Newer electric vehicles with lithium ion batteries convert DC into AC to drive the motor & wheels & when the vehicle coasting, slowing, going down hill or braking the traction motor becomes a generator and regeneration charges the battery in a way that boost range between 5-25% depending on route, driving style & driving mode or settings related to the intensity of regenerative braking, like E-pedal that allows one pedal driving from a stop to any legal speed & back to a stop with only modulating the throttle & never touching the brake pedal in our 2019 LEAF SV.
Common passenger cars are between 1-5 tons of mass and are able to carry between 2-9 adults and cargo like groceries, bicycles, snowboards or skis, or utility goods of any kind & many other items or stuff, the list of items possible to transport inside an automobile depends on the format of the vehicle, if the seats in the rear fold down to extend access to the truck space, if there is a roof rack or towing hitch to pull a trailer & many other factors that affect utility volume or cargo carrying capacity. In general as you add mass of stuff to a vehicle the fuel economy will decrease as the added mass requires more energy to accelerate. Another issue is that roof racks with a large object like a canoe will require more energy to move since they created added air resistance that can increase vehicle energy used by 10-25% while towing a trailer can double energy use.
In conventional vehicles fuel economy ratings of miles per gallon are common in America, while kilometers per liter more common around the world. In electric vehicles the metric can miles or kilometers per kWh.
In our nearly fully loaded 2020 Nissan LEAF SV on loan while the 19 being repaired, I have driven over 500 mi since 3/21/2022 & am averaging 3.9 miles per kWh of electrical energy or around 250 watt hours per mile. That means the 38kWh of remaining battery energy storage in our 19 would given 3.9 mi/kWh * 38kWh = 148.2 mi or better than the OEM new EPA rating of 151 mi range city / 121 mi range highway. Did you notice that at 55-80 MPH the energy consumption of driving your EV radically increases. It takes far more energy to go faster than 50MPH than it does to go slower than 35MPH in boxy metal automobiles with mediocre aerodynamic efficiency like around or just less than CD (coefficient of drag) of 0.30 - while an exceptionally aero efficient Aptera CD only 0.13 by comparison!
In the battery electric Aptera it can go 80 MPH with only 95 watt hours per mile, making it nearly 3x more energy efficient at highway speeds because of its ability to slip through the air at highway & freeway speeds without creating turbulent drag that pushes & pulls on the vehicle like these forces do to non aero-optimized boxy SUV, Box trucks, busses & typical passenger vehicles or consumer privately owned automobiles or cars. The fleet average fuel economy of passenger cars been climbing over time because of improved technology and stringent & increasingly challenging government emissions regulations that the automakers must comply with in the form of EPA air pollution requirements for vehicles catalytic converter emissions controls & fleet CAFE or corporate average fuel economy & measures like gas guzzler taxes.
A typical automobile sold in 2023 gets around 30 MPH highway and 24 MPG city, for a net fuel economy average use case realization of ~27 miles per gallon of gasoline burned. Common EV's like Nissan LEAF or Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3 get between 110-120 MPG-e when you compare energy economy to fuel economy with this metric. The high fuel economy equivalent rates are because electric motors in EV's are between 82-98% efficient at converting battery DC energy into torque to spin the wheels to move the car, while net system charging efficiency of Li-ion EV batteries around 88% depending on L1, L2,L3 charger technology, current rate, battery temperatures, battery cooling method, battery warming method, specific battery chemistry and other factors. The most important factor for a vehicle fuel economy or energy economy in electric vehicles the drivers control of the throttle or gas pedal. The adage is that the driver or operator or human controller "The most important nut to tighten in any vehicle"
How much you spend per day, per week, per month, strongly affected by the energy economy or fuel efficiency of your vehicle. The Boeing Dreamliner for example uses 45% less fuel that similar capacity older aircraft so its much more profitable to operate even with higher fuel costs, even though its costs more in capital costs upfront that cheaper vehicles made with aluminum at lower upfront cost while the 787 CRFP optimized to radically lower mass & aero-tuned to reduce drag & wing tip turbulence & to make air flow around & over its aero-control surfaces more effectively, all combining to improve fuel economy, while the speed of travel of ships & aircrafts can be used to access super-cruise modes where fuel use reduced at slightly slower speeds. 50 MPH the most efficient highest speed in most automobiles while 570 the most efficient speed in most passenger airline jets. Going 85 MPH more than doubles fuel consumption in conventional automobiles by comparison as does going 700+ mph in passenger jets. Higher speeds increase drag penalties.
Have you flown a paramotor? Its a 2 stroke motor fan backpack of 40kg attached by strings to a soft fabric wing that you wear like a backpack while pulling the wing behind you so that the incoming air hitting you inflates the wing & causes it to lift pulling you & your backpack motor fan up as you engage the hand throttle & the motor spins up the propulsion fan to generator thrust so that your a hanging pendulum under the loaded wind. These parameters travel at 25-50 mph & I call them sky scooters because they can't even go freeway speeds like 80 MPH in the midwest in middle America / and you can't even fly them around populated areas.
I had a paramotor in early 2002 and sold it because it was a royal pain to go on a 3 hour + road trip just to get to an area where it was legal to fly. I bought it used from another 20 something guy in Redmond Wa for $4600 & spent $1200 more on warm flight gear & mineral oil & fuel oil & AV fuel & fuel additives & a two stroke motor rebuilt kit that I had to install after 300 hours of motor operation. I think all said I dropped about $8000 over 1 year on that paramotor & sold it for $7100 with all the other gear I had acquired to a 30 something from Tacoma Wa. This rig was a fuel hog & would eat the 10liters of fuel in 2 hours of flight, not surprising because of the terrible thermal efficiency of the low mass high power 2 stroke motor used to drive the backpack fan. I broke 1 composite blade during an accident where a large piece of wood debris was sucked into the fan as I was taking off near the ground. The fan was damaged mid-flight from a bird strike earlier which induced a small defect & tiny increase in vibration that eventually propagated caused the blade to violently shatter when a small bit of tree limb debris got sucked in to the fan cage & smacked the leading edge of the prop blade. Battery electric para-motors do not produce smoke or soot emissions & cost less to operate, but have less endurance per charge due to the heavy per unit of energy lithium polymer batteries & electric motor driver of the prop.
In late 2004 I ordered a Prius II from Toyota of Renton for $26,500 with the #6 tech package, drove it for 17 years and sold it to Alan my wife's genetic father for $2,000 with 160,000 mi ODO and OEM NiMH battery & upgraded AGM SLI51 12v battery. His 2014 Ford F150 gets 14 MPG normally & 17 MPG if he hyper miles it & since he drives a lot of trips between Oregon & Idaho & Oregon and Washington, he drives 3-5x more than me, so the Nissan LEAF SV works great for me & he can save many thousands per year on fuel by driving the 46 MPG Prius II vs his fuel gobbling truck.
2013 Nissan LEAF gave us 3.8-5.3 mi/kWh for 24 months before being lease returned
2015 Nissan LEAF gave us 3 years of 4.1 mi/ kWh before trading it for Meg's Prius III daily / roadtrip ^^
2019 Nissan LEAF giving us 3.3-7.1 mi per kWh and I have not driven it enough (only a few days, before I gave it back to the dealer for repairs we agreed on as part of the purchased, so they gave me 2020 LEAF SV as a loaner and I am getting 3.9 mi/kWh with a mix of city & highway use and able to get much higher energy economy if I avoid rapid acceleration bursts & focus on hypermiling efficient driving. It's just so much fun to hammer the throttle & get that face melting instant torque acceleration that only BEV's give as the battery electric motor setup can go to full output nearly instantly. There are 5000lb Tesla EV's that go 0 to 62 MPH or 0-100km/h in 2 seconds in Ludacris launch modes in the P100D Plaid edition for example or a fully loaded Model 3 dual motor :)
Our 2020 Yamaha MT-03 motorcycle gets 53-85 MPG & can go up to 112 mph & range based on 3.5 gallons of fuel in the tank, longer than I can ride without getting all stiff from being seated like that without moving around. I think its good on long road trips on motorcycles to stop for a refuel get up and move around a little 5-10 min break ever 1-2 hours of operation. This helps to prevent blood from pooling up in the legs which can increase the risk or clotting, stoke or embolisms, a major reason why sedentary lifestyles of toxic & staying active & physically fit so important for health & wellness.
Our 2013 Honda PCX-150 gets 88-105 MPG and really shines at 25-50 MPH speeds though it can hit a top speed of about 70 MPH out of its 13 HP 153cc liquid cooled & fuel injected motor. It only holds 1.1 gallons of fuel so range about 100 miles between re-fuel sessions.
Our 2001 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro gets 10-42 mpg depending on driving style, tire pressure, route and particularly by vehicle speed & control theory or driving technique. Driven at 50 MPH on the highway in warm air or level routes it can get better than 45 MPG but that's kinda a unicorn situation. The trick of slow gentle acceleration & keeping speeds by anticipating traffic and light changes ahead, a series of tricks known collectively as hypermiling, its involves slower smoother & steady operation with intense concentration to constantly energy optimize while maintaining safe operation.
Meg's 2010 Prius III averaging 44 MPG on her city hill intensive local commuting & driving for work routes, while on longer road trips last summer we saw more than 50 MPG averages even with very fast midwest highway travel at 75-85 MPH.
Transportation energy economy & home energy economy are major interest of mine because of how they influence my daily operating costs, budget, financial planning, cost reduction measures, lowering my carbon footprint, trying to no be wasteful & aspiring to be as energy efficient as possible. I do short pulse submarine showers less than daily to save water and electrify at home. I try to re-wear clothes more before washing them. I try to fast rinse dishes right after eating to keep food goo from sticking on which would require more hot water & soap to remove. I switched to cool & sometimes warm settings for more laundry modes settings to reduce hot water & electricity use. We lowered our apartment thermostat a lot recently & I will write up how this radically reduced our utility bill which was $268 last month for 1956 kWh in our 1200 square foot 2 bedroom all electric apartment with garage ground floor connected that cost $3600 per month now & will increase to $4000 per month if we sign another 13-15 months lease. We consider this cost obscene & plan on moving.
I don't think spending more than $2000 or $2300 per month for such a unit where we live makes sense on our income level. $3600 per month is $122 per day. I think $80 sounds like a more reasonable rate, given our budget, that's $2500 per month. $1350 considered affordable for our income level, but there is literally nothing for rent nearby, even studio apartments without parking cost $1500 or more per month. $1350 per month works out to $43 daily rent costs. We are going to be forced to pay 1.5x this amount because of rent inflation because of gentrification and landlord rich people exploiting the working class. Meg's employer the doctor pays $4000 for a large 4000 sq mansion with a 3 car garage. That makes this apartment a complete ripoff. We can rent single family homes for $1000 per month less than this stupid Anthology Apartment, which is why we are moving when the lease ends at the end of July.
Our taxes are rip-off too. If we work a little more & make even more we actually keep less because it bumps us into the next tax bracket and our rate would climb from 17% to 24% / which is a complete ripoff & illustrates how the 900 pages of IRS code are dedicated to helping billionaires make even more money while marginalizing and holding down the working middle class. Doctors that we know nearby make over $300 per hour & consider the local real estate costs a complete ripoff. Homes nearby that originally sold for less than $50,000 around 1980 are now more than $700,000 and many are over $1,000, 000 plus the property taxes add up to over $1000 per month. This its not affordable to working middle class families. Many of the people that own homes nearby purchased them long before the 4x price inflation after 2007 otherwise they would be stuck renting overpriced apartments like Meg's & I. When I tell these people what I pay for rent they are shocked at the ripoff prices.
Shame on landlords for exploiting their renters for obscene profits. Shame on automakers for selling inefficient wasteful vehicles when they know how to make the same vehicle use radically less fuel!
Shame on scammers & thieves & other bad actors! All will stand before God to have their soul judged!
May I make a moral appeal if you are exploiting others for profits & personal benefit? My childhood best friend Matt Mayo inherited $11.6 million & within 10 years committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a large caliber handgun. Money itself does not make a happy life. There was a time not long ago that medical bills & other problems put me $63,000 into debt, so I was owing more money than I was making. I had car payments & the medical bills kept pouring in as a result of an accident & illness, then I was between jobs without income as was Meg for a while. The debt piled up & was highly demoralizing. thankfully Matt let us rent his house in Renton for $800 per month because he thought the increase rent & home prices were ripoff too. He said "People can't just increase their income by 3x so how can normal families suddenly pay that much more for a place to sleep & cook dinner?" His house had been in disrepair & not rented for 5 years when we moved in & we had to upgrade it a lot to make it safe to live in by getting the wildlife out, fixing the mold & other mildew problems, drywall repairs & plumbing & electrical repairs, a new roof, more insulation, new windows & more. So that low rent price was offset with a lot of construction DIY costs as I did most of the work.
Meg & I actually talking about getting a Motorhome & a tiny plot of land nearby where its legal to park & live in a motorhome - knowing it will cost $1000 per month to operate / that's way less than the rent nearby. I need just enough land for to park the motorhome, and to build a large shed for our other vehicles to store stuff from our current apartment & previous house that's in structured storage for $220 per month right now.
We just turned off my mothers $220 per moth Comcast account & enabled a new one in my name for $60 per month. We previously switched from Verizon to Mint Mobile to reduce our wireless costs from $160 per month to $30 per month. I think our recent extreme energy reduction methods can reduce our PSE bill to under $100 vs nearly $300 from before, for electric energy even with me L1 charging my Nissan LEAF SV overnight like right now. I plugged it into our deck outlet last night at 9pm and will leave for work at 6 am, so 9 hours L1 at 1.6kW means 14.4 kWh or at $0.16/kWh about $2.30 daily or about $55 monthly, though I can also L1 charge over an extension cord for free at work & L3 boost at the dealer for free too, so my actual cost per month for electrical energy to charge the LEAF actually more like $40.
I will post updates as I learn more in my DIY life experiment that emerging // especially since many changes were after 3/21/2023 when our roommate mother died of covid complications. She was the reason we kept the thermostat at 76 F & was causing the Comcast bill to be really high for cable & home phone service & was using prodigious amount of tissues & toilet paper & electricity & hot water. So I see more ways to further improve energy conservation at home, here & at our next place in 3.5 month when we move to a new place with lower rent prices or do the land buy RV motorhome deal or whatever //
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