VIBRATe Project – Report on User Experience for the Period January – June 2012 Project Overview Partners: ZSE, VERBUND, EVN, Wien Energie, ECB Strategic partners: Cities of Bratislava and Vienna, Regional Governments of Lower Austria and Bratislava, Das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Familie und Jugend Budget: EUR 1,250,000 co-­‐financed from the Cross-­‐border cooperation program Austria – Slovakia 2007-­‐2013 Project duration: 10.2010 – 06.2014 (3.5 years) VIBRATe e-­‐car users: Slovakia (5): Ministry of Economy, Bratislava Self-­‐Governing Region, The City of Bratislava, Petržalka – Bratislava City district, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Austria (11): Marktgemeinde Maria Enzersdorf, EVN Bezirksleitung Bruck/Leitha and Gemeinde Prellenkirchen, Wiener Hilfswerk, PTDS GmbH, Samariterbund, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Technische Universität Wien, Umweltbundesamt, VERBUND, Wien Work, Gemeinde Bruck a.d.Leitha. 16 private charging points installed at premises of e-­‐car users. 4 fast charging stations at highways and hot spots planned – high priority. Approximately 10 charging spots at public and semi-­‐public locations (i.e. shopping centers and supermarkets) planned – low priority. Table of Contents 1. Evaluation of e-­‐cars Drives – GPS Data ........................................................................................... 2 2. Evaluation of Charged Electricity -­‐ Wall-­‐box Data ........................................................................... 5 3. Evaluation of Questionnaires .......................................................................................................... 6 4. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Evaluation of e-­‐cars Drives – GPS Data Since January 2012 there are 15 e-­‐cars in operation in the Twin-­‐City Vienna Bratislava region. The 16th e-­‐car has been handed over to its user just recently. Car brands include Citroen C-­‐Zero, Peugeot iOn, Citroen Berlingo and Renault Kangoo. To monitor and gather data on driving we use the GPS technology. From the beginning of its operation each e-­‐car is equipped with GPS module with SIM card to be monitored online. See below the monitoring interface. Parameters we monitor include daily driven km, number of drives, average speed, drive/journey duration, monthly data evaluation, and calculated average daily and monthly distances. These data are evaluated for all VIBRATe users, while we can at the same time distinguish between Slovak and Austrian users. Between January and June 2012 all VIBRATe e-­‐cars drove 56,000 km in total, out of which 17,000 km were made by Slovak and 39,000 km by Austrian users. Highest monthly level on the user part was reached in March by Hilfswerk amounting to 1,243 km. The same user reached the highest number of kilometers of all users through the monitored period. The highest level on the daily basis was reached by the Verbund e-­‐car on 20th of May – 233 km. To calculate locally saved CO2 emissions we took the reference value of 100 g/km of CO2 produced by a car with internal combustion engine (ICE). It is a value reflecting t the size of the e-­‐car and comparing it with a similar classical car. In January -­‐ June 2012 period VIBRATe e-­‐cars saved locally 5,600 kg of CO2 in total, of which 1,700 kg in Slovakia and 3,900 kg in Austria. Moreover the energy mix of both countries has low intensity of CO2 production, which is another supporting argument in favor of e-­‐mobility. Average daily driving distances are shown in the diagram below: The graph shows the initial increase followed by stabilisation of around 35 km/day. Higher daily average of Austrian users might be attributed mainly to larger area of the City of Vienna comparing to Bratislava and different use cases. Averaged monthly distances during the monitored period: January 2012 data are not relevant for the analysis, as it was the initial month of the operation and not all e-­‐cars were driving for the whole month. After the initial calibrations and initial attempts to finding the way through new technologies the monthly values stabilised between 600 and 800 km. Decreasing values concerning Slovak users peaking in May were only a temporary deviation. The measured and evaluated data show clearly, that existing range of e-­‐cars (influenced by the local weather conditions, weather conditions during charging and the style of driving) at the level of 130 km during spring, summer and autumn months and 80 km during cold winter months is still enough for the city usage. It is interesting to note the monthly increase of driven km, where we can see front-­‐
runners and those hanging behind: This diagram shows clearly that to reach the level of 10,000 km a year per e-­‐car we need to improve all values below 4,000 km. The increase of kilometers is stable without major jumps; we can distinguish two champions (Hilfswerk/AT and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development/SK), four above-­‐standard users (VERBUND/AT, Umweltbundesamt/AT, Prellenkirchen/AT, Schonbrunner Tiergarten/AT), five below-­‐
standard (Wien Work/AT, Samariterbund/AT, MC Petrzalka/SK, Ministry of Economy/SK, TU Wien/AT) and the four hanging behind (PDTS/AT, Maria Enzersdorf/AT, Bratislava Self-­‐Governing Region/SK, City of Bratislava/SK). 2. Evaluation of Charged Electricity -­‐ Wall-­‐box Data Data from private wall-­‐boxes installed at the premises of every user provide only a partial relevance for comparison of the e-­‐car electricity consumption. There are several reasons for that. E.g. e-­‐cars are charged at several charging points, but not all of them are monitored within VIBRATe. This is why the results are distorted and have only a partial relevance for analysis. Some data were not recorded so we had to improve the reliability of acquired data on electricity consumption. One measure is to equip every wall-­‐box with a separate electric meter and remote monitoring system. At ZSE this system was installed at the beginning of July 2012 and its results will be available in the next report. For the purpose of this analysis we took into account the assumptions and calculations based on experience of involved project partners. In addition to the e-­‐
car electricity consumption calculations we need to start with the battery capacity (16 kWh in case of all VIBRATe e-­‐cars) and e-­‐car ranges in individual months influenced by the different weather conditions (temperature). This calculation showed February 2012 as the most energy consuming month, when the average temperature reached the lowest point and the real range of the e-­‐car per one charging with the heating on was around 80 km. In this case the average electricity consumption reached values of more than 20 kWh/100 km (e.g. up to 25 kWh/100 km). Best values are expected between May and October, when the range of the e-­‐
car increases to 130 km per one charging (influenced by the air-­‐conditioning and driving style). The expected average consumption is 12-­‐13 kWh/100 km. If we take the average long-­‐term consumption at the level of 16 kWh/100 km, we would then use about 9 MWh of electricity to cover 56,000 driven kilometers by VIBRATe e-­‐cars. These values will be verified by measures taken during the project. 3. Evaluation of Questionnaires There were 26 VIBRATe respondents taking part in the survey and driving an e-­‐car. Due to a low number of respondents we cannot consider these results applicable under general conditions; however, they are important for the VIBRATe project as such. Respondents are employees of e-­‐car users, mainly the people from the administration departments. Questionnaires were sent out during April 2012, so the answers cover the period of the first four months of 2012. The main outcome of the questionnaires is that the price of e-­‐cars is too high. Despite this clear message we can observe the expectation that e-­‐mobility will spread across the society. More than 72% of respondents agree that e-­‐cars should be used for private purposes and over 80% see their future in companies. The majority of respondents prefer charging at company parking places. In general we can evaluate the e-­‐mobility perception by respondents as very positive – 92% of them expressed the consent with the positive contribution of driving e-­‐
cars. Over 85% expect that e-­‐cars are the tool to save fuel costs. Despite the clear opinion that the e-­‐mobility is expensive, it is still perceived positively. 64% of respondents would recommend buying an electric car to its relatives or colleagues. But on the other hand only one respondent considers buying an electric car within 3 years period. Respondents see the e-­‐car as a tool to save expenditures on fuel and service (92% and 77%). The dominant opinion is that e-­‐car operation is much cheaper comparing to a car with ICE. The strongest advantage of e-­‐mobility is based on environmental aspects; this general conclusion was confirmed in our survey. However, VIBRATe respondents don’t expect that e-­‐mobility will play a comparable role as cars equipped with ICE. Weather conditions are seen to have the biggest influence on the quality of driving within the monitored period. The outside temperature during the winter time is seen by the respondents as the major negative factor influencing quality of driving. This was confirmed by our measurements as well -­‐ during cold winter period and due to the heating systems the range of e-­‐cars decreases significantly (and the electricity consumption increased). Despite this fact there was no negative experience with e-­‐cars during winter time operation. The answers to questions focusing on general perception of e-­‐mobility were interesting. Absolute majority of respondents expressed their consensus regarding the short range of electric vehicles. However, over three quarters stated that the current range covers well their daily driving needs. These results are stressed by the GPS measurements as well – average daily distances are around 35 km. Such an e-­‐
car usage indicates that only 30% of the battery capacity is used and that respondents are still reluctant to drive more. The result is that the main e-­‐mobility advantage, low operational costs, is not fully utilized. It will be interesting to see whether the behavior will change after the fast-­‐charging stations are installed. Limited range is a fact, but it is adequate for city driving; hence the e-­‐mobility concept is currently a city concept. For the further e-­‐mobility development we need to find models where drivers can use a different car when necessary for e.g. long journeys (holiday, business trip). The charging time duration is another problematic point. Over 73% of respondents consider the charging time as too long. Most of them preferred charging time ranging between 5 and 20 minutes, the second acceptable charging time took up to 1 hour. The most preferred payment option is the credit card, but payment through the existing bill for electricity was only few points behind, taking the second place. For fast-­‐charging (up to 20 minutes) the most expected price is between 2 and 5 € (50% of respondents); in case of a normal charging, over 60% of respondents are willing to pay up to 1 € for an hour of charging. 4. Conclusions During January – June 2012 period 15 electric cars were monitored, 26 respondents took part in the survey and the data on electricity consumption were collected and calculated. VIBRATe e-­‐cars drove 56,000 km in total, consumed about 9 MWh of electricity and saved locally 5,600 kg of CO2 emissions. Average daily routes are around 35 km, which makes between 600 and 800 km a month. The range of e-­‐cars depends on the outside temperature, usage of air-­‐condition/heating and the driving style and varies between 80 and 130 km. The electricity consumption is strongly related to the range and varies between 12 and 20 kWh/100 km. According to our survey respondents say the price of e-­‐cars is too high; however they are positive about the further e-­‐mobility development. Limited range is the major constraint, but the existing range covers their daily driving needs. Using e-­‐cars is acknowledged as a cost saving tool and a positive effect on the environment. The acceptable duration of charging is up to 1 hour and for fast-­‐charging there is a willingness to pay between 2 and 5 €/service.