Savings at the Plug

coda_admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:35:01 +0000

What must America sacrifice in order to slow down its unprecedented oil consumption of nearly 19 million barrels per day? To cut back on the $3,600 or so that the average U.S. household spends annually to drive its cars from point A to point B? Less than you think. Much less. In fact, next to nothing.

Here’s some data that will—forgive us—shock you. The battery-powered CODA travels up to 120 miles¹ between charges, but research shows that you may seldom go that far. Many of us frequently drive significantly fewer miles at a stretch, which means if you were driving an electric vehicle, you might be hard pressed to notice what you’re paying at the plug. And you’d soon forget all about spending a lot of money for oil.

Studies show that nearly half of all Americans drive 20 miles or less per weekday, and over two-thirds of us drive 20 miles or less on weekend days. A CODA driver trying to figure out those minimal demands on an electricity bill—as we have in the chart below—would come to the conclusion that driving an EV can be nearly as inexpensive as turning on the lights.

Electricity rate based on national average of 11.3 cents per kilowatt hour (2008).

———-

Destination: Work

Distance (roundtrip): 20 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 7.5 kilowatt hours (kWh)

Cost: $0.85

Household equivalent:

Less than the sum of powering your kitchen appliances on a typical day: Refrigerator 5.8 kWh; microwave 1.1 kWh; dishwasher 2.4 kWh (9.3 kWh total)

———-

Destination: Work

Distance (roundtrip): 10 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 3.75 kWh

Cost: $0.42

Household equivalent:

Watching your plasma TV every night for a couple weeks (.336 kWh/day x 14 days = 4.704 kWh)

———-

Destination: Shopping

Distance (roundtrip): 14 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 5.25 kWh

Cost: $0.59

Household equivalent:

Drying one big load of laundry (5kWh)

———-

Destination: Taking your kids to school

Distance (roundtrip): 12 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 4.5 kWh

Cost: $0.51

Household equivalent:

Working on your computer at home for nearly a week (1.18 kWh/day x 4 days = 4.72 kWh)

———-

Destination: Friend’s house

Distance (roundtrip): 22 miles

Electricity required to recharge CODA: 8.27 kWh

Cost: $0.93

Household equivalent:

Cooling your house with an air conditioner for one warm day: : 7.73 kWh

————————————————————-

¹Like any electric vehicle, CODA’s miles per charge will vary. Like all vehicles, electric vehicles operate with less efficiency in extreme temperatures. Also, personal driving style, heavy cargo loads, and battery age will affect vehicle performance.

SOURCES:

—America consuming nearly 19 million barrels daily

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=US

—Approximately $3,600 spent annually on gasoline: p. 9, “Electrification Roadmap,” available from the Electrification Coalition:

www.electrificationcoalition.org/

—Statistics indicating that nearly half of all Americans drive 20 miles or less per weekday/nearly three-quarters of us drive 20 miles or less on weekend days: p. 123, “Electrification Roadmap,” available from the Electrification Coalition:

www.electrificationcoalition.org/

—2008 national average electricity rate:

www.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=electricity_factors_affecting_prices

—Destinations and distances based loosely on National Household Travel Survey Summary of Travel Trends (2001); p. 15/table 5:

http://nhts.ornl.gov/2001/pub/STT.pdf

—“Household equivalent” figures: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10040 and www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-2.htm (for personal computer). Air conditioner data from www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recs2001/enduse2001/enduse2001.html–although Update: The 2005 stat on average A/C usage in the U.S.: 2,822 kWh/year, or 7.73 kWh/day.

—Other supporting sources:

US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Omnibus Household Survey (2003): www.bts.gov/publications/omnistats/volume_03_issue_04/html/figure_02.html

Detroit doesn’t have the answers

Kara Saltness — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:30:47 +0000

As a nimble, growing electric car company, we took issue with David Welch’s recent BusinessWeek article on the Energy Department’s funding of two green car start-ups, Tesla and Fisker. Not that we weren’t just as baffled as the rest of America about why the Energy Department would give nearly a billion dollars – $993 million to be exact – to companies that are building cars likely to be out of the price range of the majority of the population. We were. But, that wasn’t the point the story was making.

In the article, veteran auto industry analyst Maryann Keller said in response to DOE’s announcement, “We’re pouring $1 billion into two companies without a future. The economics of the industry favors large companies.”

The idea that smaller companies can’t be successful and therefore won’t lead the revolution in alternative transportation is what we take issue with. Within the past year, two of the three big, domestic auto companies went into bankruptcy and dealer sales tanked. If that doesn’t say the auto industry needs a fresh breath of air from smaller players with disruptive models that aren’t confined by the bureaucracy of large corporations, then we don’t know what does.

Between rising carbon emission-related environmental degradation, Americans’ anti-oil sentiments, and the lack of alternative options, the market desperately needs innovative, nimble companies, like CODA Automotive, that can move quickly to shift expectations and get electric cars on the market that meet drivers’ needs and are better to the environment.

It’s hard for us to believe that one of the industry giants will do this – especially considering their businesses were founded on and are still concretely rooted in the production of internal combustion, gas guzzling vehicles.

CODA Clearing the Air » Energy Department

Savings at the Plug

Detroit doesn’t have the answers