When your day job is writing about e-bikes, you become the e-bike person for all your friends. There are worse things you could be known for; being considered the resident expert for something most folks consider a fun purchase isn’t a bad gig.
We do, however, get all the questions, including ones we don’t think need to be questions. So it is with our current topic. The question usually goes something like this:
“Hey buddy, I want to reduce my carbon footprint and save money on gas. I need to replace my car soon, but I was thinking that if I get an e-bike I could wait on replacing my car. Or maybe I should just go ahead and buy a Tesla.”
Our belief is that people don’t need to see e-bikes and EVs as an either/or. There is no reason for us to see the options as mutually exclusive. We’re not talking monogamous marriage here.
Carbon footprint
Switching from a car with an internal combustion engine to an electric car, or even a hybrid, is a proven way for someone to reduce their carbon footprint. But let’s ask the question: How much does an EV reduce someone’s carbon footprint by, as compared to a car with an internal combustion engine?
To get that answer, we need to start with a couple of assumptions. Let’s assume the gas-powered car gets an average of 22 mpg combined city/hwy. A gallon of gas produces 41.8kg (19 lbs.) of carbon dioxide when burned. The gas vehicle will produce 1.9kg (.86 lbs.) of carbon dioxide per mile driven.
An EV should do much better than that, right?
Let’s assume that the EV has a 40kWh battery that affords the driver 168 mi. of range, as is estimated for the Nissan Leaf. But let’s also assume that the electricity used to charge the Leaf comes from a coal-fired power plant, rather than a solar array on someone’s roof. Each kWh used will generate 4.97kg (10.9 lbs.) of CO2. That works out—provided the Leaf is really getting 168 mi. per charge—to 1.18kg (2.6 lbs.) of CO2 released per mile driven.
The Nissan Leaf produces 62 percent as much carbon dioxide as the gas vehicle. It’s an improvement, but it’s not the kind of improvement we need if we want to make a dent in carbon emissions.
The e-bike advantage
Now let’s take a typical commuter e-bike with a 750W motor and a 672Wh battery. This is arguably the most popular configuration we see. That e-bike will enjoy a range of roughly 50 mi. per charge, if ridden in PAS 1, or more like 30 mi. if ridden in PAS 5.
Again, we’re going to assume the worst, that this e-bike is being charged by a coal-fired power plant.
Even if the rider stays in PAS 5 everywhere they go, they will cause the release of just .11kg (.22 lbs.) of CO2. That’s a small number—110g—let’s consider just how small. It’s roughly equivalent to four AA batteries, a bar of soap or a large orange. If the rider conserves their battery for maximum range, that number drops to .07kg (.15 lbs.).
For everyone wondering, “What about hybrids?” We ran those numbers, too. Using an estimated 40 mph city/hwy avg., the hybrid surprised us by producing less CO2 than the Nissan Leaf, releasing 1.05kg (2.3 lbs.) of CO2 per mile into the atmosphere.
The gas-powered car produces 17 times as much CO2 per mile. The EV produces almost 11 times as much CO2. Both those numbers represent more than an order of magnitude difference from the CO2 emissions of an e-bike.
Order of magnitude reductions in the release of CO2 are the sorts of changes we need if we want to give our grandkids and great grandkids a livable planet.
The smallest footprint
We don’t expect people to give up vehicles. Our society prioritizes travel by car so much that not having one can make some trips impractical for reasons of distance and/or access.
Whether we believe that mankind is causing global warming or that it might be caused by natural processes, our little blue planet is warming and anything we can do to help prevent further warming is in our best interest.
At the risk of sounding like scratchy vinyl, our best option to reduce our carbon emissions is to ride an e-bike. The math is easy enough for a writer to figure (cough cough).
Most of us have to spend a year or two budgeting to afford a new vehicle. With reliable e-bikes now going for as little as $799, purchasing an e-bike may not be easy for someone on a tight budget, but it’s a purchase that is considerably easier than a new vehicle.
It’s rare that a product demonstrates such clear advantages, but we’re pleased to report that an e-bike is both the most affordable option for reducing someone’s carbon footprint and the most effective.
And we didn’t even mention the health benefits.
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