points by mhluongo 1 day ago | 0 comments
Power still costs money.
[–] tarpitt 1 day ago
[–] duderific 1 day ago
Just FYI, in some areas of California, served by PG&E, electricity at peak times is $.58/kwh. When gas was around $4.00/gal, it was actually cheaper to use gas in that scenario. (I have a PHEV so I can do either.)
You can get a special account for home charging that lowers that rate to $.32/kwh, and at my work I can charge my car for $.28/kwh. At those rates, and with gas where it is now (typically $5.50 - $6.00/gal) it makes sense to use electric.
[–] tarpitt 1 day ago
Yes it's ridicuous. Many of the charging stations here in PA charge 40c/kwh (my break-even is 30c/kwh). It's not profitable against gas even at these prices. Luckily residential rates are 13c/kwh but it's very inconvenient out here still.
[–] NetMageSCW 1 day ago
Is that using today’s gas prices?
I think in general, a country trying to become industrious and eco-friendly by saving energy is like a person trying to become a millionaire by pinching pennies. Once you have optimized an economic system to eliminate the major cost centers, you're going to have extremely hard time improving it through further cost savings.
For example, If my expenditure roughly matches my income, I would need to eliminate 100% of my expenses just to make enough surplus to match doubling my income. Once I have managed the major cost centers (rent, insurance, etc.) it's not going to be worth my time to further optimize my expendature, the time would be better spent improving my income
For EVs, the fuel cost is already low. The next cost centers are like maintainance, tires, battery life. It would be better to attack these other cost centers or somehow pursue functionality that increases utility of the car.