Plug-in hybrids: a reality check
We’re seriously considering a hybrid for our next car. One species of the hybrid genus is the “plug-in hybrid,” which seemed appealing to me, both from the standpoint of gas economy and to reduce our carbon footprint. Caveat emptor:
“In one study from the ICCT published in 2022, researchers examined real-world driving habits of people in plug-in hybrids. While the method used to determine official emissions values estimated that drivers use electricity to power vehicles 70% to 85% of the time, the real-world driving data suggested that vehicle owners actually used electric mode for 45% to 49% of their driving. And if vehicles were company-provided cars, the average was only 11% to 15%.
“The difference between reality and estimates can be a problem for drivers, who may buy plug-in hybrids expecting climate benefits and gas savings. But if drivers are charging less than expected, the benefits might not be as drastic as promised. Trips taken in a plug-in hybrid cut emissions by only 23% relative to trips in a conventional vehicle, rather than the nearly three-quarters reduction predicted by official estimates, according to the new analysis.”
The problem isn’t car design, it’s user habits. Drivers need to optimize the electric-to-gasoline ratio to realize the lowest possible carbon consumption.
Since >80% of electricity here in Rhode Island, driving an EV or plug-in hybrid here is about 20% virtue and 80% virtue signaling. Doing the right thing ain’t always easy.
Drivers are the problem with plug-in hybrids
“In one study from the ICCT published in 2022, researchers examined real-world driving habits of people in plug-in hybrids. While the method used to determine official emissions values estimated that drivers use electricity to power vehicles 70% to 85% of the time, the real-world driving data suggested that vehicle owners actually used electric mode for 45% to 49% of their driving. And if vehicles were company-provided cars, the average was only 11% to 15%.
“The difference between reality and estimates can be a problem for drivers, who may buy plug-in hybrids expecting climate benefits and gas savings. But if drivers are charging less than expected, the benefits might not be as drastic as promised. Trips taken in a plug-in hybrid cut emissions by only 23% relative to trips in a conventional vehicle, rather than the nearly three-quarters reduction predicted by official estimates, according to the new analysis.”
The problem isn’t car design, it’s user habits. Drivers need to optimize the electric-to-gasoline ratio to realize the lowest possible carbon consumption.
Since >80% of electricity here in Rhode Island, driving an EV or plug-in hybrid here is about 20% virtue and 80% virtue signaling. Doing the right thing ain’t always easy.
Drivers are the problem with plug-in hybrids
The virtue and virtue signaling ratio probably isn’t too important yet. I think it gets important based on marginal ratios at a time that those already electrified demands are satisfied without carbon. Until then, it is mostly a distribution of electrical production. As non-carbon sources grow to cover what maybe you could call the “base demand” (don’t like the term, but it is a concept that helps me think about this) then adding demand by electrifying demands with other traditional energy sources seems a good process. That will take some time yet, so I do think you could make an impact by taking a good used ICE off the market and into light duty. Tighten the market and drive heavier users to new equipment that will be increasingly electric. I can see that it is not the easiest thing to do if you would like to be seen as “doing your part”, but it actually would be doing a significant thing to drive an ICE vehicle for a decade 25K miles if it otherwise was probably doing > double that. Good luck with your next vehicle in any case.
@Eric,
Our household electric supply is through a solar company, so we’re not representative of RI consumers. We’d still have to get an electrician out to wire in the garage recharging station, but that’s a minor expense that can be amortized by the usage. Thanks for this comment.
My girlfriend parks her plug-in in the garage and charges it whenever it is parked. I would imagine that someone who parks in a driveway would have a harder time developing the habit to keep it charged. As has been mentioned on other posts, apartment dwellers could have a tough time.
I can confirm Arne’s imagination.
We have had a plug-in hybrid for about 3.75 years now. Plug-in has to be done with an outdoor extension cord (which is NOT recommended). Between that and, er, lack of learning by the primary driver(s), ours gets plugged in maybe 3/4 of the time it should–and that’s with me being very rigorous despite not driving it often.
The plug-in hybrid is an ideal commuter car; you’re lucky to get >30 miles per charging, so if it were only used for commuting and local driving, it could basically be charged every day (or every other day, depending on commuting distance) and take months to run out of gas.
Especially in moderate climate; running the heater or the A/C requires the gas-burning portion and lowers MPG from ca. 999 to the mid-300s. Our old Prius hybrid didn’t have so extreme a difference, so I suspect plug-ins are not intended to be used for general travel.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s better mileage (and noticeably less maintenance required) than an equivalent-sized gas car. But the value (TCO, infrastructure requirements, uses, etc.) of a plug-in is significantly lower than a pure hybrid, even if the MPG is somewhat lower.
That said, there are certainly initiatives out there to help offset the cost of putting a charger in your garage. (NJ/PSE&G is offering a full rebate right now, and we’re not exactly cutting-edge in support of EV technology.) So if you’re thinking of going plug-in, now might be a good time to try it. But the results of the ICCT study should surprise no one; plug-in cars are not true hybrids, even though people try to use them the same way.
we used to own Volts, in our usage of it, we went more than a few months without the gas motor even running (the car started it to keep the engine in good condition). and i was the main driver (about22-24 miles a day). we only tended to use the gas engine more when we were on trips (went from Austin to Tucson, about 900 miles 1 way, about 1800 miles round trip plus a miles for side trips). we would still own a Volt but we took the plunge and got a BEV. it didnt have much range and was really small but for my to work and back trip (about 20 miles round trip) worked like a champ). for a small vehicle it had more room than bigger vehicles have,