An electrifying option

I'm saving up for an electric car, but if I were to buy one today, I'd face a tough choice when it comes to getting one over a hybrid.

Transportation accounts for about 32 per cent of the average St. Albert resident's greenhouse gas emissions, reports the city's office of the environment. As I buy green electricity, I could theoretically eliminate my car's emissions if I got an electric.

Andrew Batiuk has owned an all-electric Tesla Model S for a year and often visits St. Albert in it. The IT manager says he got the car for its environmental benefits and because he didn't want to pump gas in the winter.

"We were able to do a trip to California not burning any fuel," he says.

"That's a good thing."

A better drive

Bell says most electric vehicles cost about two cents per kilometre to run, compared to about 12 cents for gas cars. That works out to about $34 worth of electricity per month. That's because electric motors are super-efficient: about 85 per cent of their energy goes into moving the car, compared to just 15 per cent for gas motors.

Batiuk says his 50-km commute cost him $5.50 in his old BMW 5-series. With the Model S, it's just $1.10.

"Every day, I'm saving five times the cost."

Most drivers will save $2,000 to $2,500 a year on gas alone with an electric, Bell says. Since most electrics cost about $10,000 more than regular ones, that makes for a five-year payback. You also save on maintenance, as there's no oil or fluids to change on the electric.

"My gas savings alone are paying for two-thirds of my car payment ... tax free!"

High efficiency makes for great mileage. Bell says he gets the equivalent of about 77 miles per gallon with his plug-in Prius, compared to the 17 he got with his old truck.

More mileage means less pollution. In Alberta, a typical electric car causes the emission of about 200 grams of CO2 per kilometre travelled, compared to about 206 for a hybrid and 308 for a gas car, reports the 2015 Electrifying Vehicles study by Simon Fraser University. That's 35 per cent less pollution for the electric and 33 per cent for the hybrid.

You get even bigger reductions if you use greener electricity. Electric cars cause 70 per cent fewer emissions than regular ones in Ontario due to that province's nuclear-heavy grid, for example, the Simon Fraser study suggests. Bell says he's made his car essentially emissions-free by buying green power.

Electric cars have other advantages such as great torque and acceleration, less engine noise and a smoother ride, says Jonathan Yarkony, senior editor with autotrader.ca and a judge for the Green Car of the Year Awards.

The bad news

But there's not many of them on the market right now, he continues. Available are an SUV, a luxury model, and a few hatchbacks. If you want an electric truck, you're out of luck.

While the price point can deter some, Yarkony says the biggest barrier to going electric is range: with the exception of the Tesla, electric cars top out at 120 to 180 km per charge.

"For 99 per cent of your needs, 150-km range is fine, but what if you want to go camping?" Yarkony asks.

"It'll cause a lot of people to not consider them."

Plug-in hybrids are one solution, as models such as the Chevy Volt have enough battery to let you drive electric for your commute and a gas tank for longer trips, Yarkony notes. You can also rent a regular car for a long trip.

Bell notes that many electric car owners have a second gasoline car for longer trips – one they rarely have cause to use.

"The other primary concern is the charging infrastructure," Yarkony notes – there aren't a huge number of charging stations out there if you need them.

This isn't as big of a problem as you'd think, Bell and Batiuk say. About 80 per cent of drivers charge at home, Bell notes, and you can charge your car off of any wall socket. There are also a lot of free charging stations in Edmonton.

Batiuk says some U.S. drivers use nothing but these free stations to charge their cars.

"These cars can actually pay for themselves."

Going electric isn't for everyone, Batiuk says: if you have a really long commute, like engine noise, or haul heavy loads, you should look elsewhere. But if you have a short commute, electric is the way to go.

If I were buying a new car today, it'd be a toss-up between a hybrid and an electric: both provide similar emission reductions for roughly the same payback time.

But Alberta's power grid is getting greener all the time, and electric cars are getting cheaper. By the time I'm ready to buy in a few years, the electric will be the clear winner in this green race.

Case study

Which is better, a hybrid or an electric? A lot depends on where you drive and what model you choose.

Let's compare the 2014 Ford Focus, Focus electric, and Fusion hybrid. We'll assume that the non-electric cars need two $60 oil changes a year, that gasoline costs $1/L, and that Alberta electricity causes 640 g of emissions per kWh. (The Canadian Automobile Association's driving cost calculator, which produced the figures shown below, uses an out-of date figure for Alberta power.)

The cost of green electricity was derived from the Epcor Chirp website for 248 kWh/month.

In Alberta, the hybrid and the electric vehicle are more or less neck and neck, netting you the same reductions for roughly the same payback period, although the hybrid likely takes longer to pay off.

In B.C., the electric is the clear winner. The cleaner electricity of BC vastly reduces the electric's carbon footprint, giving it the most reduction per cost.

We can get a similar reduction in Alberta by buying green power, but this adds two to three years to our payback time.