We will go over how to calculate the range of an electric vehicle step by step using Revolt RV400 data as an example.
Calculating cost of an electric vehicle is quite different than that of ICE vehicle. This article will guide you to understand that difference.
We are always interested in two types of cost i.e initial cost and running cost of an vehicle.
It is straight forward for the ICE vehicle. The amount we spend to purchase a new vehicle is the initial cost and the amount we spend for the fuel (petrol) is called running cost.
That means we are interested in initial cost and cost of fuel as a running cost.
Let’s take an example of Revolt RV400 with following parameters:
- Total cost: 1,22,000 INR
- Battery Voltage: 72V
- Battery Ah Capacity: 45Ah (i.e 3.24KWh Stored Energy)
- Electricity Charges per unit: 6.0 INR/Unit (1 unit is equal to 1KWh)
- Range: 100Kms (Normal Mode)
You may also go through the below video which explains how to calculate the range of an electric vehicle.
Initial Cost of an EV:
When we buy an electric vehicle, it comes with a battery installed as a fuel source. That means we are paying for both the vehicle and the fuel. As a result, we must deduct the cost of fuel (battery) from the initial cost of the EV.
Cost of battery can be estimated from the current industrial scenario.
From my experience of purchasing various batteries, I am considering battery cost of maximum 20000INR/KWh for the li-ion battery with the cycle life of around 1000 to 1500.
However it may vary from time to time and depends upon cell type.
Thus, for the case of Revolt RV400 bike which uses 3.24KWh battery, cost of battery will becomes 64800INR. I would like to consider a round figure of 60000 INR for this battery as we are observing reduction in price year by year, however you can go with your own assumption.
So final initial cost of an Revolt RV 400 bike will becomes 1,22,000 INR – 60000 INR = 62,000 INR.
Thus, 62K price is very low with compared to other ICE bikes of same segment which have dual disk brakes and 125+ CC engine power.
So our assumption that initial cost of Electric Bikes are too high was wrong and truth is that it’s very low.
Let’s add this cost of battery for calculating running cost and calculate the actual running cost.
Running Cost of an EV:
Calculating running cost of fuel for the battery electric vehicle is not as simple as ICE vehicle.
It includes two main parameters, one is cost of electricity bill and second is cost of battery. And total running cost will be summation of these two costs.
Cost of electricity bill is the cost per km that we need to pay to the electricity company.
And cost of battery is the battery replacement cost per km that we need to pay to purchase battery.
I am using the app “Electrical Vehicle Calculator Pro” for saving the time of calculation. One can download it from the link below.
Electric Vehicle Calculator Pro
Calculate Electricity Cost of Electric Vehicle
Let’s first calculate the running cost of the vehicle with considering only electricity bill.
Go to the parameter 8. Calculate Electricity Cost of Vehicle of the software as shown below.
It requires battery voltage, Ah capacity and cost of electricity bill that charged by the electricity company for per unit consumption of electric energy. 1 unit is equal to 1KWh energy. Per unit cost of electricity vary from 4 to 7 depending upon the state policy and type of connection. Here I have considered cost of 6 INR/Unit whereas battery specifications i.e voltage 72V, and Ah capacity 45Ah are provided at the Revolt website.
Adding the detail, we come to know that electricity cost for charging battery one time is 19.44 INR. Let’s again consider the round figure and use 20 INR/charge as a cost of charging battery single time.
Calculate Running Cost of Electric Vehicle
Now use this value and put it in the next parameter of software 9. Vehicle Running Cost Calculator along with the battery range specified by the company. Company specified three ranges for three different mode, here I am considering normal mode which gives range of 100Kms per single charge.
It gives answer 0.2 INR/km cost of electricity bill which is very low with compared to petrol bikes which generally costs 1.5 to 2.0 INR/km.
But this is not an actual running cost of an electric bike as we need to add battery replacement cost or say cost that we paid for purchasing battery.
We are interested to know how many km vehicle can travel during complete lifespan of one battery. And it will give how much one battery cost us in term of per km travel. This is different than per km cost of electricity bill.
Calculate Battery Replacement Cost
Let’s use the parameter 10. Battery Replacement Cost of the software to calculate it.
It requires total battery cost that we considered 60,000 INR, battery lifecycle which I have considered 1500 (according to cost of battery), and range 100kms as specified by company.
So battery replacement cost comes to 0.4 INR/km.
You can change the parameters according to your knowledge for the best result.
Thus total running cost of electric vehicle is equal to cost of electricity bill (0.2 INR/km) and battery replacement cost (0.4INR/km).
So,it comes to 0.6INR/km.
Thus, ruining cost of vehicle is still low with compared to ICE vehicle but it is not too low that can be neglected and considered as free as marketed by some people.
At last I would like to say that one should consider an electric vehicle as a future transport for the reason of better transport system in many ways and not only for saving cost of petrol.
So this was all about how to calculate the range of an electric vehicle.
Here I am sharing links of courses on Electric Vehicles that you may like to go through.
Fundamentals of Electric Vehicle Engineering
Read more articles on electric vehicle.
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