Archive for the ‘Cheaper Gas’ Category
In Rhode Island, which one is cheaper/ convenient? Gas or electricity?
The bill is A LOT when the gas system is used. I didn’t use the electricity system yet, but I’m just wondering would it be more convenient using electricity? What are the main pros and cons for both of them? It’ll help me decide which one to stick to.
Gas is definitely cheaper than electric heat.
Where I live gas is $4.05 if you pay with cash but it’s $4.19 if you pay with a card. Has gas always been cheaper if you pay with cash? And why is it cheaper?
hey amanda ! 
Some petrol station charge you few percent(%) from your credit card
Would charging a car like a Prius be cheaper than just buying gas?
The Prius is mainly a gas car. The electric motors in the Prius are to allow the Prius to us an engine that is sized for steady state driving rather then for acceleration. The motors provide the additional power required when accelerating. They also allow the gas engine to shut off during times of very low power demand when the gas engine would be inefficient.
There are kits that add plug-in electric power to the Prius, but they are expensive and the longevity is an unknown.
This year the Prius will have a model with plug-in capability which allows about a ten mile electric range. The purpose of this is for really bad stop and go commutes where the standard Prius has to run the engine just to charge the battery. The extra electric range should prevent this from happening.
Note that the Prius gets every bit of its energy from the gas tank. The electric motors just allow a very efficient engine to be used. You never plug in a standard Prius, and the plug-in version is not out yet.
My 2004 Prius MPG from the logbook. (Complete years only):
2003-2004 — 50.8 mpg 17,628 miles
2005 — 52.6 mpg 14,688 miles
2006 — 56.3 mpg 16174 miles
2007 — 57.3 mpg 18384 miles
2008 — 59.9 mpg 21755 miles
2009 — 61.4 mpg 16177 miles
2010 — 65.2 mpg 12134 miles
The cost of running my Prius has been 12 cents per mile for dealer maintenance, tires, and fuel combined over the 125,000 trouble-free miles I’ve driven it so far.
A fully electric car, like the Nissan Leaf, would be less expensive to run because there is no expensive gas engine to maintain and electric motors are more efficient than gas engines so a dollar’s worth of energy goes further. However, the cost of renting a car for vacation trips would have to be added in (assuming the Leaf is your only car).
Both the Prius and the Leaf are less expensive to run than an old fashioned car. Particularly when you consider that the Prius is a mid-sized car and the only cars that even come close to obtaining the MPG of the Prius are sub-compacts.