B'more goes electric, with a Volt
The long wait is over. Chevy Volts are starting to roll into Baltimore. Randy Schilling of Catonsville recently became one of the first - if not numero uno - in the area to get the plug-in car that's "more car than electric," as the Detroit carmaker's ad pitch goes. So far, he says he's loving it.
Schilling, 36, took delivery of his "cybermetallic" gray Volt last week from a dealer in Fredericksburg, Va. He needed the gasoline engine to get it home - the driving range of the battery is about 50 miles under ideal conditions, less in cold weather like we have now.
Since then, though, he reports he's been able to rely on battery power for the bulk of his driving around town and for getting to and from work at Fort Meade, where he's commander of a military police detachment.
"She has been definitely turning heads and getting me lots of smiles and thumbs up while I am driving," he emailed me this week.
Volts are trickling into the Washington area as they roll off the assembly line, and dealers told me in November they had waiting lists. Schilling says he lucked out - a buyer ahead of him from Florida backed out, enabling him to join the ranks of pioneers in what he predicts will be a revolution in the electrification of transportation.
"At some point in time we've got to start easing our dependence on foreign oil," said Schilling, who's been to Iraq. And he says his commitment to going electric has only grown with the recent rise in gasoline prices to around $3 a gallon.
What's nice about the Volt, he says, is it's more than a gas-sipper - it's fun to drive. He traded in a Lexus RX400 hybrid for it. "It doesn't drive like a hybrid," he says. "Driving on pure electric, it just takes off."
He paid nearly $43,700 for his Volt, a sticker price larded with options, including heated leather seats. A year from now, he can take a $7,500 credit on his federal income taxes. He's also eligible for a state tax credit of up to $2,000.
Price aside, Schilling says he believes electric cars are here to stay. "I'm sure this is going to kick off a major trend," he says. "Once people can see .. it's not pokey, they 'll catch on."
That's not to say he wouldn't be willing to pay less to be a pioneer. The all-electric Nissan Leaf sells for about $10,000 less fully loaded, but it's been slower to make its way to the East Coast. "Maybe I'll buy a Leaf next year," Schilling said.
For now, he's having to jury-rig recharging his Volt, with an extension cord run from a 110-volt outlet in his house to his car, parked in the street. It takes 10 hours now to get a full recharge. But he's having a 240-volt charging station put in on the side of the house, and plans to put in a driveway so he can park off the street - and reduce the risks of anyone tripping over the cord running across the sidewalk.
There still aren't too many places EV owners like Schilling can plug in to recharge, but the number is growing. Two new charging stations just went in at College Square, a shopping center in Westminster. The stations are just outside a Safeway supermarket there, and free to the public - at least for now.
The sleek-looking charging stations - made by SemaConnect of Annapolis - are part of a new corporate sustainability plan adopted by the real estate firm that owns College Square and six other shopping centers.
"It's just one small step," explained Dixon Harvey, partner in Black Oak Associates, of the firm's commitment to reducing its energy use at least 20 percent over the next five years. More efficient lighting has been installed in the parking lots, and now the firm is looking to cut down on energy leaks from its buildings.
Meanwhile, Harvey says, the charging stations will remain free to all comers, at least until the volume of recharging grows to the point it's costing the mall significant money. At that point, owners of EVs and plug-in hybrids like the Prius seen here - a demo SemaConnect got to show off its charging stations - can keep recharging with a swipe card they can get from the company.
(Photos: Randy Schilling with Chevy Volt, by Tim Wheeler; EV charging station, courtesy SemaConnect)
Comments
I feel that authors of articles and blog postings on the subject of EVs fail in their quest and duty to inform by not mentioning that electric vehicles are not 'new'. There were mass produced electric cars over a hundred years ago.
From the blog posting: "more care than electric,"
Is this careless editing or does it actually mean something? I can't decide.
TW: Guilty on both counts. Electric vehicles were "mass produced," though that term is relative, and outsold gasoline and steam-powered vehicles combined around the beginning of the 20th century. Here's a link to a history of EVs with more details on their rise, fall and rise again.
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarselectrica.htm
As for the Chevy Volt slogan, it should have read: "more car than electric." Can't blame any editor for this, just my errant fingers and failing eyesight. Thanks.
Posted by: AVC | January 20, 2011 12:40 PM
Congratulations, Randy on the delivery of your new Volt. It is one of the best cars that GM has ever produced.
I have to debate your claim of your Volt being numero uno in the Baltimore area. My Volt is Serial Number 0063 and I took delivery on December 18th, from Ourisman Chevy in Bowie. The Volt currently resides in Timonium. In one month, 700 miles, I have bought ZERO gas. Zero emissions, zero $$$ going to the Middle East. I will take the tax credits this year, including the 50% credit for the 240V charger in my garage.
Happy Volting!
TW: I contacted GM last week to find out if Randy was the first, and after a few days was told they couldn't say for sure, but didn't recognize any Baltimore addresses among the cars sold by Maryland dealerships. I can only attribute that to their unfamiliarity in Detroit (or the Washington area, where the dealership are) with the various Baltimore suburbs.
So for now, at least, it appears Barry of Timonium can say he was numero uno. Any other claimants?
Posted by: Barry252 | January 20, 2011 5:46 PM
I wonder how much emissions "Zero Emissions Barry" has actually released courtesy of burning coal, oil, etc. at the power plant.
One thing I'm really curious about is who pays for the electricity at the charging stations? Do you swipe a credit card or just pull up, juice and go?
Posted by: Peter | January 21, 2011 4:26 AM
Thanks Barry for the update and Happy Volting to you as well. One question though, How did you get the 50% credit for the charging station and who did you get it through? I have an appointment next week to get a quote for the 240V charger purchase / install. So any info would be great so I know I am getting the best deal.
Posted by: Randy Schilling | January 21, 2011 11:10 AM
Peter,
Looked at quite a few articles and such in my decision to go with electric. There is a lot of info out there on the subject. Here is a good breakdown written by an individual. The references are interesting to read with much detail:
The efficiency of coal fired power plants is about 30%, 2.1 lbs of CO2 is generated from every kwh being produced. In charging a battery and energy transfer, the loss is 90%, when the power from the battery is being used, there is only 72% efficiency. So for that single kwh produced, we also produce 2.1 lbs of CO2. But that 1kwh only reaches the battery at .9kwh, then when it is converted into motion we have .65kwh remaining.
Assuming that a gasoline car is able to get 25 miles per gallon.
One gallon of gasoline is able to produce 36.6 kWh/US gallon.
That when converted into motion in cars, there is only 20% efficency. So that results in a transfer of only 7.32kwh for one gallon. The carbon dioxide output for the combustion of one gallon of gasoline is 2421grams (2.421 kg -> 5.34 lbs carbon per gallon) 5.34 lbs of carbon has not been converted into CO2 yet, so the conversion results in 19.5lbs of CO2 per gallon of gasoline.
19.3lbs*.65kwh/2.1lbs = 6.03kwh electricity
6.03kwh of electricity will produce the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions as does gasoline.
6.03kwh/7.32kwh*100 = 82.4% as carbon efficient as gasoline. assuming that all of the energy used to power the electric car comes from coal.
That calculation shows that electric generation by coal is not as efficient as using gasoline, but we need to take into account one more factor.
The United States uses 21.2% of the world's oil, in order to get this oil, we ship it all across the world. We produce about 5% of the world's supply, so in order to get 75% of the oil that we do use, we import it. In order to import it, ships travel across the oceans to deliver our oil. After it arrives, large portions are considered waste when it comes to gasoline refining. During the process, electricity, and fuel are consumed, putting even more carbon emissions into the sky. So at the end of the day, burning that coal is actually more carbon efficient than that gasoline that we are putting into our tanks. Further compounding this is the fact that not all of our electricity is being produced by coal. Some is being produced by oil, some is produced by nuclear. 30.8% of our electricity is being produced by coal, 6% by petroleum, 40.8% by natural gas, 10% nuclear, 7.5% hydro electric, the remaining is other renewables/gasses. If you take into account all combusting methods of electricity generation, the efficiency rating rises from 30% for coal to an over all efficiency rating of 40%. With this kind of efficiency rise, and after adding nuclear power, hydroelectric, and other renewables, it becomes clear that electricity will beat out gasoline in carbon efficiency.
The average price of electricity in the United States is $0.09 per kwh. if you make the calculation, thats about $1.01 to travel the 25 miles that one gallon of gasoline can travel. With gasoline prices at $3.50 a gallon, electricity begins to make allot more sense.
Source(s):
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell4…
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity…
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/420f0500…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_product…
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity…
Also, I am planning my next major purchase to be a Solar system for my home. So considering even a standard system will have the ability to charge my car for my daily commute as well as power the majority of my requirements in home it will help even that much more.
Bottom line for me is getting past the talk and taking action. Plus it really is an awesome car.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 21, 2011 12:18 PM
Regarding the pollution of electric over other cars... the website at fueleconomy.gov shows you a good comparison of a Nissan Leaf vs. a Toyota Prius. The Prius costs more to run and uses more petroleum products each year, yet puts out less carbon than the Leaf (I assume because they are accounting for the pollution at the source where the electricity is made).
Posted by: Jon Merryman | January 23, 2011 4:45 PM
Randy, thanks so much for that post, i've been looking for stats like that (and the citations are great). very helpful.
Posted by: maryland186 | January 24, 2011 9:22 AM