Using renewables on my house to drive my car (2015-2019)

Audi A3 e-tron (photo by Julie May)

My first plug-in car, the Audi A3 e-tron, was a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that drove in pure electric for up to 50 km and then in hybrid mode using petrol and battery. My house has solar panels and home battery installed which partly charged the car. The details of these renewables are to be found on this website page called My House. All these items were purchased to reduce my carbon footprint and my bills in retirement.

Being retired, I charged the car in daylight to make use of the solar panels and battery. For four years of driving, 81% was done in pure electric and 19% in petrol. By using my renewable energy power to charge the car, I calculated that it cost 3 cents per kilometre to drive whereas petrol and diesel cars cost 10-12 cents per kilometre. The fuel consumption for 37,000 km was 1.5 L/100km as most driving was around town. For a long trip, say Melbourne to Canberra ,the fuel consumption was 5.6 L/100km

Canberra’s electricity grid is moving towards 40% powered by renewables in 2017 as it heads towards 100% renewable electricity by 2020. [Canberra reached 100% renewable electricity on October 1, 2019] This means that with my own use of renewables and some renewables from the grid, the CO₂ emissions from the car were much reduced. It feels good to do my bit but the bonus is - it is a pleasure driving in electric, so the next car is all-electric with some autonomous features. See 'My Car'.
Updated: October 3, 2019.