EV Enthusiast Of The Month: Rich Stein
Each month, we’ll share a testimonial from a local EV owner. In January, we’re pleased to feature Rich Stein. Rich is the Director of Energy Management at the University of Rochester and a ROC EV board member.
“I own a 2014 Chevy Volt that is extremely fun to drive. Driving an electric car is a great experience and different feeling than a gas powered car. The acceleration is much quicker and more responsive and because you are trying to maximize the regenerative braking – the actual brake pedal is hardly touched.
My family also enjoys the experience – my kids will ask to plug the car in when we get home and my wife will inform me that all her errands were done gas-free. My kids will also announce to their friends that we are riding in an electric car and explain that we are not using any gas.
Our range anxiety is a little different as we try and keep the gas generator from starting by maximizing the battery miles. Currently I fill up about once a month for gas and have been getting around 1,500 miles per tank (7.5gal) which is about 200 miles/gal. I figure it costs about $30 of electricity a month (10kwh battery x 0.15 $/kwh x 30days x 65% utilization) for a total of $50/ month, which is what I used to pay a week with my previous car. I bought my car used and have a loan payment of $280/month (minus the $150 in gas savings) my net payment is around $130/month.
I’ve been working on a spreadsheet for keeping track of how often I fill up – approximately once a month (6 times over the 6 months I’ve owned it)!”
Thank you, Rich for sharing your experience and savings with us!
