Choosing an e-bike for delivery is becoming increasingly common. In recently published blogs, they wrote about the advantages of a delivery bike in terms of fast delivery and operational costs, impact and operational efficiency. But what about the costs incurred for the use of electricity?
Rising energy prices
It hasn't escaped anyone's attention and it's a daily news item, the cost of electricity has been rising enormously lately! In January 2021, 1 kWh cost about 0.24 euro. So consuming 1000 Watts for an hour cost 24 cents. In August 2022, this had already increased to 0.67 euros, almost 3 times as expensive! However, the exact cost of electricity use depends on the energy contract and the energy supplier.
In this blog we calculate with 0.67 euro per kWh.
E-bike for delivery: what does it cost?
Despite rising energy prices, the electricity costs of the pedelec pale into insignificance compared to depreciation costs, for example. Suppose a company uses e-bikes to deliver meals and packages. If the company recharges the batteries every day, at today's prices it will still only cost 97.82 Euros per year per pedelec. In other words, less than 27 cents per day.
Efficient charger, battery and motor
A battery charger takes power from the mains. Most of this power goes to the battery and a smaller part disappears due to the inefficiency of the charger. A charger heats up and loses energy. The best is of course a charger with an efficiency of 100%, but most battery chargers today have an efficiency of 75%. The efficiency of ConnectBike's Giant battery chargers is generally much higher than the average. In addition, practice has shown that a relatively large amount of energy is lost if the motor and battery do not work together properly. Here too, the efficiency of the Giant motor and battery from ConnectBike is above average. The result is more energy for the same money.
In this blog we will calculate with 25% energy loss as an example.
The capacity of the battery
How much current a charger should supply to a battery depends on its capacity. The electric delivery bikes from ConnectBike have a capacity of 500 watts. An average electric bike has a 300-watt battery. So to fully recharge such a battery, in theory 300 watts should be put in for an hour. In practice, however, this takes a bit longer. An average 300-watt battery takes 4 hours to recharge. So every hour, 75 Watts are delivered to the battery.
Take care of the battery
Fast or slow charging makes no difference to the price tag. Using 75 Watts for 4 hours or 300 Watts for 1 hour will both add up to 300 Watts. However, it is better for the battery to be charged slowly rather than quickly. To keep the life span and range of the battery healthy, it is good to completely empty it once every two weeks. And when you take the battery out of the pedelec, support it with your hand so it doesn't fall on the ground and get damaged.
The total costs
The battery in this example needs 300 Watts, but due to the loss of efficiency it requires 400 Watts from the energy supplier. One kWh costs about 0.67 euros in August 2022. One kWh equals 1000 Wh, so 400 Watts costs 0.27 euros. And if you do that every day, you pay less than 100 euros per year. In short, despite the rising cost of electricity, charging a battery is still very affordable! So choose an e-bike for delivery.
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