SoCal Range Estimates

[EVF]

I've been considering a Focus Electric but have been waiting to get some real-life data on the actual range experienced by drivers.

My commute is in SoCal, 31 miles each way, all but 6 miles are freeway in the carpool lane. No hills to speak of and the car pool lane flows at full speed in the morning and 40ish in the afternoon.

I do NOT have any charging capability at work.

Will I have enough range to get to work and back, maybe use a few miles at lunch time, and still use the A/C during the summer months?

Thanks

 

[gmaki]

I don't have the data you need yet, however I should have data that will prove pretty valuable to you as time goes on. I am in California and my commute is 38.6 miles. I go over both the Santa Clarita pass and the Sepulveda Pass on my way.

Even with the additional miles AND the additional hills I made it to work with 50% to spare so I would think that you could easily make it on your shorter flatter route. I don't have any hot weather (AC) data though and of course won't until the summer. From the looks of things this morning the carpool lane will actually work against your range if it is flowing at full speed since you'll feel pressured to go over 65 mph (if your carpool lane is anything like mine). and my range dropped noticeably when i got the car up to 65 and over.

At this point I think your commute is right on the threshold and not having an option for charging on one leg would make me hesitant. I think you can easily make it when the car is new, but what about when the batteries begin to degrade? i don't know if that is even a "thing" but it would concern me.

I'd say you would need to rethink the few miles at lunch time too. I drove three people to lunch today and took a major hit on my range. Of course i was able to put it right back on the charger upon my return to work, which it sounds like you won't be able to do.

 

[Lmengoli]

I live in San Diego. My son lives 30 miles away and I made the round trip with no anxiety with an extra 10 miles tacked on. I logged in 72 actual miles with 10 left on the gauge. Most of it was freeway at 65 mph.
Our recent cold mornings take 5-10 miles off predictions but as the day and the car warm up the gauge stretches out.

 

[EVF]

Thanks everyone for the input!

Does the vehicle have a kw/hr gauge that indicates your energy usage in real time? It would be interesting to know the usage at higher speeds, like 70mph in the carpool lane.

Thanks again

 

[gmaki]

Thanks everyone for the input!

Does the vehicle have a kw/hr gauge that indicates your energy usage in real time? It would be interesting to know the usage at higher speeds, like 70mph in the carpool lane.

Thanks again

I don't think so. But I could be wrong. However when you are signed up to the sync thing your kWh used is reported after each trip. For example I can see that I used 8 kWh to get from the house to work (downhill leg) and 12kWh to get home (uphill leg).

This is already very encouraging for me (and you with your shorter commute) as I didn't precondition the car, I used climate control, had the stereo cranked, used my windshield wipers nearly the entire trip, and I believe I still have a lot of room for improvement in my driving efficiency.

I did get a little dose of "anxiety" when I crested the last hill the car went into yellow "10 miles remaining" mode and I was 10 miles from home. But by the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was at +11 and I ended up parking in my driveway with 12 miles to spare. In other words I had more miles left in the battery (supposedly) when i got home then when I was 10 miles from home... lol

 

[dwf123]

EVF,
You are the perfect candidate for an EV, a commuter doing 15k miles per year! You will pay the cost difference off in 3.5 years. From that point on out you are saving substantial $ on gasoline and maintenance.

I commute 40 miles one way, cruise control at 60mph, relatively flat route and use my AC and Heat when needed. But, I have a 240v EVSE at work. It is my safety net. There are so many variables in driving an electric car. How many stop lights, what your speed is, hills, temperature and accessories operating. 62 miles under normal circumstances is no problem, but if the weather turns chilly >40F or you travel to that great restaurant for lunch, 6 miles away, you will be cutting it very close.

Talk to your employer. Tell him to get on board with the future!!! There are numerous programs available to companies who instal EVSE sites. They can get the entire package free and/or as a direct tax credit. You can research the internet for your area, but check out the link below to the Southern California Edison program:

http://www.sce.com/info/electric-car/business/tools-resources.htm

Good luck... Wood

 

[EVF]

Thanks everyone for the input!

Does the vehicle have a kw/hr gauge that indicates your energy usage in real time? It would be interesting to know the usage at higher speeds, like 70mph in the carpool lane.

Thanks again

I don't think so. But I could be wrong. However when you are signed up to the sync thing your kWh used is reported after each trip. For example I can see that I used 8 kWh to get from the house to work (downhill leg) and 12kWh to get home (uphill leg).

This is already very encouraging for me (and you with your shorter commute) as I didn't precondition the car, I used climate control, had the stereo cranked, used my windshield wipers nearly the entire trip, and I believe I still have a lot of room for improvement in my driving efficiency.

I did get a little dose of "anxiety" when I crested the last hill the car went into yellow "10 miles remaining" mode and I was 10 miles from home. But by the time I got to the bottom of the hill I was at +11 and I ended up parking in my driveway with 12 miles to spare. In other words I had more miles left in the battery (supposedly) when i got home then when I was 10 miles from home... lol

Those are encouraging results. I'm a flat lander, so I don't have to contend with the Sepulveda Pass.

 

[EVF]

EVF,
You are the perfect candidate for an EV, a commuter doing 15k miles per year! You will pay the cost difference off in 3.5 years. From that point on out you are saving substantial $ on gasoline and maintenance.

I commute 40 miles one way, cruise control at 60mph, relatively flat route and use my AC and Heat when needed. But, I have a 240v EVSE at work. It is my safety net. There are so many variables in driving an electric car. How many stop lights, what your speed is, hills, temperature and accessories operating. 62 miles under normal circumstances is no problem, but if the weather turns chilly >40F or you travel to that great restaurant for lunch, 6 miles away, you will be cutting it very close.

Talk to your employer. Tell him to get on board with the future!!! There are numerous programs available to companies who instal EVSE sites. They can get the entire package free and/or as a direct tax credit. You can research the internet for your area, but check out the link below to the Southern California Edison program:

http://www.sce.com/info/electric-car/business/tools-resources.htm

Good luck... Wood

Thanks. At the end of your 40 mile commute, how much range do you have in reserve?

I don't thin it ever gets under 40 degrees here, and I can walk to lunch if needed.

What kind of range can I expect at 80 mph in the car pool lane?

 

[EVF]

I found an app to calculate the range and energy usage for the Leaf. I assume the Focus is equal or better.

If I did it right, my 60 mi round trip at 65mph and 60 degrees would use 16.2 kWh, which works out to 324 kWh per month.

My electric rate would be pushed to at least Tier 4 (32 cents/kWh), and possible Tier 5 (35 cents/kWh).

Say an average electricity cost of .33 / kWh which works out to $5.34 per day.

That's more expensive than I thought and would actually increase the cost of my commute by a small amount.

Did I calculate something wrong?

 

[gmaki]

I found an app to calculate the range and energy usage for the Leaf. I assume the Focus is equal or better.

If I did it right, my 60 mi round trip at 65mph and 60 degrees would use 16.2 kWh, which works out to 324 kWh per month.

My electric rate would be pushed to at least Tier 4 (32 cents/kWh), and possible Tier 5 (35 cents/kWh).

Say an average electricity cost of .33 / kWh which works out to $5.34 per day.

That's more expensive than I thought and would actually increase the cost of my commute by a small amount.

Did I calculate something wrong?

Are you an SCE customer? If so the solution is to change your rate plan to one of the two they have for EV's. I am going with a second meter (just for the EV) that allows me .12/kWh between midnight and 6:00 AM. They will even provide you with a rate analysis based on your energy usage and miles driven to help you decide which of the two plans to use.

If you aren't with SCE, I am sure whatever your power company is will have a EV specific plan to offer you and lower your charging costs significantly. The bottom line is that it is not a good deal in most cases to charge your car with a normal tiered residential plan.

 

[EVF]

Thanks for the tip, yes I'm with SCE.

I went to SCE's plug-in vehicle web site and did their analysis. For my situation, it looks like having an EV vehicle is actually more expensive per month. Their results indicate $22 a month more than my current car, even when using a dedicated meter under the TOU-EV-1 plan, $57 a month more with the TOU-D-TEV plan, and $69 a month more with the Schedule D rate plan.

Hmmm, not what I was expecting. I don't think the math is in my favor for an EV.

 

[gmaki]

Thanks for the tip, yes I'm with SCE.

I went to SCE's plug-in vehicle web site and did their analysis. For my situation, it looks like having an EV vehicle is actually more expensive per month. Their results indicate $22 a month more than my current car, even when using a dedicated meter under the TOU-EV-1 plan, $57 a month more with the TOU-D-TEV plan, and $69 a month more with the Schedule D rate plan.

Hmmm, not what I was expecting. I don't think the math is in my favor for an EV.

That's odd. Using TOU-EV-1, figuring 60 miles a day, roughly 20kWh, times 22 days a month at .12 a kWh I get your monthly "fuel" cost totaling $52.80/mo. I can't see how that can possibly be more than a gasoline vehicle driven the same miles... or even a NGV vehicle like the Civic I just traded in.

Are you factoring in and amortizing the cost of the charger and electrical work or something?

 

[EVF]

The SCE site only provides a comparison between your current electric + gasoline costs and what the electric bill would be if you replaced your car with an EV, and then provides the comparison for 3 different rate structures (without detail of what the actual pricing is that they used). Their calcs show my total electric bill increasing to more than the combined Elec + Gasoline total in all 3 scenarios.

Elsewhere on their site they provide a breakdown of the rate structure.

Single meter, Home & Electric Vehicle Plan (TOU-D-TEV)

Ranges from $0.11 (Super Off Peak) to $0.60 (On Peak Summer, Tier 2) for Tier 1 and Tier 2 only. They don't list the pricing for any Tiers beyond 2.


Two Meter Electric Vehicle Plan (TOU-EV-1)

Ranges from $0.12 for off peak to $0.28 for Peak, Summer.


Residential Plan (Schedule D)

5 Tiers ranging from $0.12 to $0.32


The troubling part about the TOU-D-TEV structure is the On-Peak Summer Tier 2 rate of $0.60 / kWh which would more than double my current electricity rate during the 10AM to 6PM time period.