Welcome!

Are you curious about electric cars? Thinking that maybe you'd consider getting one in future? Or do you think that they're just not ready for the mass market yet? Have you heard that there is a lot of hassle involved, and that they're just not worth it?

My name is Wayne Gibbons, and I drive an electric car. I am a lecturer in Civil Engineering at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway, Ireland. As part of the GMIT Green Campus initiative at this institute, I am developing a project aimed at informing staff and students about electric vehicles, and this website will be the main platform for the project.

The IPCC has identified reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector as a pathway to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. As part of this, the electrification of private cars is something that needs to be considered.

Whatever your thoughts on electric vehicles (EVs), it's probably a good idea to have the full picture before making your mind up.

With this site, I will present a real-world report on what it is like to own, maintain and enjoy driving an electric vehicle around the Galway area. The site will contain blog posts on the benefits and drawbacks of EV driving, technical "live lab" data on fuel consumption and emissions savings, podcast episodes, and a space for readers to ask questions and learn from my experience.

This project is due to run from November 2018 to May 2019.

Live Lab #7 (May)

As you can see from the image above, the car averaged 13.3kWh/100km in May. This is a slight improvement over the 13.7kWh/100km observed in April. The improvement is most likely down to an overall increase in air temperatures as we move into the summer months. 

This works out at a cost of €1.68 per 100km (charging at home). By way of comparison, a reasonably good efficiency in a petrol car would get about 5l/100km. At current petrol prices around Galway (€1.47-ish per litre), this equates to about €7.35 per 100km. Over the distance travelled in May, such a petrol car would have cost about €55 in fuel.

Would you rather pay €55 or €13 for your entire monthly commute?

Interesting to note that over the past couple of months, petrol prices have risen. This can have a big effect over a longer period of time. Fossil fuel is not only running out, its price can fluctuate wildly. In the 18 months or so that I've had my LEAF, the price I pay for electricity has barely changed at all. So, at a time of year when the EV is getting more efficient to run due to warmer weather, and fossil fuel prices are rising, the overall savings are getting even better.

*A note on the stated CO2 Savings shown above:

This figure is calculated by Nissan, not by me. Please refer to the note on this page for more information about this.

Live Lab #6 (April)

As you can see from the image above, the car averaged 13.7kWh/100km in April. This is a reasonable improvement over the 14.9kWh/100km observed in March. The improvement is most likely down to a change in weather.....warmer air temperatures make the batteries more efficient. 

This works out at a cost of €1.73 per 100km (charging at home). By way of comparison, a reasonably good efficiency in a petrol car would get about 5l/100km. At current petrol prices around Galway (€1.46-ish per litre), this equates to about €7.30 per 100km. Over the distance travelled in April, such a petrol car would have cost about €45 in fuel.

Would you rather pay €45 or €11 for your entire monthly commute?

Interesting to note that over the past month or so, petrol prices have risen by about 10cent per litre. This can have a big effect over a longer period of time. Fossil fuel is not only running out, its price can fluctuate wildly. In the 18 months or so that I've had my LEAF, the price I pay for electricity has barely changed at all. So, at a time of year when the EV is getting more efficient to run due to warmer weather, and fossil fuel prices are rising, the overall savings are getting even better.

*A note on the stated CO2 Savings shown above:

This figure is calculated by Nissan, not by me. Please refer to the note on this page for more information about this.

Live Lab #5 (March)

As you can see from the image above, the car averaged 14.9kWh/100km in March (up slightly from the 14.6 in February). This is consistently good fuel economy for this time of year. 

This works out at a cost of €1.88 per 100km (charging at home). By way of comparison, a reasonably good efficiency in a petrol car would be 5l/100km. At current petrol prices around Galway (€1.39-ish per litre), this equates to about €6.95 per 100km. Over the distance travelled in February, such a petrol car would have cost about €56 in fuel.

Would you rather pay €56 or €16 for your entire monthly commute?

*A note on the stated CO2 Savings shown above:

This figure is calculated by Nissan, not by me. Please refer to the note on this page for more information about this.

Live Lab #4 (February)

As you can see from the image above, the car averaged 14.7kWh/100km in February (down slightly from the 15.6 in January). This is the best fuel economy that the car has returned during this Project, and is probably down to unseasonally mild weather for this time of year. There's an irony in a car with no emissions gaining an advantage from global warming!

This works out at a cost of €1.85 per 100km (charging at home). By way of comparison, a reasonably good efficiency in a petrol car would be 5l/100km. At current petrol prices around Galway (€1.35-ish per litre), this equates to about €6.75 per 100km. Over the distance travelled in February, such a petrol car would have cost about €59 in fuel.

*A note on the stated CO2 Savings shown above:

This figure is calculated by Nissan, not by me. Please refer to the note on this page for more information about this.

Live Lab #3 (January)

As you can see from the image above, the car averaged 15.6kWh/100km in January (down slightly from the 15.9 in December). As before, I would say this is pretty good for the time of year, and is reasonably consistent over the three-months of this Project so far. 

For the month of January I did the vast majority of the charging at home. I used the rapid charger near Carnmore Cross a couple of times, but not much in the scheme of things. The total cost of €26.52 is therefore a reasonably accurate reflection of "fuel" costs for the month.

This works out at a cost of €1.99 per 100km. By way of comparison, a reasonably good efficiency in a petrol car would be 5l/100km. At current petrol prices around Galway (€1.35-ish per litre), this equates to about €6.75 per 100km. Over the distance travelled in January, such a petrol car would have cost about €88 in fuel.

Something worth noting in the image is the amount of electricity generated by the car. You hear a lot about "self-charging" cars in the media at the moment. Leaving out the fact that any car with an alternator is technically "self-charging", the figures for the amount of energy regenerated by an EV are quite good. The car generated 49.2kWh by utilising the motor as a dynamo during slowing-down in January. If we work off 15.6kWh/100km, this means that the car generated enough power to cover 315km all by itself. 315km absolutely for free! How far can some of the "self-charging" cars go by battery power? Reports from The Netherlands suggest its a matter of 2-3km per charge. Just saying!

*A note on the stated CO2 Savings shown above:

This figure is calculated by Nissan, not by me. Please refer to the note on this page for more information about this.

Guest Blogger #3 (BMW i3)

The range, and more precisley the limitation of the range, is often cited as a reason not to buy into the EV dream. More often than not, you will hear about how EVs are only suitable for short trips but this month's guest blogger has a longer trip story or two to tell. Guillaume Séguin is the editor for www.irishevowners.ie ; of French origin he has been living in Ireland for over a decade and has been advocating EV adoption through the Irish EV owners Association. Contact: editor@irishevowners.ie - Instagram & Twitter : Lutecia44

For many, EVs are just good for the city, or maybe further if your range is enough to cover your daily commute plus some errands. But not made for long distance trips. They are right and wrong at the same time.

I'm based in Cork and bought my first EV exactly 5 years ago. A first generation used Leaf found in the UK. That's what my budget allowed.  So my first real EV experience (bar some short test drives) was also a long distance trip. I had never driven a Leaf before and here I am in Nissan Oxford picking up my new car when the salesman tells me, realizing I'm going to drive to Ireland the next day : "You're brave". I'm sure that in 2019 dealers believe more in their own EVs ! :)

So the next day I drive from Milton Keynes (where I was staying for a few days) all the way to Fishguard, 400km west. That first trip went actually quite smoothly, all chargers were available and operational (Ecotricity did a great job with their Electric Highway network back then), with a charge every 80km or so (winter range of the Leaf 1 isn't too impressive)... The key to that smooth trip was serious planning, with plan Bs, and plenty of extra time (12 hours total!), just in case something went wrong (and a flexible ferry ticket!). In hindsight, I can say that I've actually had more stressful trips later, just because I didn't plan correctly!

The Irish leg (from Rosslare to Cork) was actually quite interesting, as the existing network was not completed back then, and there were no fast chargers in Waterford. The range was too limited to drive from Rosslare to Dungarvan, so I actually had to drive to Kilkenny before driving down to Cahir and Cork. A 6 hour mini-adventure for a 200km distance. After a few months, the range anxiety faded, and I felt more comfortable with the capabilities of my car (and got myself the Leafspy app, a great investment for any Leaf driver going for long distances, allowing to have a more precise battery gauge).

I'm telling you that story to show that driving a mainstream EV could be quite a challenge, just a few years ago. Thankfully things changed since.

In 2015 I did my first trip to France. I usually drive to Nantes to see my family for Christmas but the fast charging network was just not there that year so for the first time I had to wait for the summer crossing to Roscoff which was much easier to manage (and without need for heating!) thanks to a better charging network on that route.

The following year (2016) I upgraded my Leaf to a 30kWh model. What a great feeling to see the range expanding! It meant, thanks to an ever improving network, that I could drive to France in winter and enjoy my first electric Christmas trip, all the way to Paris, even if the route to home was not straight forward and added a few hours to my trip.

In 2017 I decided to go to Scotland (great charging network!) and the north of England : it was so easy! And of course another French Christmas, this time, I could drive the 350km home just like in an ICE, bar the 3 quick charges (but without detour) and more moderate speeds. Very acceptable.

In Autumn 2018 I decided to go for a 33kWh BMW i3. The range is a bit better. Far from what Tesla or newer models can do now but a fair progress over the Leaf. Next week I will drive from Cork to Wexford. But won't go through Kilkenny, and it won't take me 6 hours. I'll actually do the 180km trip without recharging on the way. At the same pace as the other cars, with the added comfort, toll discount, and cheap "fuel".

My next EV will have an even longer range. Maybe it'll be a Tesla Model 3, a Kia e-Niro, or another of these newer EVs that have battery packs of over 60 kWh. I'll go from Cork to Dublin in one go, with some electricity to spare. The range anxiety will be gone, but then I will probably suffer from bladder anxiety.