Some Quick Math on Electrical Grid CO2 Emissions and Vampire Drain

[fotoflux]

For those of you interested in CO2 emissions and how the R1T compares to a gas powered vehicle, here are some quick numbers.

Assumptions:
R1T average range per charge: 275 miles
Charging losses: 10%
Vampire drain: 2% (2.5kWh) per day
Miles per year: 10k

Results:
Using the average US electrical grid emissions:
48mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
40mpg equivalent with vampire drain

Worst case scenario (Wyoming electrical grid)
21mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
17mpg equivalent with vampire drain

Best case scenario (Washington state)
180mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
150mpg equivalent with vampire drain

These are very rough numbers, and there are many variables to consider, but I thought this at least gives a sense of the impact.

Does Wyoming electricity run on methane (cow farts) or something?

Sponsored

 

[manitou202]

Does Wyoming electricity run on methane (cow farts) or something?

It's like 90% coal.

 

[fotoflux]

It's like 90% coal.

But note to self, if I ever move to Wyoming, it's actually better to drive a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. I mean, it might be slower, but for the environment, it's the right choice.

 

[manitou202]

But note to self, if I ever move to Wyoming, it's actually better to drive a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. I mean, it might be slower, but for the environment, it's the right choice.

Here is a really cool map if you want to see real time data on different power grids and their electricity mix.

The number I used for Wyoming was 886g / kWh for a reference.

https://app.electricitymaps.com/map

 

[fhteagle]

Been playing with turning on and off my OpenEVSE based on CO2signal / electricity maps data via HomeAssistant. It's been very very interesting. I've found a couple of inaccuracies in their data, but generally it's pretty reasonable and very eye opening.

I'm in the WAPA Rocky Mountain region Balancing Authority. And yeah we have way way way too much coal in our grid still. Nasty.

Phantom drain is nasty too. Need to get rid of both lol

 

[manitou202]

Been playing with turning on and off my OpenEVSE based on CO2signal / electricity maps data via HomeAssistant. It's been very very interesting. I've found a couple of inaccuracies in their data, but generally it's pretty reasonable and very eye opening.

I'm in the WAPA Rocky Mountain region Balancing Authority. And yeah we have way way way too much coal in our grid still. Nasty.

Phantom drain is nasty too. Need to get rid of both lol

I use the Electricity Maps combined with our 10.6kW solar array to maximize low carbon charging at home. This time of year is tough with less sun and a slightly dirtier grid.

 

[chrismc]

? Proud to live in Western Washington where our grid is almost completely renewable power! ??

 

[Arky]

I've seen articles showing typical charging loss numbers from 5%-15%, so I took the middle. Higher losses are typically expected for DC fast charging versus level 2 charging at home is slightly more efficient.

I think that's a fair bet, my energy delivered as measured by the EVSE is about 9-10% higher than what the car is saying it's getting and that's right in line. I'm not sure how much of that is inverter loss so DCFC might actually be more efficient in terms of power delivered because the inverter is before the vehicle connection.

 

[JamesPolk24]

When I park the truck i turn the climate control off. I also turn off the Gear Guard in the garage. Don't know if those have any affect of it.

I turn climate off. Gear guard off. PAAK is always off. Wifi off. Keyfob put away in faraday. Bluetooth turned off. App killed. Still seeing 4%+ per day. Shit is getting on my nerves.

 

[PVguy]

Interesting, however this is just post-production, and does not factor in the CO2 emissions from manufacturing and battery mining.

This would constantly (at least it seemed like it) when I would address questions about emissions and photovoltaic energy. For me, it is similar to buildings and falls into the “embodied energy” category. Different but still very important to consider.

 

[Goose]

Interesting, however this is just post-production, and does not factor in the CO2 emissions from manufacturing and battery mining.

It also doesn't factor in the mining and refining of liquid fuel...OP can't account for all variables. Where I live in NC we're nuclear powered, does that mean if I had an EV it would be infinite mpg? Or would you count for the fuel used to build the plant, mine/refine the radioactive material (U), build the supporting lake for cooling, etc?

 

[av8or]

There must be a lot of difference from one truck to the next. I’ll keep checking mine, but I didn’t turn anything off including the app and left the truck unlocked. I only lost 1 mile overnight.

 

[KootenayEV]

For those of you interested in CO2 emissions and how the R1T compares to a gas powered vehicle, here are some quick numbers.

Assumptions:
R1T average range per charge: 275 miles
Charging losses: 10%
Vampire drain: 2% (2.5kWh) per day
Miles per year: 10k

Results:
Using the average US electrical grid emissions:
48mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
40mpg equivalent with vampire drain

Worst case scenario (Wyoming electrical grid)
21mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
17mpg equivalent with vampire drain

Best case scenario (Washington state)
180mpg equivalent with no vampire drain
150mpg equivalent with vampire drain

These are very rough numbers, and there are many variables to consider, but I thought this at least gives a sense of the impact.

I was just listening to a Life Cycle Analysis webinar by Sphera which included a case study section with Rivian, presented by 2 Rivian employees. While discussing how they build their LCA model, the one presenter used an example of looking at energy use when the vehicle is not in use (a nice way to say vampire drain) and noting it is a parameter they are looking to reduce in future vehicles. Makes me think the R2/R3 will have much less vampire drain than the R1 vehicles.

They are trying to have the 2030 Rivian vehicle have a carbon footprint (over its entire life) be 50% of that of the 2022 R1.

Sponsored