This is not really a "brain teaser" but is a question that brings many different approaches ...
All electric vehicle promoters are publishing statements like "the gasoline-equivalent cost of electricity is less than $1.00 per gallon" but there are not mathematical models shown for support. So, I took a simplistic view to test that statement but would like anyone's comments as to its validity.
At 132 megajoules per gallon of gasoline at $4.00 per gallon, the cost is $0.03/megajoule.
At $0.09/kWh residential electricity and considering 3.6 megajoules per kWh, the cost is $0.025/megajoule.
Therefore, the gasoline-equivalent cost of electricity is $4.00 / $0.03 * $0.025 = $3.33 (not nearly "less than $1.00").
Is this exercise flawed in comparing the energy used to propel a car from electricity and gasoline and the resulting difference in cost?
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This is not really a "brain teaser" but is a question that brings many different approaches ...
All electric vehicle promoters are publishing statements like "the gasoline-equivalent cost of electricity is less than $1.00 per gallon" but there are not mathematical models shown for support. So, I took a simplistic view to test that statement but would like anyone's comments as to its validity.
At 132 megajoules per gallon of gasoline at $4.00 per gallon, the cost is $0.03/megajoule.
At $0.09/kWh residential electricity and considering 3.6 megajoules per kWh, the cost is $0.025/megajoule.
Therefore, the gasoline-equivalent cost of electricity is $4.00 / $0.03 * $0.025 = $3.33 (not nearly "less than $1.00").
Is this exercise flawed in comparing the energy used to propel a car from electricity and gasoline and the resulting difference in cost?
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