Editor:
It is interesting to look at the energy content of gasoline, and what you get for that energy when you are paying those high prices at the gas pump. The energy content of gasoline can be expressed in kilowatt hours: a litre of gasoline contains about 9 kilowatt hours (KWh) of energy. For a vehicle that goes 10 km on 1 litre of gas, that means it can travel about 1.1 km per KWh of gasoline. Gasoline costs about $1.38 per litre, or 15 cents per KWh ($1.38 divided by 9 KWh per litre). If you get your energy from BC Hydro the price is almost the same – that is, about 15 cents per KWh.
Now comes the interesting bit! In your gasoline-powered car you go 1.1 kilometres per KWh of gasoline energy, whereas in an electric car you will go about 6.5 kilometres per KWh of BC Hydro energy. Why the difference? In the gasoline-powered car only a fraction of the energy available is used to move you from one place to another. You are paying for 9 KWh of energy in a litre of gasoline, but only one-sixth or less of it is doing what you want it to do. The rest is wasted.
Right up to the recent past we have lived with the wasted energy from the internal combustion engine because nothing else was available. That is no longer the case. If you are in the market for another vehicle, go electric – or at least plug-in hybrid. Reclaim all that energy you pay for! Your pocket book will thank you.
Norm Gleadow, Roberts Creek
