After all the preproduction publicity, the first electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) from major automotive companies are now on the road—or possibly plugged into a nearby charging station. In addition, ongoing efforts to establish a charging infrastructure are underway.
While it may be early, there are a few lessons to be learned from the current status of these vehicles. With so little experience, industry researchers have modified vehicles to study and compile consumer reactions and determine how drivers cope with a major, lifestyle-changing transition of charging batteries versus pumping gas. Now it’s time for real-world feedback.
PEV Owner Reactions
Any significant change in buying habits is normally met with hesitation. This is especially true with a major purchase such as a vehicle costing $30,000 or more (see “GM Plant Shuts Down To Prepare For Volt Production Increase,” p. xx). While early adopters will tolerate more than typical consumers, their experience can shed light on acceptable and unacceptable attributes of the plug-in EV (PEV) ecosystem.
Charlie Yankitis, who lives in the Detroit area, has had a Chevy Volt for four weeks with a 240-V Voltec charging system installed in his home (Fig. 1). “I charge at home and I drive about 26 miles to work,” he says. “When I get to work, I am using a prototype of our charger. I am able to get to work on electric and home on electric.”
As the director of business development for SPX Service Solutions, the company chosen by General Motors to install the chargers for the Chevy Volt, Yankitis has a unique perspective. With chargers at both ends of his typical commute, he boasts using only five gallons of gas to travel 1000 miles (see “Test Driving The Chevy Volt” at www.engineeringTV.com).
“It’s quite an experience—better than I had expected,” says Yankitis. “The key is if you have a longer drive, you need to have charging available at your workplace.”
Other owners without ties to PEV companies are sharing their experience through the Linked-in Electric Vehicle Group and report similar satisfaction.
Dan Calderone of Phoenix, Ariz., has praise for the Nissan Leaf he is leasing (Fig. 2). After having it for one month, he drove 1300 miles on $19.25 worth of electricity. “We have settled into the routine of driving the Leaf and our new ‘normal’ is just that—normal,” he says. “We plug in at the end of a day and unplug before driving the car.”
Adjusting to a new driving and refueling (charging) lifestyle, Calderone knows how to avoid range anxiety.
“We have no range issues and no range anxiety,” says Calderone. “We understand the range limitations and the car does a great job keeping us informed about the remaining range.” He is satisfied that his Leaf performs perfectly for travel in the Phoenix metropolitan area. However, he has no plans to use the Leaf for road trips.
Calderone has first-hand experience with the performance of the vehicle’s electric motors and the impact of electrical loads. “I have seen the Leaf exceed its promised top speed of 90 mph effortlessly,” he says. “The AC appears to take about 20% off the range.”
With gas prices rising in 2011, the time is certainly right to have an EV. “I am very pleased to be driving at six-and-a-half cents per kW instead of $3.65 per gallon, but I feel that electric cars are great regardless of pump prices,” Calderone says.
Using the Leaf’s onboard charge programmer, Calderone programs the car to charge to 80% as soon as the rates drop. The 80% rate provides him a normal day of driving with about 30 miles to spare, and he minimizes the impact on the battery. Calderone thinks he may have to charge at 100% to cope with Phoenix’s summer weather but has yet to verify it.
The data is among the information obtained by Nissan and ECOtality, the charging system company. Without a Smart Grid, the data is transmitted to each company by two different techniques. Nissan gets its information though the Leaf’s onboard cellular system. ECOtality obtains its data though a Wi-Fi connection (see “Test Driving The Nissan Leaf” at www.engineeringTV.com).
As a satisfied EV owner, Calderone has identified one issue that Nissan may not have expected. “My new ‘range anxiety’ has to do with managing our lease miles,” he says. “So far we are putting 300 miles a month more than we should based on our lease terms.”
Phoenix does not have the 480-V Level 3 or dc fast-charging stations, but other regions of the country have installations for EVs. Charlie Allcock of Portland, Ore., has been able to take advantage of Level 3 charging.
“I love the dc quick charging experience,” he says. “There is a public dc quick charger here in Portland, and I’m getting four to five miles of range for every minute of charging, or 40 to 60 miles in the first 10 to 12 minutes.” The availability of the dc fast charger alleviates Allcock’s range anxiety on those days when he travels further than usual.
Allcock lives in a very flat area and drives about 70% at residential speeds and 30% freeway speeds. “My Leaf indicates that I averaged 4.3 miles/kWh last month,” he says “I drive in ECO mode almost all the time, but I don’t drive any different than I do in gas cars.”
Allcock leaves his house every morning with a full battery and a range of 100 miles in ECO mode in the Leaf. “On the days when I travel 60 to 70 miles, by mid-afternoon I usually quick charge for about 10 minutes and get about 50 miles more in range, which is usually enough for the rest of my afternoon and gets me home in the evening,” he says.
It appears at least among the early adopters, PEV users are readily making a transition from the pump mentality.