Watts App FAQ
What Problem does Watts App solve? Find out what difference would it make to switch to an EV under real driving conditions. Compare energy expenditure and corresponding costs. Select any of the most common electric vehicles as a Reference Vehicle or define your custom vehicle by providing a few parameters.
Do I have to be the driver to use Watts App? Absolutely not. You can use the app while simply riding in the vehicle. In fact, this would even be better than being the driver since it would be both safer and much easier to examine energy fluctuations during various route and driving conditions in real time.
What happens when I select a Reference Vehicle? You will know what energy consumption and cost would be, if you were riding on that Reference Vehicle. Watts App will make all energy calculations using that vehicle's parameters, even including its particular battery capacity.
How does Watts App calculate energy consumption? Using your mobile's sensors along with vehicle attributes, Watts App calculates energy fluctuations during acceleration, breaking, hill climbing, cruising and going downhill. This enables the app to calculate real-time energy consumption for both fossil fuel-driven and electric vehicles. Fossil fuel's real energy content and ICE energy conversion efficiencies are taken into consideration.
Isn't it simpler just to compare average consumption of EV's? Because driving styles and routes differ, average consumption figures do not work well. Watts App does not use any vehicle's average energy consumption value. Instead, the App makes its own calculations based on real time driving conditions, using special algorithms.
Why is the fossil fuel consumption always higher than the electric vehicle’s consumption? Internal combustion engines, which use fossil fuels, have a theoretical maximum efficiency of 50% due to thermodynamics. They often operate at even lower efficiencies in real-world conditions. In addition, electric vehicles can gain back some of the spent energy during braking or going downhill. This is called "Regeneration". Watts App detects these conditions and calculates amount of regeneration that would happen in an electric car.
How do I define my vehicle’s attributes in the app? Navigate to the settings screen where you can input details like your vehicle’s weight, body, engine type, and the type of fossil fuel it uses.
Can the app calculate the cost of my trips based on fuel or energy prices? Yes, if you enter the current prices for fossil fuel and electric vehicle charging in your area, the app will compute the estimated cost for each journey, offering a comparison between fossil fuel and electric energy costs.
Can I track multiple trips with the app? You can start and end trip energy calculations using the on-screen button. The app saves a summary of each trip’s data separately for your review.
What if I don’t know the exact weight or type of my vehicle? It’s best to provide the details for more precise calculations. You may refer to your vehicle’s manual or look up its specifications online. However, you might as well use approximate figures, and the EV and conventional fuel comparison will still hold since same parameters are used for both cases.
Does the app share my location data? No. Your location data, accessed from the device’s sensors, remains on your device and isn’t transferred outside for the app’s operations.
Is there a version of Watts App without ads? Not yet, but it is in the making. Please rate Watts App and give feedback to let us know what features you would like in upcoming versions.
Download Watts App
Watts App: Drive Watts – Apps on Google Play