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Efficiency test of my 2024 Prius Prime: Gasoline vs Electricity in my first week. (self.cars)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by dragontamer to c/cars

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The Prius Prime is a dual fuel vehicle, able to run 100% on Electric, or 100% on gasoline, or a computerized blend in-between. This presents me a great opportunity to be able to do a direct comparison with the same car of an EV engine vs an ICE engine.

Toyota computer claims 3.2mi-per-kwhr.
Kill-a-watt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_A_Watt) claims 2.2mi-per-kwhr.
Additional 1.5% losses should be assumed in the wires if you wish. (120V drops down to 118V during charging, meaning 2V of the energy was lost due to the resistance of my home's wires).
Level 1 charger at home (known to be less efficient).
Toyota computer claims 53miles-per-gallon (American Gallon).
I have not independently verified the gallon usage of my car.
295 miles driven total, sometimes EV, sometimes Gasoline, sometimes both.
30F to 40F (-1C to 4.5C) in my area this past week.
Winter-blend fuel.
12.5miles per $electricity-dollar (17.1c / kw-hr home charging costs)
17.1 miles per $gasoline-dollar ($3.10 per gallon last fillup).

If anyone has questions about my tests. The main takeaway is that L1 charging is so low in efficiency that gasoline in my area is cheaper than electricity. Obviously the price of gasoline and electricity varies significantly area-to-area, so feel free to use my numbers to calculate / simulate the costs in your area.

There is also substantial losses of efficiency due to cold weather, that is well acknowledged by the EV community. The Prius Prime (and most other EVs) will turn on a heater to keep the battery conditioned in the winter, spending precious electricity on battery-conditioning rather than miles. Gasoline engines do not have this problem and remain as efficient in the winter.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So gas costs about $4.90/gal local currency where I live, and electricity costs about $0.096. Assuming everything you calculated is correct, and we ignore environmental impact differences (which is substantial here since electricity where I live is almost completely renewable), your setup would cost a quarter as much while electric vs. gas here.

Based on local prices, your two numbers for comparison are 31.7 miles per electricity dollar vs. 7.6 miles per local gasoline dollar.

I will certainly get dinged for cold weather which, based on the commonly accepted metric for older electric vehicles, is about half the range, so it will only be twice as cost-effective during those periods.

[–] dragontamer 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Based on local prices, your two numbers for comparison are 31.7 miles per electricity dollar vs. 7.6 miles per local gasoline dollar.

53mpg / $4.90 == 10.8 miles / $gasoline dollar.

2.2mi/kwhr / $0.096 == 22.9mi / $electric-dollar.

Are these Canadian dollars btw? And is this some kind of time-of-use / nighttime energy setup for lower costs?

If I switch to on-peak / off-peak plan for my local electricity, its 28c/kwh onpeak and 12c/kwh offpeak. So I get much cheaper electricity off-peak but my daytime energy (air-conditioning, computers, refrigerators, etc. etc.) all get much more expensive (17c to 28c is a HUGE jump).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Canadian dollar, and no variable rate for residential electricity. Pick a time, it will be $0.096.

My math may be off, I'm definitely not at my best right now.

[–] dragontamer 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

NP, thanks for responding and clarifying.

I'm guessing you live somewhere in the territory of Quebec or Manitoba then? Google seems to suggest that your numbers are realistic for a couple of provinces/territories with lots of spare electricity.