In December 2017, 3cea decided to purchase a Volkswagen E-Golf with a aim to firstly reduce carbon emissions and to promote the use of electric vehicles. In turn also allowing us to reduce staff travelling costs and expenses.
3cea’s new VW E-Golf has a 284km range when fully charged and has saved us up to €10,000 a year on staff travel costs. Since December 2017 until March 2020, the 3cea EV has travelled the distance of 67,485km. A table below shows a comparison of energy costs between electric and standard diesel/petrol cars.
| Distance until March 3rd (km) | Energy Consumption (kWh) | Energy Cost (€) | Energy related CO2 Emissions (tCO2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3cea E-golf | 67,485 | 11,337 | 2,041 | 4.25 |
| Equivalent Diesel | 67,485 | 30,882 | 3,978 | 8.15 |
| Equivalent Petrol | 67,485 | 34,696 | 5,271 | 8.74 |
In 2019, 3cea decided to install a 22kw charge point employees to reduce worries around range anxiety for longer journeys and to provide a convenient way to recharge the electric car whilst parked at the office during the day.
From a business point of view, having a charge point at the workplace will become increasingly important as a facility for employees and visitors. For businesses with an EV fleet or hotels that have decided to provide guests charging stations, it can be an essential operating factor.
Similar to the Electric Vehicle Home Charger Grant, the Government offers businesses, organisations, charities, and local authorities financial support to have charge points installed at their premises under the Better Energy Community Grant Scheme.
The table below highlights the estimated time to charge the e-Golf from empty to full. For rapid charging we show the time to charge from 20% – 80%, as charging tends to slow outside this range to protect the battery.
| Charging method | Typically found at | Charging time* | Range/hour** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty to full | |||
| 3-pin plug | Home | 16.5h | 14km/h |
| 3.7kW | Home / Work | 10h | 22km/h |
| 7kW | Home / Work / Public Locations | 5h | 42km/h |
| 22kW | Work / Public Locations | 5h | 43km/h |
| 20%-80% | |||
| 50kW | Public Locations | 36min | 110km/30min |
| 150kW | Public Locations | 36min | 110km/30min |
* Charging Time: Based on Pod Point estimates, charging rates can differ based on the ambient temperature, the state of the battery and variation in charging rate.
** Range/hour: number of kilometres you can expect to get from an hour of charging at the relevant rate.
*** Different EVs will charge at a different rate using the same charger. Some models of EVs are not capable of availing of the full throughput available from a charge point but will still charge as a rate suitable for the vehicle.
The cost of charging your car will vary between home, work and public charge points (below are our estimates).
| Place | Avg. cost | Cost/100km | Assumptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home / Work (Empty to full) | €6.66 | €2.78 | 18c/kWh |
| Public Rapid Chargers (20%-80%) Pay as you go | €6.93 | €4.81 | 33c/kWh |
| Public Rapid Chargers (20%-80%) Subscription plan | €6.09 | €4.23 | 29c/kWh + €5/month |
| Diesel (Empty to full) | €58.95 | €5.90 | 4.5L/100km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol (Empty to full) | €63.90 | €7.81 | 5.5L/100km |
Annual taxation on most Electric cars is in the lowest motor tax bracket, currently €120.
