Plug-in hybrids are a sheep in sheep's clothing - debunking the myths and ignorance
This article and the follow up comments suggest that plug-in hybrids [PHEV] are bad based on ignorance and misleading conjecture.
1.
"Analysis from pressure groups Transport and Environment and Greenpeace suggest [plug-in hybrids] emit an average of 120g of CO2 per km. That compares with the 44g per km in official "lab" tests"
Firstly, they are pressure groups, they are going to biased (just as the official lab tests will also be biased).
Even if Greenpeace is correct and the figure is 120g of CO2 per km, then would that mean that a PHEV is then bad for the environmnent?
According to the SMMT New Car Report 2017, UK cars, the average new car emits 120.1g/km of CO2
see here:
So, worst case scenario, they are not any worse than any other car.
However I don't trust the Greenpeace pressure group any more than I trust the lab test - maybe the reality is in the middle? In which case, a PHEV is likely producing a lot less CO2 than an average car.
The whole study is based on an alleged survey of voluntary information which says:
"The pressure groups have analysed what they say is "real-world" data on fuel efficiency collected from some 20,000 plug-in hybrid drivers around Europe. These are drivers who have chosen to record their mileage and fuel consumption for surveys or who drive company or leased vehicles whose fuel efficiency is recorded."
According to Eurostat there are 1.5 million PHEVs in Europe, so this study is slightly more than 10% and hardly a representative study.
Also, the survey is from company car owners which presumably have to store mileage/consumption - if you own a company car then it is probably because you drive a lot and a PHEV is not going to be the best choice of car, it will indeed be driven mostly on petrol. I'm not surprised then by the findings based on this sample.
In addition, in a time when EV sales are soaring and the technology is improving, the study
"... uses emissions data from a test that is two years old."
Then you have to question the motives of the Transport & Environment Group and the Government in general. Do they stand to gain anything from painting PHEVs as a bad? A chance to slap on an extra tax perhaps? At a time when people drive more on electric and therefore contribute less to taxes via petrol? Hmm.
Currently petrol in the UK has a Fuel Duty of 57.95p and then, on top, there is VAT at 20-25p.
That is a whopping 70% in tax.
You need a lot lot lot less electricity to power a car than petrol - and VAT on electricity in the UK is 5% - so something sounds suspicious,
DEBUNKED!
2. To quote the article:
"Transport and Environment's analysis says a key problem with plug-in hybrids is that so many owners rarely actually charge their cars, meaning they rely on the petrol or diesel engine."
Erm, excuse me?
Firstly, what is "so many"? is that a scientific number? No credible study says "so many" rather than quoting a percentage or statistic - already sounds suspicious.
Secondly, it's just not true.
Electric cars are damn expensive - you pay a premium.
You would not pay a premium for electric cars over a petrol car and then not charge it!!!
Some employers start to offer (free/reduced rate) charging, some stores offer (free) charging.
This is just a complete nonsense claim not backed up by any evidence.
DEBUNKED!
3. Again, to quote the article:
"Another is that many plug-in hybrid models include design features that automatically turn on the petrol/diesel engine at start-up on a cold day, or will kick in that engine if driver accelerates hard."
Do they?
I never heard of this starting of the petrol engine on a cold day - I find this hard to believe and, again, we have a scientific "so many" quote as obviously a percentage would not be credible - if it was then it would have been used to back up the fact!!!!
Accelerating hard? yes, it is true that this happens but it has to be very hard and then the car anyway will settle back into electric mode.
Also most cars have ECO mode these days which prevents this from being possible - it literally blocks rapid acceleration and converts it into a slower and smoother increase in speed.
Furthermore, an EV driver is anyway less likely to do this!!!
You get to appreciate the quiet and smoothness of driving on battery - the last thing you want to do as an EV driver is have your car switching to petrol mode- you do everything in your power to prevent this to the extent possible.
4. As an EV driver, you appreciate the amount of money you are saving by driving on petrol. Personally, I went from EUR 4,000 per year annually to EUR 500 per year petrol and EUR 500 per year on electric.
(I need petrol for those occasional longer trips where I don't have the hassle of having to hire a petrol car for a couple of weeks).
So ...
- 75% saving in fuel costs per year.
- 87% reduction in emissions caused by driving on fossil fuels.
How can any credible pressure group say that this is a bad thing?
Would they prefer that I drive using a normal petrol car instead? - because this is what the article implies.
Keep driving on petrol, keep the 70% tax coming into the government's coffers for a while longer, hmmm.
Personally, I changed the route I drive to work and my driving style to maximise the electric range I get on my car ... the opposite of what this article falsely or naively alleges.
DEBUNKED!
5. You hear people say that PHEVs are bad and that full electric cars are much better (not from the article but from Tesla drivers).
These are the same people that tell me that:
- (they have a deal where) they can get a petrol car for 2 weeks per year for when they need to go on long trips
- they go on holiday by taking an aeroplane
My God!
I don't have the hassle of having to hire a petrol car for 2 weeks, I just switch to petrol mode when needed. And, from my stats, I am only driving about 13% of the time on petrol.
How can this be worse than hiring a petrol car for 2 weeks?
For those that try and do all their long journeys on electric, how can you justify the inconvenience of having to regular stop for a few hours at a time to recharge and inconvenience you and your family?
Also, the charging in infrastructure is just not there yet - it's better for a Tesla driver but still not sufficient and for other full electric cars it is non existent. In the future, yes, but today it's a nightmare. Even if you do find a charger then, from experience, it is likely to be either out of order or already in use (and also a rip-off charging cost. I once left my car to charge for 4 hours and got charged per minute .... EUR 40 for 40 kms of range!!!!).
DEBUNKED!
6. Often hear the nonsense argument that the environmental cost for producing the battery makes electric cars worse for the environment.
You can see from this article:
half of the emissions from battery production come from the electricity used in manufacturing and assembling the batteries. Producing batteries in regions with relatively low-carbon electricity or in factories powered by renewable energy, as will be the case for the batteries used in the best-selling Tesla Model 3, can substantially reduce battery emissions.
Let's put it simple.
If you buy a car as an ornament and never drive it then, yes, there is more environmental impact from owning an electric car over, say, 5 years than by having a petrol car.
But who buys a car to sit around?
You buy a car to get you from A-B.
The average person in the UK drives 10,000 miles per year - that's 50,000 miles over 5 years.
You have to look at the total cost of production and usage to get a realistic figure.
I drive 25,000 kms per year, that's 125,000 kms over 5 years.
Based on my above figures I was driving 125,000 kms on fossil fuels and now I am driving only 15,000kms - so that means a massive 110,000 kms are emissions free.
How can anyone say that the cost of battery means that it is better to drive 125,000 kms on petrol?
Once you have driven 5,000 kms on electric your CO2 reduction has already wiped out the environmental cost associated with the production of batteries and that is also assuming that the electric used to make the batteries was not green in the first place.
DEBUNKED!
7. I also hear that electric cars are bad because they use, erm, electricity - and electricity is generated from coal which is bad for the environment.
Read this:
Coal provides 5.4% of UK electricity in 2018 and is falling every year and will soon be zero.
The UK Government announced in November 2015 that all the remaining fourteen coal-fired power stations would be closed by 2025. In February 2020 the government said that it would consult on bringing the closure date forward to 2024.
To further quote:
In the third quarter of 2019, renewables contributed towards 38.9% of the UK's electricity generation.
The trend on renewables is upwards and fossil fuels sharply downwards.
In addition, these days you can chose to have your electricity provided purely by renewables.
My electricity provider has an special 'Autostroem' rate for charging my car which is slightly cheaper than normal rate (i.e. a motivation) and is guaranteed from renewable energy.
And if you buy an EV you are often interested enough in Green matters, or become so afterwards, so that you are more likely to go for such a tarrif.
Personally? After buying a PHEV I got more interested in green matters and now installed solar on my roof. I can therefore charge my car 100% from the sun - zero coal.
DEBUNKED!
8. What about the knock-on effect?
These studies look at cars in isolation.
Personally, getting a PHEV made me interested in other green topics which otherwise would not have happened.
For example I fitted solar panels and a battery - I also have a dishwasher which interacts and runs at the optimal time to utilise generated electricity.
I now run heavy appliances, like washing machine, in Eco mode and at a lower temperature and at a time when I see that the battery has charged sufficiently.
I cut down on meat, stopped drinking milk, bought LED light bulbs, cut down on plastic etc etc etc.
So buying a PHEV can have other positive effects and reducing emissions elsewhere.
9. PHEV is clearly an interim solution. It convinces the doubters that electric cars are indeed the future. It leads to fewer emissions as mentioned above, which is better than simply waiting until the charging infrastructure and other issues with full electric cars are solved.
Better to drive a PHEV now than to stay on petrol/diesel for a few years longer.
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