# EPA accepts User EV reports



## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

Just a heads up, the EPA now accepts User EV mileage reports. So I used my cumulative trip data:








Mine is a 2019 Std Rng Plus Model 3 with 55,385 miles. However, there are provisions for individual trip report metrics. Yes, it is an awkward interface and apparently needs at least a day to update. Regardless, it is a way to mark and share what we are getting.

In the past, they only supported ICE reports. Now they accept miles/kWh.

Bob Wilson


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

bwilson4web said:


> I used my cumulative trip data:


If you're using the Wh/mi on the screen, that number is always going to be significantly better than the actual/total efficiency your car is getting. The screen number excludes several significant contributors to energy use, including charging losses, vampire drain, and any other energy draw while the car is off or in park. So it's not an appropriate comparison to the EPA ratings, which do include charging losses.

For example: My lifetime screen efficiency is *239 Wh/mile*, but I have a home energy meter and measure my UMC's actual energy use from the plug, so I know that my *real* efficiency is *302 Wh/mile*. So a 26% overhead. And that's coming from someone who never uses Sentry Mode, never uses Cabin Overheat Protection, and almost never preconditions the cabin or battery. So I'm close to a best-case scenario for someone minimizing charging overhead vs the screen number.

So it's not terribly surprising that many of these self-reported efficiencies from Tesla owners are on par with or better than the EPA ratings, but the reality is that the vast majority of owners are actually doing worse than the EPA ratings - and many of them significantly worse.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

jsmay311 said:


> ... the Wh/mi on the screen, that number is always going to be significantly better than the actual/total efficiency your car ...


<Ahem>Did you include the grid losses to your meter from the utility company? Then shall we also record the well-head fossil fuel divided into the number of ICE vehicle miles? I suppose one could also measure the vehicle power, kWh, of heating and air conditioning. For example, sitting in the car at Whole Foods, I was amused to see the 'miles per hour' cut in half by turning on the cabin heating ... a crude metric of heating load. This could rapidly become a game of 'one upmanship' drawing boundaries and editing operational procedure(s).

I'm not the least bit worried about what the car recorded as the total_miles / total_kWh. It is likely that similar metrics are available from other EVs but I won't be making a study. Tracking peripheral losses is nice but we're unlikely to find them across the fleet of EVs.

EPA metrics are meant as a comparative number either MPG or kWh/mi so buyers have a basis of estimate between vehicles, ICE or EV. I appreciate tracking every joule but sometimes we can overthink our analysis. In my case, the ~2.5 year, 54,000 mi average comes very close to the EPA projected miles per kWh.

Bob Wilson


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