Eco Pro vs. Eco Amateur: Do I have what it takes to beat the ActiveE at its own game?

Driving efficiently is the name of the game in trying to squeeze every last mile of range out of an EV like the Active E.  On most days, I don't need that much range, so no need to be efficient.  Besides the E has a nice feature called "Eco Pro" where it manages the amount of electricity being used by the electric motor and all the other electric components of the car (including things like the air-conditioning, heater, and heated seats).  Eco Pro helps boost the efficiency of the E without you having to worry your pretty little head over it.

And yet, I wonder...can I be as efficient without the help of a professional?  I had to find out.  Eco Pro (the car) vs. Eco Amateur (me) in a head-to-head competition to see if I had what it takes to beat the E Professional.

First, for some factual assumptions.

In order to make this contest a little more even, I chose to measure the E's driving efficiency (which is measured in miles per Kilowatt Hour (or mls/kWh)) over the course of two days.  On day one, I drove without the Eco Pro engaged from home to work, a trip of 16 miles.  I used only side-streets--no freeway driving--because the flow of the freeway is unpredictable over the course of two days (especially here in Southern California).  More stop-and-go traffic means more efficiency for the E, and I wanted the amount of stop and go to be about the same both days.  By taking city-streets to work I had a more consistent trip between the two days.

I also did NOT use the air-conditioning.  Since the Eco Pro setting manages the amount of power being used by the air conditioner, something I cannot do myself, I choose to measure the efficiency without using air at all.  On both mornings the outside temperature was about the same (64 degrees on day one and 60 degrees on day two).  Finally, I took the exact same route and stopped measuring in the exact same location both days.

The Results.

Eco Amateur: Here are my results on day one, where I (the Eco Amateur) tried to manage efficiency all by myself:

I averaged a respectable 3.7 mls/kWh.  Not bad for an amateur.  My average speed was 29.7 m.p.h. and the trip took 37 minutes to complete.  At 3.7 mls/kWh, you can expect to reach an overall range of around 100 miles--assuming you could maintain that same efficiency for the day.  That is not likely because as the day gets warmer, a/c is a must--and that would take more power.  With Eco Pro that power could be managed, but during this "amateur hour" of driving I can't manage the a/c other than turning it off (or setting the climate control at 80 degrees--no thanks).

Eco Pro: Here are my results on day two using Eco Pro:



I averaged 3.9 mls/kWh, with an average speed of 31 m.p.h.  And the trip was a bit shorter at 35 minutes (a result of my higher average speed).  At this level of efficiency you could expect around 105 miles of range, assuming you could maintain the same level of efficiency for the entire trip.  Again, it may be hard to maintain 3.9 mls/kWh for an entire trip, but with Eco Pro engaged the electronic systems--including a/c--would use less power.

And the winner is:  Eco Pro!  But not by much, which is surprising.  I have done the same trip using Eco Pro before and obtained an efficiency of 4.0 mls/kWh (my highest efficiency rating ever).  Slow, steady starts is the friend of efficiency--such as this:




The more you can keep the needle from moving past that first hash-mark to the right of "Ready", the better.

But the car's ability to zoom off the line (leaving every other driver looking surprised when seen through the E's rearview mirror) is the enemy of efficiency.  And yet, I it never gets old.  So if you are going to drive efficiently, don't do this:





Notes and Conclusions:

A couple of observations.  First, was I driving more conservatively on day one when trying to measure my efficiency without Eco Pro (how dare you accuse me of that!)?  Yes, I was.  Not intentionally, but overall I clearly was driving more conservatively on day one, which is why I had a lower average speed on day one than I did on day two.  I am not sure if it is even possible to drive exactly the same over two days, but taking this into account means that Eco Pro is probably better than these numbers show.

Further, Eco Pro would definitely be more efficient when using the air-conditioning or the heater.

Is there any reason to drive without Eco Pro when trying to be efficient?  Not really.  There are times when I will start without Eco Pro so as to cool the car faster in summer, and I know others who drive without Eco Pro to heat the car faster in Winter.  The E also has the ability to precondition before unplugging from a 240V power source--which means that the car will cool or heat itself and its battery to optimal temperature before departure.  This is a real power saver.

Overall, however, there is no reason to drive without Eco Pro when trying to be efficient--unless you want to see if you can best the Eco Professional.  Even then you may learn, as I did, it's hard to beat a Pro.

Electric Lingo: Talking the talk of electric cars

Have you ever been ICE’d?  Do you have an EVSE with a J1772 connector?  Do you even have an EV?  Ever suffer Range Anxiety (“RA”)?  How’s your regen?  You using 240 or 120—ever pre-condition?  Have a Range Extender?  

If you have no idea what I am talking about, then join the club.  I didn’t either until my recent decision to take part in the BMW Active E field trial.  By listening to those who have been in the electric car arena far longer than I have been, you start to pick up on their foreign language of terms and acronyms.  And like any language, it separates the natives from the foreigners in this electric car world. 

But if you are going to keep score, you have to learn the language.  So here is a translation of the terms I have deciphered so far (which I’m sure only just scratches the surface):

ICE – an acronym that stands for Internal Combustion Engine (the dreaded gas-powered cars).  Derivations include “ICE’d” as in, “someone ICE’d the EVSE."  This is by far one of my favorite terms.

EV – Electric vehicle (you should have known this one).  The next category is a bit harder.

EV derivations: ZEV -- zero emission vehicles, PEVs -- plug-in electric vehicles, ILEV -- inherently low emission vehicles (which usually include pure EVs and CNG vehicles (compressed natural gas)), PZEV -- partial zero emission vehicles (hybrids).  The wonderfully confusing world of acronyms--can you add any others?  

EVSE – Electric vehicle supply equipment—refers to the charging equipment used to recharge the batteries on an EV.

J1772 Connector – the most modern connector used on EVSE's, see photo below:

Range Anxiety (“RA”) – fear of running out of battery power before reaching an EVSE. 

Regen or Regeneration – the regenerative braking function found on all electric and hybrid cars.  EV’s actually produce electric power on their own when slowing down or braking by capturing the energy generated by the moving car.  When referring to “Regen” people mean the process by which regenerative braking kicks-in, which occurs either when depressing the brakes or when taking your foot off of the acceleration pedal (as is the case with the Active E).

240 vs. 120 – Type of power source being used to recharge your EV.  120 volt is the typical power outlet in your home.  The Active E, for example, comes with a 120 volt power cord that will allow charging from a regular power socket.  But 120 is far slower in recharging the batteries.  A 240 volt outlet, however is the typical power sources used by EVSE’s and it allows a much faster charge time because it delivers far more power to the batteries. 

Range Extender – an on-board gas motor that allows the electric motor to continue operating after the battery has depleted its charge.  In the case of an all-electric car like the Active E, the only “range extender” available is a tow truck.

Pre-conditioning – the process of using the EVSE power source to warm-up the batteries before the EVSE is unplugged and the car is used.  The batteries provide the most range for an EV when they are operating at their optimum temperature, around 70 degrees or so.

This is just the beginning.  I hope to become completely fluent in electric car dialect as soon as possible.  Feel free to add the terms I don’t have yet, or just tell me your favorites.  Whatever you do, never ICE an EVSE.

Will Electric Cars Reach the Tipping Point?

I love electric cars, solar energy and alternative power sources, and so I gravitate to those technologies and interact with groups of people who share the same interest.  But how many people in our community are ready, willing and able to embrace electric cars?

The enemy against wide adoption of electric cars right now is range.  But that’s just excuse number one.  There are other excuses/roadblocks too.  For example, the time it takes to charge an electric car, the cost of having charging equipment installed at home, the look and design of the cars and the ultimate consumer roadblock: price.  In the case of the BMW ActiveE the price of the car is heavily subsidized by BMW, with a residual value set at around 85% of the purchase price.  The ActiveE has a listed MSRP of $60,000, yet a lease payment of around $499 per month.  Check around and you’ll find that most cars with $60,000 price tags have lease payments between $850 and $1,000.  And that’s for cars with high residual values.  What does the price of an Active E equal in the real world?  Not $499 per month.

Subsidization works for BMW because the ActiveE is a field test, so there is value in the subsidy by receiving driving data from 700 real world experiences.  But once the test is over, the subsidy goes with it. 

When it comes to un-subsidized cars, lets talk Chevy Volt:  

I test drove a Volt and it is a great car.  It can travel between 35 to 40 miles on pure battery power, and then it has an on-board gas motor than generates electricity so the car can travel another 300 miles or so.  The electric motor has plenty of power and Chevy did a nice job making the interior much nicer than the Chevy Cruz model on which the Volt is based.  But the Volt carries an MSRP, when fully loaded with leather seats, of around $43,000 to $45,000…for a Chevy!  Not a Corvette mind you, but a small-size Chevy sedan. 

If I were not receiving a BMW ActiveE, then I would buy a Volt because I like the electric only option (the Chevy Volt will travel about 35 to 40 miles on pure electric and then an on-board gas generator kicks in).  But I am not similar to the average consumer in this community.  I love electric cars (that should be obvious by now).  For others, the price alone will make them either unable or unwilling to pay for such a car.

Of course, the price of electric cars is primarily in the batteries, and the batteries are improving all the time.  With cheaper batteries that provide more energy with less weight, the costs will recede.  But will that be enough to tip the balance in favor of wide adoption of electric cars?  I’m not so sure.  Don’t get me wrong, I have yet to meet anyone who says “I hate the environment and want to drive a gas-powered car forever.”  People know and like the idea of electric power, but will they actually adopt electric power?  Only time will tell.