Does an EV make sense for me?
Discussion
sunnyb13 said:
Looking at 2019 bmw i3s's can be had for under £16k, they seem good value for money. They seem suited to my short local drives, and parking is free in town for EV's.
how do i calculate the cost per mile? Currently paying 33.52p/kWh
what would the mpg be roughly
Using an estimate of 3 mile per kw, the cost per mile at 33p would be 11p.how do i calculate the cost per mile? Currently paying 33.52p/kWh
what would the mpg be roughly
If you switch to an OVO Anytime tariff, you could charge your car for 10p per kw, which would mean 3.3p per mile.
3 mile per kw is just over 100mpg I believe.
TheBinarySheep said:
sunnyb13 said:
Looking at 2019 bmw i3s's can be had for under £16k, they seem good value for money. They seem suited to my short local drives, and parking is free in town for EV's.
how do i calculate the cost per mile? Currently paying 33.52p/kWh
what would the mpg be roughly
Using an estimate of 3 mile per kw, the cost per mile at 33p would be 11p.how do i calculate the cost per mile? Currently paying 33.52p/kWh
what would the mpg be roughly
If you switch to an OVO Anytime tariff, you could charge your car for 10p per kw, which would mean 3.3p per mile.
Currently have a bmw M140i which is quite juicy and thinking of making the switch to something like this https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/BMW/i3/RE69KVG
I think 11p per mile is roughly what a prius would give in this day and age?
sunnyb13 said:
thanks for crunching the numbers. not looking to switch tarrifs but rather use the current one we are supplied.
Currently have a bmw M140i which is quite juicy and thinking of making the switch to something like this https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/BMW/i3/RE69KVG
I think 11p per mile is roughly what a prius would give in this day and age?
You've nothing to lose switching tariffs, and you'll save a lot of money. Your day rate will remain 33p, but EV charging will be 10pCurrently have a bmw M140i which is quite juicy and thinking of making the switch to something like this https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/BMW/i3/RE69KVG
I think 11p per mile is roughly what a prius would give in this day and age?
Having just come from an I3s I got an average of 4.2 m/Kwh doing mostly local suburban and not worrying about aircon and modes etc, but loving the regen game. For you on these parameters it would cost nominally 8 pence/mile, useable capacity is 37.9kwh so 159 miles out of a full charge @ £12.70...
Really loved mine and was sad to see it go, my wife was key to that decision.
As a single person commuter it's brilliant. Use it for the odd family duty and the rear doors frustrated my wife (the boy and I were fine with it), the car jiggles quite a bit and my wife can get car sick so it wasn't great for her. The boot is small, but with the rear seats down it can haul a load of stuff so just think about what you will carry. Finally charging at home brilliant, finding a charger out and about hit and miss. I managed to justify it till we wanted to do a round trip to Brighton in the winter just over 120 miles with nowhere convenient to charge in Brighton where we were going. It was definitely toward getting the worst range conditions (cold, rain, aircon on, NSL roads, little opportunity to regen) with a wife who would not have been understanding if we needed to look for /wait at a charger, personally one of the worst journeys I have ever had... my wife thought it went well, made it home with 10 miles to spare but it was the final nail in the coffin and I sold it after just under 18 months of ownership (it was easier to get rid of the car than the wife).
Long story short charging solely at home for you it sounds like it will be very economical, just make sure you can live with it they can be a little hard to shift.
Edited to add according to select car leasing (googled) 4m/kwh = 160 MPG
Really loved mine and was sad to see it go, my wife was key to that decision.
As a single person commuter it's brilliant. Use it for the odd family duty and the rear doors frustrated my wife (the boy and I were fine with it), the car jiggles quite a bit and my wife can get car sick so it wasn't great for her. The boot is small, but with the rear seats down it can haul a load of stuff so just think about what you will carry. Finally charging at home brilliant, finding a charger out and about hit and miss. I managed to justify it till we wanted to do a round trip to Brighton in the winter just over 120 miles with nowhere convenient to charge in Brighton where we were going. It was definitely toward getting the worst range conditions (cold, rain, aircon on, NSL roads, little opportunity to regen) with a wife who would not have been understanding if we needed to look for /wait at a charger, personally one of the worst journeys I have ever had... my wife thought it went well, made it home with 10 miles to spare but it was the final nail in the coffin and I sold it after just under 18 months of ownership (it was easier to get rid of the car than the wife).
Long story short charging solely at home for you it sounds like it will be very economical, just make sure you can live with it they can be a little hard to shift.
Edited to add according to select car leasing (googled) 4m/kwh = 160 MPG
Edited by Moonpie21 on Wednesday 3rd May 10:37
Nearly 20k miles in (2020 120 Ah) and getting 3.9 miles/ kw. And that is 30 miles a day on fast A roads and B roads.
It is a fantastic car. Bought as white goods for work it has inched its way into our hearts.
Octopus Intelligent now 7.7p / kWh at night and 39.65p during the day. We are quite heavy daytime users but still averaging 23p/kwh over the month so about a 30% discount on current rates. Well worth the switch.
It is a fantastic car. Bought as white goods for work it has inched its way into our hearts.
Octopus Intelligent now 7.7p / kWh at night and 39.65p during the day. We are quite heavy daytime users but still averaging 23p/kwh over the month so about a 30% discount on current rates. Well worth the switch.
Edited by Discombobulate on Wednesday 3rd May 10:49
4 miles/kWh is about right for an i3.
Current UK average fuel prices for petrol according to the RAC are £1.46 and diesel £1.59
At your current electricity rate you'll be paying approx 9p per mile for charging (including losses)
To match that per mile cost you would need a petrol car that does 75mpg or a diesel car that does 85mpg at current prices.
Whether changing tariffs makes sense for you will depend on your current electricity usage, your mileage and the standing charges + peak/offpeak rates of any new tariff. It doesn't always make sense to do so but 100% worth investigating.
The i3 is a cracking city car BTW, and if it fits your usage needs now looks a decent time to buy.
Current UK average fuel prices for petrol according to the RAC are £1.46 and diesel £1.59
At your current electricity rate you'll be paying approx 9p per mile for charging (including losses)
To match that per mile cost you would need a petrol car that does 75mpg or a diesel car that does 85mpg at current prices.
Whether changing tariffs makes sense for you will depend on your current electricity usage, your mileage and the standing charges + peak/offpeak rates of any new tariff. It doesn't always make sense to do so but 100% worth investigating.
The i3 is a cracking city car BTW, and if it fits your usage needs now looks a decent time to buy.
covmutley said:
I'm on a standard tariff but night time rate is circa 17p. Can you get reduced rate at night?
I3 would be nice around town. I found my old one very fidgety on rural back roads, but around town it was awesome. Much nicer than a white goods ice car.
Octopus Go etc. numerous ones out there. 7.5p for us at the moment. So it’s cheap as chips to charge our Volvo XC40 BEV for 250 miles of range. I3 would be nice around town. I found my old one very fidgety on rural back roads, but around town it was awesome. Much nicer than a white goods ice car.
OP your use case seems perfect for a BEV. Never driven an i3 but a colleague has one (5 years in) and loves it. He does a 30 mile round trip every day commute to the Uni. I think they look fantastic now and I know that Mrs D would find one perfect.
….
As an aside, isn’t it ironic that Caroline Lucas’s constituents have so much difficulty charging from home or finding rapid charging points locally. I encountered a couple of early 60s Brighton denizens - you know the type - trying to do the ‘right thing’ and going BEV with their ID3 back in March on the A34. It was their first long trip - I remember feeling very nervous too back in 2021 on a trip up to Oxford from the South Coast and some kind chap in an iPace helped me sort an issue with a charger. So I went over to them and offered as much help as I could give including shoving their charge on my Shell Card.
The poor buggers were so concerned for the environment that they said when I was trying to help them charge, ‘we just had to do it for the sake of our grandchildren’. Anyway, long story short, they said Brighton council won’t let them have a home charger trailing a cable across the pavement, and they were trying to get to Banbury but thought they should charge at Tothill. Things went from bad to worse when their debit card was continually refused. Then the iD3 wouldn’t release the DC charger, so they called Shell etc. i looked but couldn’t find a manual charger release. i did my best and am happy with that. I hope that they are not still there.
Edited by Diderot on Wednesday 3rd May 20:15
Another vote for Ovo Anytime here - it's not a tariff in its own right, more like a bolt on, so there's no affect on your household rates.
It works out what you use for charging the EV by communicating with the car (you'll need a compatible car - I've not checked if the i3 is), or a compatible charger.
It then credits you back the difference between your standard rate and 10p /kWh EV charge rate at the end of each month.
So if you were on a 33p/ kWh house tariff, then for every kWh of charge you put in during a month, you'll get 23p/kWh credited to your bill.
Last month was our first full month and we're due £30.68 to be credited and that's with us still on a fixed rate household tariff of 17.9 p/kWh. In a couple of months when that fixed rate comes to an end, it would be nearly £90! Well worth looking into.
Seems incredibly flexible too - we've had charging start at all times of the day and week, and never a problem being full by morning.
It works out what you use for charging the EV by communicating with the car (you'll need a compatible car - I've not checked if the i3 is), or a compatible charger.
It then credits you back the difference between your standard rate and 10p /kWh EV charge rate at the end of each month.
So if you were on a 33p/ kWh house tariff, then for every kWh of charge you put in during a month, you'll get 23p/kWh credited to your bill.
Last month was our first full month and we're due £30.68 to be credited and that's with us still on a fixed rate household tariff of 17.9 p/kWh. In a couple of months when that fixed rate comes to an end, it would be nearly £90! Well worth looking into.
Seems incredibly flexible too - we've had charging start at all times of the day and week, and never a problem being full by morning.
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