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Exactly. Gasoline is much, much more energy dense than Li-Ion batteries, but in terms of dollars per mile, an electric car is 2x-4x cheaper to drive than an ICE
by dreamcompiler 3y ago
Exactly. Gasoline is much, much more energy dense than Li-Ion batteries, but in terms of dollars per mile, an electric car is 2x-4x cheaper to drive than an ICE car. That's because an internal combustion engine wastes the majority of gasoline's energy as heat, while electric motors use most of the battery's energy to move the car.
- Detrytus 3y ago> an electric car is 2x-4x cheaper to drive than an ICE car It hugely depends on the cost of electricity. Last year some European countries (Netherlands IIRC) had those so high, that it was actually more expensive to drive EV than ICE.
- wcoenen 3y agoYou can optimize this with the right electricity contract. Time of day pricing ("dynamisch tarief" in the Netherlands) combined with charging during the cheapest times can make a big difference. And as a bonus to society, you help to balance the grid.
- tomp 3y ago> That's because an internal combustion engine wastes the majority of gasoline's energy as heat, while electric motors use most of the battery's energy to move the car. I guess that depends on your perspective and/or where you live. I rented a Tesla in December once and was freezing the whole drive. A gasoline engine generates extra heat you can use to heat the cabin, whereas an electric car needs extra heaters (which IME weren’t working that well in that old Model S)
- dreamcompiler 3y agoHeating the cabin was a known problem with older Teslas, especially because resistive heating reduced range significantly. Newer Teslas use heat pumps which are much more efficient.