Implovator Sometimes innovating gets your hands dirty

First 500 Miles on the Enertia

500 miles on the odometer

I hit a milestone this morning of 500 miles on my Enertia. At this point I consider the batteries to be sufficiently conditioned and working optimally...not that I have any data to back it up. I did do some mileage calculations today. I charged up at work earlier, so it was full before I left on my 31.0 mile trip home (I had to run an errand). Once I got home, I plugged it up to charge, except I plugged it into a Kill A Watt instead of plugging it directly into a socket. These things are so cheap. I highly recommend getting one if you're ever curious about how much power you're using. You can use it as a meter to check voltage, frequency, and current. Most of the time, you'll just set it to measure kilowatt hours consumed over a period. In my case, I was measure how much it consumed while charging.

Today's mpkWh
31 miles / 3.63 kW h = 8.54 mpkWh

I think I can do better, because that trip was on roads that I'm not familiar with. I'm much more efficient on my typical commute. Maybe I'll try to calculate this again tomorrow, but on a normal commute. I smell a spreadsheet coming along sooner or later. For now, here are some calculations on my first 500 miles.

Money Not Spent on Diesel
500.1 miles / 14.5 mpg * $2.999 = $103.43

I'm averaging 14.5 mpg in my truck right now, and diesel has been at $2.999 lately.

Money (I've) Spent on Electricity
500.1 miles / 8.54 mpkWh * $102.5 pKWH1000 / 1000 / 2 = $3.00

I used my mpkWh calculation above and then used a figure for the average price of 1000 kW h in my area. I'm going to double check that against my actual statement. And then you'll notice the little extra division by two. Well that's because I charge at home, and at work equally during the work week. Since I run must of my weekend errands on the Enertia, this is inaccurate too.

My $avings

Now my goal with the Enertia has never been to save money, so this is quite surprising to me. In two weeks, I've saved $100. My next step it to find out the carbon that I've saved. It should be easy to find out what my truck's emissions are, but I'm much more unsure of how my electricity is generated. I know there's a nearby nuclear power plant, but since the grid is so expansive and connected, who knows where it's coming from. Maybe I'll call up the power company tomorrow.

Hmmm... so at this rate, my Enertia ($7200) will be paid off in 3 years. That's if my chain and tires hold up. Oh yeah and I've got to pay a yearly highway use tax, and a yearly inspection. And I had to pay to have it delivered. Then there was the Best Buy prep fee. Yeah, definitely going to need a spreadsheet.