This would be a good time to discuss the benefits of going (more) electric with our transportation. Private cars are well suited but the real benefits come from trucks and buses, particularly <10t used in cities and urban areas.
To me battery electric vehicles are a no brainer for anyone considering buying a vehicle particularly if the majority of your daily driving is within around 300km round trip (which most EVs can do on a charge), you don’t need to tow anything other than a small trailer and you have a driveway or garage where you can charge at home. Even better in urban areas as no tailpipe emissions and far less noise.
I have gone all in with solar/ batteries at home and BEVs. Yes it was around a $31k investment but our electricity bill is now usually around $0 or in credit AND that also includes day to day running of two electric vehicles and electric garden equipment so $0 for ‘fuel’ as well.
The real value / satisfaction is in being largely independent of the energy markets and electricity grid outages. We have effectively taken the load of our house off the grid. (which is the intention of the Government battery rebate scheme)
You don’t even really need to have solar and or a battery at home as there are EV electricity tariffs available eg AGL has 8 cents KW hr overnight which means fully charging for around $4.
l estimate that Ive saved around $15k in fuel and maintenance with EVs over 4 years and 60k km driving; plus its a comfortable, reliable, performance drive as well. I’ve done numerous road trips as well which are getting progressively easier as charging infrastructure gets better. Last week I drove 2500km Sydney to Qld return for a total cost of $145 with no charging issues at all.
Just remember, internal combustion engines are around 25% efficient at best, so three quarters of every tank of fuel bought is completely wasted, polluting and gone forever. EVs on the other hand are around 90% efficient and the electricity can be sustainably generated and stored.
