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Transport Case Study

South East Energy Agency Volkswagen e-Golf

Over the last few years there has been great concern regarding the sustainability and conservation of the environment. The government is aiming to get 1m electric cars on Irish roads and banning petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Project Overview

In December 2017, South East Energy Agency 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.

South East Energy Agency’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 South East Energy Agency EV has travelled the distance of 67,485km. A table below shows a comparison of energy costs between electric and standard diesel/petrol cars.

3cea Volkswagen E Golf

Benefits

Thanks to the installation of PV panels, Catering Foods & Packaging Ltd. saved money and reduced its carbon footprint through the BEC 2018 Programme.
The installation of PV panels on the roof of one house shed, has led to a reduction in grid imported electricity on the site.

DISTANCE UNTIL MARCH 3RD (KM) ENERGY CONSUMPTION (KWH) ENERGY COST (€) ENERGY RELATED CO2 EMISSIONS (TCO2)
ENERGY AGENCY’S 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

Installing an electric charging point

In 2019, South East Energy Agency 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
Note

* 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.

What are the benefits of driving an EV for business?

  • Up to €7,000 grant available for the purchase of an electric vehicle for the use as a Taxi or Limousine (See www.nationaltransport.ie)
  • Government incentive of up to €5,000 grant per vehicle and up to €5,000
  • Vehicle Registration Relief (See www.seai.ie)
  • Accelerated Capital Allowance Scheme permitting write off of capital investment within one year (See www.seai.ie)
  • BIK exemptions for employees charging at their workplace (See www.revenue.ie)
  • Reduced tolls (See www.etoll.ie)
  • Reduction in company carbon footprint
Cost of charging

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
Comparison with diesel and petrol car
DIESEL (EMPTY TO FULL) €58.95 €5.90 4.5L/100km
PETROL (EMPTY TO FULL) €63.90 €7.81 5.5L/100km