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.