Today marks our 50th day with Scarlett. Yes it’s Easter, yes it’s April Fool’s Day, yes this will be a serious post.
I’ve been tracking our electric use the entire time we’ve been in our home. If you follow my blog, you’l know we live in a LEED Platinum, net-zero (so far) home. We designed it from the start for up to two Level 2 charging stations in our garage. Each would supply up to 40 amps at 240 volts for charging. Put into basic terms, we can fully charge Scarlett overnight.
We have a 6KW solar PV system as well and in a previous post, I talked about costs, electricity, etc.
But the real test is in our actual electric bill. There are so many variables, it is actually very hard to make a determination in just one month. We just received our electric bill and it was a bit lower than last month. It was also a bit lower than February last year. I checked heating degree days and they were a bit higher this February over last February. So I would have to say the results right now are inconclusive.
As I said, too many variables. I think the real test will be after a full year.
But based on my estimates, our average gasoline bill last year was $63 per month. And, also based on my estimates, our electric bill should only go up about $10 per month, for a net savings of about $50 per month.
Which is, in all reality, all somewhat academic. I was asked today if I had calculated how long it would take me to recoup our investment in Scarlett.
Well, we have traditionally only bought new cars about every 15 years or so. And, beyond the carbon footprint reduction of an EV, Scarlett is just flat out fun to drive.
I’d have to say that’s the REAL investment.