After decades of false starts, electric vehicles are here to stay. See why one local driver loves his EV’s high efficiency – and high impact on the environment.
Congrats to Larry P. and Phil D. — they each won a Teckin smart plug WiFi outlet for their great comments on this story!
Does the electric vehicle have as much pick-up (passing power) as the Prius? What are your utility costs? — are they demonstrably higher?
I have a 2016 Chevy Volt that has an EPA range of 53 miles. My experience has been much different. During the part of the year when it is not necessary to run the heat or the air conditioning, I get near 80 miles range around the city. Then if there is a need to travel further, the gasoline generator will allow the car to go about 400 mi. per tank. Last month it went over 1000 miles between fill ups.
Definitely an accelerating trend. My daughter has a Chevy Volt, and they love it.
In the video they mentioned the transition of buyer-types of electric vehicles going from the environmentally conscious to someone who appreciates and expects high performance in a vehicle. That’s something that Tesla has always understood. Not only do they make fully electric cars, but high performance, luxury vehicles. Once car connoisseurs see the value in actual performance and experience in electric vehicles, the electric vehicle market could increase exponentially.
Makes sense to me, even better if you can get your electricity from a renewable source like wind or solar!
This is a great story. It is very encouraging as I am very concerned about levels of pollution, including noise pollution. These gentleman are correct, we all need to start getting on board and convert to more efficient modes of transportation that pollute less. I agree, why would anyone be satisfied getting only 10-15 mpg?
What is the average cost (using MGE standard rates) to fully charge an electric vehicle, for instance a Volt. Right now I barely spend $20 /month on gas alone, so not sure this is an economic advantage.
Great question! The cost to charge the battery in an electric vehicle is a simple calculation: the size of the battery multiplied by the electric cost:
All-Electric Chevy Bolt: For example, an all-electric Chevrolet Bolt has a 60 kWh battery and the average MGE cost for electricity is $0.14 per kWh, so the cost for a complete charge would be $8.40 (60 kWh battery X $0.14 per kWh = $8.40). Since the Bolt has an EPA estimated range of 238 miles on one charge, that means the energy cost per mile is $0.035 ($8.40 cost of full charge divided by 238 miles = $0.035 per mile), which is less than half the cost per mile when compared with gasoline powered vehicles; and
Hybrid Chevy Volt: It would be a similar calculation for a hybrid Chevrolet Volt which has an 18.4 kWh battery. The cost for a complete charge would be $2.58 (18.4 kWh battery X $0.14 per kWh = $2.58). Since the Volt has an EPA estimated electric range of 53 miles on one charge, that means that if driven using the electric battery, the energy cost per mile is $0.049 ($2.58 cost of full charge divided by 53 miles = $0.049 per mile), which is less than half the cost per mile when compared with gasoline powered vehicles.
We have been driving a BMW i3 for 2 months now and absolutely love it and all the aspects of driving an EV. What we really need are more DC fast chargers located all throughout the city and county to increase access to accessible, fast charging.
I LOVE my BMW i3! Everyone should be driving an electric vehicle, especially now that range is not an issue.
We have a Nissan Leaf and love it for the same reasons: cheap to run, easy to maintain, and fun to drive!
Nice story! I am so glad the prices are coming down and the ranges going up on electric vehicles. Petrol powered cars are on their way out. 🙂
I would truly love to own one of these EV’s, but the price is just too prohibitive for me right now. GREAT idea & video. I enjoyed it very much!!
Interesting, informative and good advocacy for transitioning to Electric vehicles. Now we need Electric power which is from cleaner. , especially non- coal, generation.
Well done! It’s easier than ever to go electric. The Volt has been a great investment & a real pleasure to drive.
Whether by air, land and ? sea
It would be great if I could choose an EV for my company car! I will keep asking.
Wow! I have an electric car, but had no idea there were electric planes. Great little movie!
I love having my EV vehicles. I’ve had a Leaf and now own a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It’s so convenient to be able to just come home and plug in and never have to worry about gas prices or what the price of gas is.
We have a Chevy Volt that I love. With the solar panels we had installed it feels like I’m driving for free. My wife and I are older and will not recover the cost of the solar but we wanted to be an example to our children and grandchildren. On a selfish note we feel better keeping our airconditioner set to a comfortable level. We both like to see how much C02 we save. My wife also has a hybrid car. We know we are a tiny bit of the solution of helping the environment but every bit helps.
There are some beautiful electric motorcycles out there now, too; I really want one but they’re out of my financial reach. I hope there will come a day when we have more options for single-person travel vehicles. Lugging around a 3000 pound vehicle with me just to go to work is an absurd waste of fuel and carbon emissions. Why not a vehicle to get just me and a backpack where I’m going?
At that point, electric really comes to be ideal–your ears are out there where your motor is, so the quiet helps a lot compared to a gas-powered motorcycle. The weight of the vehicle is mostly the battery, and range gets to be crazy-good because it’s not having to work so much to haul around a full car.
Information about the home energy use cost is an important part of this equation, but not mentioned. So how expensive is that aspect?
Also, what’s a smart plug WIFi outlet?
Happy to see the economics of electric cars is improving. I love my plug-in hybrid.
I’ve been driving a Prius for about 3 years now and really enjoy the efficiency. I fill up about once a month, mainly driving around town. My next vehicle will be all electric, and I’m working with my condo association to get some plug in units installed in the parking lot. I’m still concerned about range, but I think this will be less of an issue as time goes on.
I have a plug-in Prius (2012) and it only gets around 10 miles on electric before the gas engine kicks in. Still, last summer I managed to squeeze 1000 miles on a tank of gas by being diligent with my trips and plugging in every time I was home. I plan on getting a full electric for my next car!
To quote Thomas Freidman, electric cars are the only car you can drive where they will become more efficient over time. Think about it. As new renewable generating capacities are added by utilities, your car automatically becomes more efficient!
The concept of owning an EV is more appealing to me after listening to the stories of the individuals in the video. While owning an EV has never really crossed my mind to this point, I am one step closer to at least taking a look an EV options after watching this video. Great stuff!
Nicely done. I am really looking forward to owning an electric vehicle, and pleased that the technology is finally flourishing!
I drive a 2017 Chevy Volt (plug-in hybrid) which is the best of both worlds in my eyes. I plug in every night, and rarely drive more than 60 miles in a day, so I buy very little gas in a year. Driving on electric power costs roughly half of on gasoline, even though it gets 40 mpg when using gas. I have the gasoline-powered generator under the hood and have the additional range on gasoline, so I never have to worry about getting stranded because I couldn’t find a charging station. Electric motors require very little maintenance and my use of the regenerative braking system has left my brakes looking like brand new even with 33000 miles on the vehicle…I only use the brakes to hold it at a stop. I will definitely get another Volt when my lease is up on this one.
I’m going to look into getting an EV!
objections are rapidly being removed. If thye get recharge time down to 15 minutes i would buy one for sure.
I would like to learn more about electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. I am considering getting one the next time a buy a car, but I need to do my homework first.
This video was so well done, kudos to all involved. I believe this time, EV’s are here to stay!
We are getting closer and closer to having total ability to remove a carbon footprint.
Finally a viable option! Once the price comes down on the Tesla…
Great story! I had no idea they had electric planes! We’re definitely looking at hybrid/electric cars when we’re ready to buy a new car.
EVs will be especially powerful when a smart grid can use them for large distributed storage (vehicle-to-grid technology), enabling consumers to specify times, prices, and rates at which they are willing to sell electricity from their EV battery to the grid. This will reduce the need for peaking plants and address the intermittency challenges of renewables. Is MGE working toward the grid technology we need for this?
Very positive presentation for electric cars.
Personal experience story very effective.
Certainly thinking such might be workable
for our needs. Motivated to look into for sure.
Thanks MGAE
I now have a Chevy Volt and a Chevy Bolt in my garage, both of which charge off of existing 110 VAC outlets (2 circuits), simultaneously. I plug them in once a day at bedtime and they’re both ready for my wife and I in the morning. Incredible cars and solidly built!
Please remember, charging a battery is not at all the same as filling a fuel tank. Battery-swap is close to a fuel fillup. But, combustion avoids carrying most of the mass needed for onboard energy — oxygen.
EVs have always been superior. Onboard storage isn’t yet.
I feel the car is a cleaner and more affordable vehicle, but the problem that me and thousands of other people have is the fact that I am visually impaired and others are totally blind. The electric cars are to quiet. most of us visually disabled Americans rely on the sound of vehicles to let us know if we can cross a streete or driveway. We need to be able to hear.
Very informative. Makes me think about it more as a reality.
Great job with the down to earth video that every one can relate with and appreciate why we all need to own and do our part in driving an electric vehicle. Keep down pollution and keep our planet green.
Dianne and I had the concern of range you could travel with an EV, so we bought a 2013 Toyota Prius hatch back, which has both a gas and electric engines. We get 55-60 mpg with the car. We both had that apprehension of having a sole EV car and getting stranded if we ran out of power.
MG&E we appreciated the video and Richard you were and are a wonderful representative speaking out for the need for renewable energy and how we can put it to use in our daily lives.