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It is rated at between 89 and 94 US MPGe or miles per gallon equivalent according to fueleconomy.govSomewhere I read that the Model S calculated power efficiency gets somewhere around 75 miles per gallon.
If this is so, how is such a calculation and comparison made?
As other poster mentioned, it's more like 90 MPGe, based on EPA data. What the EPA did is take the amount of energy a gallon of gasoline gives off when burned and convert it to electricity, which gave them 33.7 kWh per "gasoline gallon equivalent."So 90 MPGe means that the electric car will go 90 miles on 33.7 kWh from the wall (including charging losses) on the EPA test cycle.The price of electricity varies widely from location to location, but is generally fairly stable over time, and averages a little lower than gasoline on a per unit energy basis - so the metric that matters, miles per dollar, can be either better or worse than this number suggests depending on where you are. And of course, this is an EPA estimate, so as always, YMMV. WalterSomewhere I read that the Model S calculated power efficiency gets somewhere around 75 miles per gallon. If this is so, how is such a calculation and comparison made?
As other poster mentioned, it's more like 90 MPGe, based on EPA data. What the EPA did is take the amount of energy a gallon of gasoline gives off when burned and convert it to electricity, which gave them 33.7 kWh per "gasoline gallon equivalent."So 90 MPGe means that the electric car will go 90 miles on 33.7 kWh from the wall (including charging losses) on the EPA test cycle
I know this has been discussed before. I think perhaps the flaw in the EPA analysis is that it does not account for the fact that only about 30% of the energy produced by combusting gasoline gets to the drive wheels, whereas in a Model S over 70% of the energy drawn from the battery gets to the driven wheels.
Perhaps someone more expert than I can confirm that.
This is a big problem with their assumptions. They don't take into account the fact that most gasoline engines are only 25-30% efficient whereas electric motors are 90+% efficient. They also don't take into account that it takes another 25% of oil energy to refine and deliver gasoline to you so the efficiency of gasoline is 25% worse.I know this has been discussed before. I think perhaps the flaw in the EPA analysis is that it does not account for the fact that only about 30% of the energy produced by combusting gasoline gets to the drive wheels, whereas in a Model S over 70% of the energy drawn from the battery gets to the driven wheels.
Perhaps someone more expert than I can confirm that.
This is a big problem with their assumptions. They don't take into account the fact that most gasoline engines are only 25-30% efficient whereas electric motors are 90+% efficient. They also don't take into account that it takes another 25% of oil energy to refine and deliver gasoline to you so the efficiency of gasoline is 25% worse.
I take a different approach to calculating MPG equivalent. I assume that a large sedan like the Model S, if powered by gasoline, would get 20 MPG. At $4.00/gallon, that's $0.20 per mile. The Tesla uses about 350 wh/mile which costs me $0.03 so the same 20 miles would cost $0.60 per gallon... or alternatively, for $4.00, I could go 133 miles. (Your assumptions and costs may differ... but this works for me.)
This is a big problem with their assumptions. They don't take into account the fact that most gasoline engines are only 25-30% efficient whereas electric motors are 90+% efficient. They also don't take into account that it takes another 25% of oil energy to refine and deliver gasoline to you so the efficiency of gasoline is 25% worse.
I take a different approach to calculating MPG equivalent. I assume that a large sedan like the Model S, if powered by gasoline, would get 20 MPG. At $4.00/gallon, that's $0.20 per mile. The Tesla uses about 350 wh/mile which costs me $0.03 so the same 20 miles would cost $0.60 per gallon... or alternatively, for $4.00, I could go 133 miles. (Your assumptions and costs may differ... but this works for me.)