To charge or Not to charge?

I'll keep charging. At $0.11/kWh, gas would have to be less than about $1.25 a gallon for it to be cheaper, ignoring any maintenance specific to the engine. But even if gas was free, the cost of electricity is so low that it's worth it:

• To keep pollution away from where I live
• To not support the oil and gas industry any more than I have to. I pay an extra $0.01/kWh for "100% wind" power which helps a little, so in theory I'm not even supporting oil and gas via the electric utility (but some of my money probably still goes there because all the electricity still comes from the same place).
• Because EV driving is too much fun.

I probably spend $300 a year on electricity for the car, which I am thankful is an almost negligible part of my budget.

I did see $1.93 gas today.

 

For the most part of my ~3 years of PRIME ownership, gas has been cheaper than electricity already, yet I kept charging almost every day. The difference is not that big, so I prefer smoother, quieter, and fun EV mode drive. But with cheaper gas cost, I don't feel bad when the engine kicks in the middle of my commute. In fact I have been mixing in HV mode drive in my commute to just increase EV efficiency, so that precious kWh goes much longer.

 

Sticking with charging here. EV is great!


iPad ?

 

Yes. Still cheaper and much more pleasant to drive in EV mode. I'd say the latter even worth a premium.

 

Same electric price here. Plus I get some of mine for free. My last tank cost me about $20 for gas plus about $35 for electricity to drive 2,757 miles.

 

I hate engines. Have been paying more to drive ev for 8 years, and will continue to do so

 

Charging...


Rob43

 

+1 Charging

If you find a public free charger even better. If charging at home + low gas price, we are still saving ahead of using gas alone.

+1 EV smooth and quiet feel

 

I have solar panels my house so I’ll continue to charge. Much better for the environment than burning gas, and the entire process of gas production ... fracking, refining, pipelines, trucking the gas, driving to/from the gas station.

And EV driving is more fun.

 

Here in SoCal gas is hovering around $3.50 per gallon. The wife's Prime is getting about 1,300 miles per 9 gallons, given her commute. I don't see gas getting any cheaper here...ever.

 

Charging - probably safer due to not picking anything up at the pump, like colds, flu or COVID-19. Also I’m trying to get through the rest of winter without refueling. Seems doable since I still have more than 9 tenths of my tank left. This winter hasn’t been bad at all.


iPad ? Pro

 

Still in my EV honeymoon period, haven’t used a gallon of gas yet in first 550 miles. Gas is $1.88/gal, electricity is 10 cents/kWh, so always makes sense to charge.
I have canceled a planned driving trip and will probably remain in EV mode for the foreseeable future owing to the virus. Thus, need to think about burning a little gas now and then before it becomes stale.

 

If you think your current tank of gas will last for a long time, consider adding a few ounces of Sta-Bil or Lucas. It won't make your current gas any more fresh, but it will slow your gas from aging quickly from this day forward.


Rob43

 

Modern cars don't really care about seasonal blends. It's more for things with carburetors, and to let the refineries get rid lighter compounds with little value, like butane.

 

I figure my electric cost is about 3¢ a mile. We'll never see $1.80 gas here on the West Coast. It's a captive market without east-west pipelines.

The crude oil produced from shale...by directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a.k.a. fracking...is very light. Too much gasoline and not enough middle distillate products like jet fuel and diesel fuel result from the refining. This skews the market in some regions of the U.S. and lowers the gasoline price.

 

I think is more that the gulf coast refineries that fracked oil can get to are designed for heavier crude, and don't really want light stuff, as it results in the process for the refinery being less efficient. So the frackers have to discount their product for the refinery to take.

 

In Texas I have a 12 month contract on unlimited power 24/7 at the rate of 5.9 cents per KWh. If I’m correct in my calculation that means a full charge is roughly $0.52.

A gallon here costs anywhere from $1.34 to $1.59 depending on the station.

I’m getting about 32 miles per charge and in hybrid mode I’m getting about 65mpg with the big battery fully charged. So I equate it to driving around with ~1/2 gallon of electric fuel. So that means it is still worth it to me to charge the battery up.

Beyond that though more electric hours means less engine hours. That means the oil and filters last longer. If I only have to change the oil once a year it might be worth paying a little extra in electrical expenses. I’d have to crunch the numbers to see for sure. However the convenience is huge in my opinion.