Cost to operate a Chevy Volt
Eric Bolling (Fox Business Channel’s Follow the Money) test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors.
For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.
Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh batery is approximately 270 miles. It will take you 4 1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.
According to General Motors, the Volt battery hold 16 kwh of electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery.
The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity.
I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16 per kwh.
16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery.
$18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery.
Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine only that gets 32 mpg.
$3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile.
The gasoline powered car cost about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000.
So Obama wants us to pay 3 times as much for a car that costs more that 7 time as much to run and takes 3 times as long to drive across country.
“I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16 per kwh.”
Where in the world do you live?
In Florida electric is about .12 a kw. In CT its close to .20 a kw.
So even in CT the full charge cost is approx. $3
Is this in Antarctica?
http://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state.php
We pay .08 here in Indiana
I’m no fan of the Volt, but we have to use real numbers, to have a real discussion with people about it.
Average electricity costs are $0.12 per kwh...and the charge is allegedly 12 kwh (it keeps a reserve)...round it to $1.50 a day.
That $1.50 offsets around a gallon of gas (they say it goes 40 miles on a charge, and a comparable Cruze gets 40 mpg). Say that gallon of gas costs $3.50. Great, you’ve saved $2.00 a day. Heck, maybe your employer lets you charge up for free...presto, you’ve saved $5.50 per day.
Say you go to work 260 days a year, that means you save $1,430 per year....and the price difference between a loaded Cruze and subsidized Volt is $15k.
You’ve made your money back in 10.5 years!
Not including double personal property tax in some states.
Not including higher insurance costs for the higher valued car.
Not including charging station costs (and consider most Americans move every 7 years).
Not including higher repair costs due to complexity of the car.
Not including a new battery pack will surely be needed at this point.
So of course its a stupid idea, but for that first magical 40 miles, the operating costs are indeed slightly less than gasonline.
BTW, I’ve run the numbers on CO2, for those who worship at that altar. The breakover is 30 mpg. This means that the Volt in gas mode creates less CO2 than the Volt in electric mode...and any car getting more than 30 mpg wil create less CO2 than a Volt in electric mode.
I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $1.16 per kwh.””””
ARE YOU SURE???
Where do you live?
I live in N Nevada. I am pretty sure our main source of power is coal fired plants, with some geothermal.
I paid 12.05338 CENTS per kilowatt hour for my last bill, which covered Dec 12 to Jan 12 & was for 562 kwh, with a total of $67.74. I am running the winter furnace heat & I have an electric dryer. I use ONLY incadescent light bulbs because the curly ones give me a headache.