tomorrow I'll drive it to San Diego, so I'll have a good chance to get a feel for the car.

Getting a Chevy Volt Tomorrow (1-11-11)!

This blog is about solar power and electric cars.  I installed a solar power system on the roof in December and am waiting for PG&E to install a new meter.   We now have an outlet in the driveway to plug the car into, and our new Chevy Volt is ready to be picked up tomorrow!  I would like to share this experience--costs, lessons, tips, and ways to do it better--with anyone interested in buying an electric car and powering it with rooftop solar panels.  Here is a fact sheet about my current thinking.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and give me feedback.

Chevy Volt Fact Sheet

January, 2011

What is different about the Chevy Volt?

               The car runs on electricity for the first 40 miles or so, and then uses a gasoline generator to go up to 300 miles.  You can refill the gas tank just like an ordinary car.

How much does it cost to run?

               The car goes about 4 miles per kilowatt hour (kwh).  Electricity costs about 12 cents per kwh.  Dividing 12 cents per kwh by 4 miles per kwh means that the Volt costs about 3 cents per mile.  After running on batteries for the first 40 miles, the gas generator/engine takes over and the car then gets about 30 miles per gallon.   The 12 cents per kwh electricity cost is based on the average cost of electricity from the solar panels on my roof and assuming that I charge the car at the special nighttime utility rate.  Note that it takes about 8 hours for a full charge using standard 110 volt house current.

How does that cost compare to most cars?

               Average mileage in the U.S. is about 20 miles per gallon.  At $3.20 per gallon, that comes to 16 cents per mile.  So, the Volt saves about 13 cents per mile.  If you drive 1,000 miles per month on the electric motor, that is a savings of about $1,500 per year.

What about the cost of the car?

               The retail price of the Volt is $41,000.  There is a $7,500 tax credit so the net price is $33,500.  Assuming that a comparable gasoline engine car would cost about $15,000 less than that, the annual savings of $1,500 is like putting the $15,000 in the bank and getting 10% interest—not bad!  And the price of gas is going up, so the rate of return will keep getting better.

Should I buy a plug-in hybrid like the Volt or an all-electric car?

               This depends.  If you only have one car, and you want to be able to travel long distances, the Volt or plug-in hybrid makes sense.  If you have two cars, then it would probably be cheaper to make one an all-electric to use around town, and the other a plug-in hybrid for long trips.  Also, if your daily commute is more than 40 miles, you would be better off with an all-electric like the Nissan Leaf, which goes 100 miles on a charge.

What if I don’t have solar panels?

               PG&E and other utilities have special rates for charging cars overnight.  If you can take advantage of those rates, you should be able to save money even without solar panels.

What are the other advantages of electric cars/solar panels?

               There are many advantages besides saving money—no oil imports, no oil spills, no carbon dioxide, no air pollution, no pipelines through the Alaska wilderness, lots of local jobs.

For more information check out www.calcars.org and www.pluginamerica.org