Gasoline

From Alhannah

I'm too late to the game to share my Leaf vs Corola calcs, but suffice it to say, I get the same rsluet as Jesse. What I also find interesting is the relative inefficiency of gasoline usage in a vehicle engine. Since most of our electricity is fossil-derived, you are essentially powering your Leaf with coal or methane, burned at a distance, at a much higher efficiency than what a piston engine is capable of. Now some numbers: assuming the drivetrain losses in a Leaf are relatively modest at 15% (I have no idea what they actually are), we can then say that of the 22.6kWh/100km power usage, 85% or 19.2kWh is actually motive power. A Corolla weighs only 81% as much as a Leaf, so it will require 15.6 kWh of motive power to do the same 100km. Given the mileage of 6.6L/100km, the Corolla will use 59 kWh of fuel at 8.94kWh/L. So, if the Leaf is 85% efficient, this would put the Corolla engine at about 22.5% efficient, which is a little high, but fairly close to the 18-20% range usually quoted for gasoline engines. A combined cycle natural gas power plant will have an efficiency of 50-60%, and on top of that, the fuel cost of $4/GJ vs about $40/GJ of gasoline (if I did my math correctly), and it quickly becomes clear why the fuel cost for a Leaf is so much lower than for a Corolla. For home heat though, different ballgame entirely. Gas at $4 and 95% efficiency gives you $4.21/GJ, while electricity at $0.15/kWh will cost you $41.67 for the same 1GJ of heat. So, run your car on electricity if you can, but use natural gas to heat your home!