Plug-in hybrids – Petrol Prius v Diesel Volvo V60 Polestar

Posted by Ross Lammas

A like-for-like comparison between cars with very different purchase prices is never going to be fare – unless you ignore brand image and the level of trim. For this review I’m going to disregard the showroom price tag and look at the driving experience, practicality and frugalness of the petrol Toyota Prius, and Volvo’s diesel V60 plug-in hybrids.

volvo_v60_hybrid_test

Let’s start with practicality; – something normally synonymous with Volvo and you’d expect the V60 to win hands down. However, lift-up the rear hatch and the reality kicks in of converting an existing model to electric propulsion. The boot floor level has been raised to accommodate the batteries and electric motor that cleverly drive the rear wheels, the front wheels are driven by the diesel engine. This has completely compromised the load lugging potential of the V60. Thankfully, cabin space isn’t compromised at all by the batteries or the additional electric motor and there’s plenty of room for four large adults and a smaller person in the middle.

From the outside you’d expect the Prius not to have much room in the back with its aerodynamically raked rear hatch, yet, surprisingly, there’s a reasonable amount of space to be had. Front passenger room in Prius are on a par with the Volvo, both being equally spacious with plenty of legroom. The seats on the Volvo offer better support than the Prius. Driver’s visibility isn’t as compromised in the Volvo by oversized window pillars which feature in the Prius. They are both pretty good on the ergonomics of the controls, storage cup holders and driving position. The Volvo had the edge in terms of ease of use of information systems, dials and switchgear. A more uniformed design, perhaps a more European influenced approach appealed to me.

Driving experience – are you a keen driver? Or is driving a means of getting from A to B? If you’re the later the Prius could be for you. The Prius is a very easy car to drive, that’s if you ignore all the buttons and dashboard information overload! It seems to encourage a frugal, relaxed driving style, which is what this car is about. Either pounding up and down the motorway, or running in stealth electric mode around town, whichever, you’ll arrive with minimal fuss and expense. My only dislike on the Pruis is the eCVT (electronic continuously variable transmission), which sometimes – on steep inclines – makes the engine race like your cars clutch is slipping. The transition from pure electric to petrol is very good, almost seamless. You can certainly see where many years of Toyotas R&D has paid dividends. Again, the handling is good, although not as sharp as the Volvo.

Electric Car Journey Cost Calculator

Now lets take a look at the Volvo, this is a very different beast to drive! It’s more of a ‘ON or OFF’ car. In pure electric mode it’s as relaxed as you like, quiet limousine qualities spring to mind, akin to its excessive price tag. Put your foot down, or press the sports button and it’s off like a shot! The rather gruff torque of the diesel motor rattles into action combined with the even torque electric motor, to catapult you up the road – Jekyll and Hyde… here we go! The performance is exciting and great fun, it’s just a little crude when compared to petrol hybrids. The transition from diesel to electric isn’t as smooth as the Prius and the noise is more noticeable compared to it’s quiet electric mode. Motorway journeys are more relaxed and comfortable as the diesel engine noise is much less noticeable. The handing and braking are first-rate, it clings on round corners with no body roll. PoleStars racing influence on the suspension set up certainly makes for an entertaining drive! Yet in normal driving it’s very smooth, not harsh at all. The car is packed with the latest safety features; this is, afterall, a Volvo. These include lane deviation, collision, blind spot detection, self-dipping and steering headlights. One potential safety issue I spotted on the V60, which had a sunroof fitted, was that the when the sun shone through the roof it hit the chrome logo badge on the steering wheel, reflecting sunlight directly into my eyes! It happened on enough occasions to be annoying as well as dangerous! Suggest smaller less reflective logos please Volvo, miles cheaper than all the techy safety gizmos.

volvo_v60_review

Petrol vehicles running costs

So, what about saving money and the planet? Well, frugalness or fuel efficiency of cars with any plug-in hybrid is down to your driving patterns and lifestyle. If you do lots of short runs that can be done in pure electric mode they are incredibly cheap to run – just a few pence per mile! On longer trips we found both cars to be pretty economic, with the Prius, surprisingly, having a slight edge over the Volvo. However, the problem with the Prius is that it only has around a 10 miles range in pure electric mode, compared to the 20 miles in the Volvo. This made the Volvo a much better option for our general running around. My advice, if your considering a plug-in hybrid, would be to monitor your journey patterns overtime to see if a plug-in is practical for your lifestyle. You may find that a pure electric car may even suit your driving habits, especially if you’ve a second car for longer journeys. The main advantage with the plug-in hybrids, apart from the generous tax breaks and subsidies – which may end soon – is the flexibility to do longer journeys without the associated anxiety of taking an electric car beyond its battery range.

Plug-in Diesel Hybrids running costs

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Diesel or Petrol Hybrid? My preference would be for petrol hybrids as they’re quieter, lighter and have less NOx tailpipe emissions than diesels. Plus I can’t stand the smell of diesel on my hands after filling-up!

Plug-in Petrol Hybrids running costs

Electric Radiators or Storage Heaters are they energy efficient?

Posted by Ross Lammas

The papers seem full of ads for electric radiators claiming to be cheap to run and energy efficient. Let’s take a look at the cheap to run element first – no pun intended!

electric-raditors

Electricity is one of the most expensive forms of heating in the UK and emits the most CO2 emissions – unless you’re currently on a green tariff. If you’ve bought or sold a house in the last eight years, you will know that it’s a legal requirement to have an energy rating for the property. This takes the form of an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate), and provides an A-G energy rating much the same as appears on your washing machine. The EPC crudely predicts the running costs of your house based on the levels of insulation, lighting systems, glazing, your heating system and controls. An EPC for a property fitted with an electric heating system will almost always be penalised, and have a lower A to G energy rating than the same as those fitted with a gas or even an oil boiler. Why? Well, simply because electricity is more expensive per kW hour to heat your home. Ironically, even if you had a super efficient ground or air source heat pump running your home, the EPC assessment would see a modern gas combi-boiler as being the more energy efficient. Even an up-to-date oil boiler would give a better EPC rating, and, at current oil prices, cost considerably less to run!

Storage Heaters Cost Calculator

So, getting back to the adverts, how can claims be made that electric radiators are energy efficient? Let’s take a look at what electric heating does; it converts electrical energy to heat (thermal energy). Electric space heating is almost 100% efficient as almost all purchased energy (15.5p per kW) is converted to heat, this applies to convector heaters, oil filled radiators and most portable electric heaters. However, what if that energy is more expensive in the first place? Electricity is nearly three times as expensive to use as gas! Top rated gas-condensing combi boilers are about 88% efficient, with the gas only costing 4.3p per kW. Electricity isn’t the most cost efficient way to heat your home.

Unlike energy efficient LED lighting where you can put in less electricity and get more light out, electric heating doesn’t allow you to get more thermal energy out than you put in the first place. This makes 1kW electric convector heaters as energy efficient as electric radiators, the only difference will be in how good the thermostatic controls and timer are at regulating their heat output. And more importantly how well insulated your home is!

Electric Heating Cost Calculator

The main difference between Electric Radiators and Storage Heaters is that the later use Economy 7, which is cheaper off peak electricity – usually about half the price of standard tariffs. Storage heaters store thermal energy in clay blocks overnight and then slowly release this during the day. Sounds good? The only problem is that come the evening, when you’re about to snuggle up in front of the tv, they tend to run out puff! So you’ll need backup heating of some kind. Now there’s a sting in the tail of Economy 7; the energy companies charge you more for daytime use of electricity. Plug in an electric fire and you’ll being paying double what your non Economy 7 neighbour is paying for their energy.

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So, are electric radiators a good choice? If you’ve got gas, or room for an oil tank, they are probably not for you. If your only choice is electricity then take a hard look at your energy usage and what you’re paying for your energy, then do the maths. Please remember to add on the cost of heating water with an immersion heater too. We’ve got lots of energy usage calculators to help with this. One thing that is worth factoring in is that electric heating doesn’t require yearly servicing like a boiler – saving you some cash and hassle. More importantly, stop loosing the heat you are paying for and insulate your home as best you can.

Electricity Cost Calculator

Can we believe in energy labels?

Posted by Ross Lammas

The VW diesel emission scandal has shown the lengths to which manufacturers will go to meet ever-tougher environmental standards. The true cost of this deception will take many years to become apparent and, no doubt cost Volkswagen vast amounts of money. Meanwhile tens of thousands of VW customers will, understandably, feel duped and clamber to claim compensation.

Most fuel efficient cars

Rumours of the tweaking the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) figures of cars have been circulating for many years. I know, from experience, that it’s very difficult to achieve the quoted MPG’s in real world driving. That said, I have beaten manufacturer’s figures on a few occasions! The testing regimes have to be formulaic and repeatable, providing a weakness that VW exploited in the US testing process; which is more stringent than European standards. So why didn’t the policy makers who devised these tests, and those testing the vehicles, spot this before? And why haven’t they been equally criticised for duping us for so long? Also, as car tax is based on emissions, the UK’s HMRC is out of pocket as more tax should have been paid on these polluting vehicles! The problem seems to be that whilst the policies are put in place, the resources to properly monitor and enforce the regulations are not.

56% of online retailers are failing to display full energy information!

So, who knows the amount of extra emissions this scandal will create? What’s more of a concern is the additional damage done to the whole concept of emissions, energy testing and consumer labelling. There’s the inevitable public backlash; “why should I buy an efficient product as you can’t trust the label.” It doesn’t do ‘what is says on the tin’. This devaluation of what should be a great tool when buying products from cars to light bulbs is very worrying long-term, furthering the environmental damage of inefficient products.

See what your electricals cost to run

With electrical goods there’s an even bigger ‘elephant in the room’ when you talk about the energy testing regime; that being that manufacturers test and certificate products themselves. There is no independent UK testing organisation for appliances or electrical products like there is with vehicles. This makes tweaking energy information somewhat easier, which has always concerned us. Currently there isn’t even a central database of these self-certified energy labels! The National Measurements Office (NMO) is the Government body responsible for checking up on the reliability of energy labels; we’ve reported their enforcement notices in the past – when they’ve named and shamed the manufacturers and products that have come to their attention (through market surveillance) and failed the NMO’s tests. Perhaps the threat of compensating consumers who have been mislead may be more sobering to manufacturers when compared to the fines that the NMO have handed out. The problem is that the NMO are under resourced when you consider the size of the market they are trying to police; again the policy makers are making regulations incredibly complex and difficult to enforce, which is devaluing consumer confidence in energy labels. This is a real shame when you consider the interest in reducing our energy consumption within our homes from both an emission reduction and money saving stance.

Back to the main question, should we believe in energy labels? Yes we should. But there are caveats. Appliances are like cars it is how you use them. If you scream through the gears, leave breaking to the last minute and carry a set of gym weights in your boot for a month, your car is going to burn more fuel. Dry one t-shirt in your tumble dryer instead of filling the drum it’s going to use more energy than a slight discrepancy in the energy label. My final point is that if you see a product that claims to be super-efficient and is ridiculously cheap there could be an issue, which hopefully the The National Measurements Office has spotted!

Can you get energy saving portable electric heaters?

Renault Zoe long-term test – what a great electric hatchback car

Posted by Ross Lammas

Road testing a wide variety of electric and hybrid cars certainly gives great insights into how the models compare and what there like to drive, albeit short-term tests never give you complete ownership picture. Luckily, a satisfied Renault ZOE owner Martin Brocklehurst gives us a long-term view of electric car ownership, over to Martin…

We purchased a Renault Zoe as soon as it became available from our local dealers in Hereford in the autumn of 2013. From research we had undertaken we calculated that the vehicle would meet all our local travel needs even though we lived in a rural village (Kempley) some 18 miles from Gloucester. We also opted for a home electric refuelling point, which we saw as a real bonus. With conventional vehicles our nearest garage is a 10 mile round trip and only open till 9pm. Home refuelling gave us real flexibility and also allowed us to take advantage of our installed solar photovoltaic panels. With predicted savings of £3665 over a convention C class petrol car running 36,000 miles in 3 years we were keen to see how the Renault Zoe performed .

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The car has lived up to its marketing hype

It is clean and quiet (no emissions), green (zero carbon emissions) and cheap to run (fuel costs at less than 2p per mile). It has delivered a range of between 70 (winter) – 90 (summer) miles, more than enough for all our local journeys and we have only ever needed to refuel it at home. The home refuelling point (located on our property) has operated faultlessly and is very easy to use. Maintenance costs for the first 10 months have been negligible (less than £5) and it has been to a garage once since being bought, for its annual service.

Running Costs of Electric Cars

It is a stylish four-door hatchback with plenty of room for rear passengers. Luggage space and drive performance match any similar small conventional four-door hatchback. Acceleration is 0-62 in 13.5 secs but because the Zoe’s torque is available from zero rpm it actually feels quicker than the figures suggest. It is perky around town and doesn’t struggle on the motorway to keep up with other traffic. It’s also the easiest car we have ever driven. We have now driven over 9,000 miles in the car.

We elected to lease the car batteries at £70 per month for 36 months (total cost £2,520) to reduce the capital cost of the vehicle. The basic purchase price with a leased battery is £13,444 with a Government grant. We paid just over £15,000 for the i Dynamique ZEN and secured a few extras on the basic model. If we had chosen to buy the battery the total capital cost would have been £20,043.

Zero rated Vehicle tax

The vehicle is zero rated for road tax and a home refuelling point is funded by a Government grant. Renault provide break down cover as part of the package and will get you home or to the nearest recharge point if you run out of battery power. We have not needed this facility as the Tom Tom Satnav unit predicts the vehicle range based on our driving style and locality. It has operated faultlessly and provides re-assurance on longer journeys as well as providing a map of potential recharge points should they be required.

“Go Ultra Low” calculate the total cost of ownership for three years and 36,000 miles will be £3,665 less than a conventional C class petrol car and £3,763 less than a C class diesel car. Everything we have seen to date suggests this figure will be an underestimate.

Electric Car Journey Cost Calculator

We charge the car during the day, because we have fitted solar photovoltaic panels and solar photovoltaic cladding to our property, which means we can refuel for free when the panels are producing power. At other times recharging costs 14p per Kwh. We are also exploring fitting a new Powerflow unit to ensure we charge the vehicle when we have surplus power. Such units accurately track surplus power from photovoltaic panels and although they are usually used to divert excess power into heating loads such as hot water or space heating are being developed for use in diverting power to electric car recharging. We intend to use one of these new units to divert power to recharging the car when they become available (in about 4 months). If successful it will reduce our fuel costs to nearly zero and increase our financial savings by a further £1215 taking total savings to nearly £5000 over 3 years. We are also closely following the developing ideas to use the car battery for off grid power storage. Intelligent re-charging systems are being developed designed to import power at low tariff rates during periods of low demand and to re-export it at higher tariff rates during periods of peak demand. Such offgrid storage is a great way to use the asset of the vehicle, which for most of use sits unused for 92% of its life.

It is also worth considering, that unlike a conventional petrol car, we pay no fuel duty (currently 60.97p per litre on petrol) and VAT on power consumed at home from the grid is currently 5% payable compared to the 20% rate for petrol.

Further cost savings follow if the vehicle is used for work purposes as HMRC authorized mileage allowance payment (AMAP) is currently set at 45p per mile. Not surprisingly with fuel costing 2p per mile or less I use the electric car for work purposes whenever I can. No doubt this will change as the Chancellor spots the anomaly – but for now I intend to enjoy the benefit.

Longer distances in EV’s is becoming viable

The ZOE has a chameleon recharge arrangement which allows the vehicle to re-charge at almost any of the new public and private recharging points springing up in and around our area. The latest Tom Tom Satnav provides a guide to recharging points, though membership of schemes like Plug & Go is required to access recharge points. Locally we have recharge points in Ledbury, Ross-on Wye and in all our local cities. Fast charge points (circa 30minutes to recharge) are emerging at motorway services stations and in major shopping centres, so trips to Bristol are now viable, though we still have to take on this challenge. First Great Western is also installing recharge points at its major stations.

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Could Renault do better with the ZOE. Well yes, they could:

offer a better choice of colours both internal and external;
offer an adjustable height drivers seat;
provide an electric vehicle starter pack of information and membership of a national re-charge network;
provide mudguards to reduce dirt and spray on the lower parts of the bodywork – a real nuisance on rural roads;
provide more promotional material for the car including more advertising. I have seen it advertised once on the TV since it was purchased and have asked Renault for flyers to display on the vehicle, with none appearing so far); and be the first company to offer intelligent recharging units and off grid storage packages with the major energy suppliers.

I have concentrated on the financial benefits of owning and running a Renault Zoe, but the environmental benefits are also impressive. Reducing air pollution remains a big issue in our cities. Diesel exhaust fumes have been classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation and traffic exhaust emissions are responsible for thousands of early deaths every year as well as agony for asthmatics. The more people that switch to electric vehicles the cleaner our urban air will become.

We now both enjoy driving a clean electric car and the reduced motoring costs make a real difference to our weekly budgets. In our case these costs are reduced further as we are able to draw power from our solar panels and only top up from mains electricity when the sun does not shine. We waste no time looking for garages or in refuelling which for the ZOE is automatic once the connection is made.

Looking to the future

Electric car clubs are now springing up in major UK cities, passing on the lower costs to their users. We see no reason why this should not be the case in rural areas where car transport is now a necessity due to the demise of public transport. We are now exploring the possibility of either an electric car club or a community electric car transport scheme for the villages of the Golden Triangle (Kempley, Dymock, Newent, Bromesberrow and Redmarley), all refuelled at home, bringing the benefits of lower cost motoring to everyone! Its early days, but an UBER type community scheme is our ambition so that both the young and old are not cut off from local facilities by lack of public transport.

All across the EU electric car and commercial van sales are booming Consider Norway, an oil producing country that is a leader in the purchase of electric cars. The sales of electric cars as a percentage of new vehicles purchased in Norway have been as follows:

2011 – 1.6%
2012 – 3.1%
2013 – 5.6%
2014 – 12.4%
2015 – 20.4% (first quarter)

Add in hybrids and the figure rises to 23%. Norway was the first country in the world to have electric cars topping the new car sales monthly ranking.

My advice to anyone considering buying an electric car, is do it soon. It cannot be long before the UK Government will suspend the grants on electric vehicles and grants to install recharging points at home – George Osborne has a track record of slashing green subsidies as soon as the technology starts to make serious entry into the commercial markets to protect the fossil fuel industries and the status quo. The choice of models is also growing rapidly meaning you can increasingly find the vehicle you need for your needs.

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So overall we are delighted with our electric vehicle and get a buzz every time we drive it. To know we are driving a clean vehicle and saving money just brings the pleasure back to motoring. So often being a first mover brings problems and higher costs. This is just not the case with Renault ZOE, which must be the most cost effective electric car on our roads today. Not surprising then that the vehicle won the “What Car of the Year” 1st Price for the best electric car for less than £20,000 in 2015.

Contact me through E Mail if you want to learn more about electric vehicles or about our ideas for community transport at: –

martin.brocklehurst@me.com

Martin Brocklehurst
Kempley Green Consultants
Kempley
Gloucestershire.

Running Costs of Electric Cars

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Sust-it Green-plug Awards — the ‘Best-in-class’ energy label!

Posted by Ross Lammas

Sust-it was the 1st website in the UK to rank products by their energy efficiency and CO2 emissions. It has now become the No. 1 website to find the most energy efficient products, from fridges to cars!

Our Green-plug Awards are only given to products that have topped, or have appeared in our Top 10 energy efficiency charts. Unlike other energy-labelling schemes we highlight only the best-in-class products. Sust-it’s independent endorsement will bring real green accreditation to any brand. Sust-it Green-plug Awards can be used in PR, marketing and promotional material, in any media format!

FAQs

Q: What are Sust-it Green-plug Awards?

Sust-it only gives Green-plug Awards to promote energy efficient products that achieve the highest rankings within our efficiency charts, in any given category. Each product must have reached No. 1 or entered the Top 10 and maintained its position for a minimum of 30 consecutive days.

Q: How can I use the Sust-it Green-plug Award symbols?

Our award package is very simple – you can use it in any promotional material, as long as the Sust-it Green-plug Award branding guidelines are followed and the relevant fee has been paid.

Typical Applications include:

Broadcast: TV and radio
Billboards, print advertising, online (manufacturer’s website and banner adverts)
On pack and point of sale

The symbols should only be used to promote the products that have our endorsement and cannot be given to any third parties.

Q: How much does it cost?

The fee is £850+VAT for a No. 1 Product and £375+VAT for Top 10 Products which can be used for six months. The licence can be renewed for a further six months subject to the products still ranking on Sust-it.

Q: How do I apply?

Applying to use a Sust-it Green-plug Award is simple – the process is as follows:

After completing the Sust-it Green-plug Award registration form you will see which of your brands products are eligible. Select any you wish to promote and make online payment. We then email you our licence agreement for your signature – this normally takes two working days. Once signed and returned, your Green-plug Award symbols will be emailed to you.

To make the process simple and quick, our licence terms are non-negotiable, however the terms are fair and straightforward. The Sust-it Green-plug Award branding guidelines are easy-to-use.

Q: For how long is my licence valid?

Licences are valid for a period of six months. When your licence ends, you can purchase a new licence subject to your products still ranking on Sust-it.

Q: How can I pay?

We prefer online payment via credit/debit card or PayPal, however BACS can be arranged.

Q: How long will the process take?

Registration normally takes 2 working days from payment, we will email you an invoice by return, and then send you a licence agreement for signature. The Sust-it Green-plug Award symbols will be emailed once we a have received your signed licence.