New all electric car

[GPowers]

Recently picked up our new Nissan Leaf.  Ordered it back in may 2011. Looking forward to driving past gas stations on a daily bases.

The Leaf is the latest step in our quest to reduce our consumption and reliance on energy companies.  First step was the solar co-generation electricity plant we installed on our roof. Now the all electric car.  It is part of our retirement plan.

 

[BobKovacs]

Where's the lumber rack for the roof??

How many Systainers will fit in the back??

I saw one of those at a green festival about a month ago and thought it was pretty slick.  It's funny how they made the electronics under the hood resemble the valve cover on an engine so people didn't feel uncomfortable around it.  It looks so convincing that I had to ask the guy in front of it "I thought this thing was 100% electric- why does it have an engine?"....lol

 

[GPowers]

It's funny how they made the electronics under the hood resemble the valve cover on an engine so people didn't feel uncomfortable around it.  It looks so convincing that I had to ask the guy in front of it "I thought this thing was 100% electric- why does it have an engine?"....lol

Here is a photo so others will know what you are talking about. But I also had the same reaction. It is the power inverter to change the battery DC in to AC for the electric motor. But the inverter looks like a valve cover.

 

[jmbfestool]

How long does it take to charge?  lol Cus I think she might be standing their for a while  [tongue]

JMB

 

[GPowers]

How long does it take to charge?  lol Cus I think she might be standing their for a while  [tongue]

JMB

You have three option depending where you are and what voltage is available:
110V 21 hours
220V  8  hours
440V  .5 hour

 

[jmbfestool]

How long does it take to charge?  lol Cus I think she might be standing their for a while  [tongue]

JMB

110V 21 hours
220V  8  hours
440V  .5 hour

not bad!  Wa does your solar panel supply?  110v or can it produce 440v?

 

[GPowers]

Solar system supplies 600v DC that runs through a inverter for 220v AC. System produces 42kWh per day. I can also charge the car at work on 220v for FREE and not impact my home solar production.

 

[EcoFurniture]

Nice! Very smart move  ;D  I'm driving a diesel Smart Car and yes it is small... very small... but at the end of the month I have $2-300 more in my pocket.  Or in other words: $20 gets me over 400km!

Cheers,
A

 

[fritter63]

Good on ya Gary! I'm so itching' to do this. We're dropping about $300/month on gas right now with a 50 mile (round trip) daily commute. Thanks to the solar panels on the house, even if we're not generating all the power to cover it (our yearly settle up amount just went negative this month!), we can still make use of the time of use metering and charge for ten cents/kWh. That means that I could drive a Leaf for $50/month, and that means that for what I currently put out in gas, I could lease and drive a leaf.

Just a little hesitant on being an early adopter on this one....

(BTW, off topic small car aside: My son burned up his Toyota truck engine (again!) and so we got him an '07 Yaris for a great price (100K miles on it). Kids at college were making fun of him until he told them his gas mileage (35 MPG) and how he hadn't filled up in over a week. They were suddenly very jealous, so you keep on in that Smart car Eco!)

 

[GPowers]

Good on ya Gary! I'm so itching' to do this. We're dropping about $300/month on gas right now with a 50 mile (round trip) daily commute. Thanks to the solar panels on the house, even if we're not generating all the power to cover it (our yearly settle up amount just went negative this month!), we can still make use of the time of use metering and charge for ten cents/kWh. That means that I could drive a Leaf for $50/month, and that means that for what I currently put out in gas, I could lease and drive a leaf.

The Leaf averages 3 to 4 miles to 1kWh, so (if I was paying for electricity)  in Southern California we were paying $0.13 for tear one power and $0.33 for the top tear. So you can figure cost from that. We are still in the first week of having the Leaf and are pumping 9 to 10kWh in to the batteries a night.

My wife's gas bill was $200 to $300 just to drive around town and mine was another $200 for the work commute. we hope to cut that in half. Next Vehicle is an electric truck, (aka wood working supplies hauler) as soon as some one makes one again.

 

[fritter63]

Good on ya Gary! I'm so itching' to do this. We're dropping about $300/month on gas right now with a 50 mile (round trip) daily commute. Thanks to the solar panels on the house, even if we're not generating all the power to cover it (our yearly settle up amount just went negative this month!), we can still make use of the time of use metering and charge for ten cents/kWh. That means that I could drive a Leaf for $50/month, and that means that for what I currently put out in gas, I could lease and drive a leaf.

The Leaf averages 3 to 4 miles to 1kWh, so (if I was paying for electricity)  in Southern California we were paying $0.13 for tear one power and $0.33 for the top tear. So you can figure cost from that. We are still in the first week of having the Leaf and are pumping 9 to 10kWh in to the batteries a night.

My wife's gas bill was $200 to $300 just to drive around town and mine was another $200 for the work commute. we hope to cut that in half. Next Vehicle is an electric truck, (aka wood working supplies hauler) as soon as some one makes one again.

I am very tempted to "gut" that old Toyota truck and convert it to electric, but it would cost at least 10k to do so ( and a lot of time !)

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

You need one of these Greg, you know to get exact battery charge status. You could use beadboard ala HoneyDo instead of cardboard though. Wonder if the red button is for the ejector seat?!

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/30/nissan-leaf-mod-offers-more-accurate-battery-status/

In all seriousness, my wife insisted that we buy a truck, which actually gets used for hauling or as a truck 3-4 times a year. I get a whopping 16.5 mpg usually - '10 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab. Boo. Wish I would have gone with  a sports car, which was my original plan for a new vehicle. Mid-life crisis time.  [big grin]

Congrats on the new ride.

Edit: I should add that, IMO, these electric vehicles are WAY overpriced. If you do the math, even at $4/gal, that's a lot of gas you can buy for the premium of going electric/hybrid. Sheesh, the break even is a decade or more for me in most cases.

 

[fritter63]

In all seriousness, my wife insisted that we buy a truck, which actually gets used for hauling or as a truck 3-4 times a year. I get a whopping 16.5 mpg usually - '10 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab. Boo.

I'll make you feel better. My '99 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4x4 (long bed) gets 9 MPG... I don't drive it much.

 

[fritter63]

BTW Gary, if you haven't seen it already, check out www.plugincars.com

They recently had a blog posting about how to get 4+ miles/kWh on the leaf

 

[GPowers]

Edit: I should add that, IMO, these electric vehicles are WAY overpriced. If you do the math, even at $4/gal, that's a lot of gas you can buy for the premium of going electric/hybrid. Sheesh, the break even is a decade or more for me in most cases.

The initial cost is higher, Cost of the Leaf was $34,000. However you get $7,500 back on your fed income taxes as a CREDIT and a $2,500 state rebate.  So that is $10,000 off the cost of the car making  it a $24,000 car. Some areas in California there are even more rebates like Santa Monica and San Francisco.

A Nissan Versa, similarly configured is a little more then $20,000. So the electric premium is $4,000. We will be saving at lease $300 a month in gas, all the electric comes for up solar system, so there is no monthly cost there.  $4000/$300 gives you break even is 13 months.  Not bad in my book, especial with gasoline prices creeping up every year.

 

[GPowers]

You need one of these Greg, you know to get exact battery charge status. You could use beadboard ala HoneyDo instead of cardboard though. Wonder if the red button is for the ejector seat?!

Shane, I think I will keep the iPhone app (see photo below) to check the status of the cars batteries.  Little better user interface than the cardboard status.

 

[fritter63]

So, how is it that you get charge for free at work?

 

[GPowers]

So, how is it that you get charge for free at work?

It is just a employee benefit. Several companies offer employees free EV charging. Google has a special parking lot with solar panel covered parking spaces for EV.

A lot of charging stations are free, for now. You can also charge your Leaf at a Nissan dealer. One of our local dealers will allow you to charge and will even take you across the freeway to the mall while your Leaf is charging.

This morning, on my way to work, I drove past Phoenix Motor cars. They are about 5 miles from our office, they have two free charging stations.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

So where do you toss the battery's when they won't hold a charge anymore?

how much are new ones?

I still think hybrids and electric cars are not the way of the future.  They still rely on fossil fuels no matter what.  they are a filler technology. 

I don't care how much gas costs, it always puts a smile on my face driving my big block around. [big grin]

Yes, we take the Burban with the 454 on all our family trips.

 

[GPowers]

So where do you toss the battery's when they won't hold a charge anymore?

Myth 3: Electric car batteries pose a recycling problem.
Reality: Internal combustion engine vehicles use lead-acid batteries, and their recycle rate is about 98% in the US. The newer batteries for electric vehicles, such as those made of lithium-ion, include even more valuable and recyclable metals and will have a life well beyond the vehicle. In fact, a Belgian company plans to use Tesla Motor's electric vehicle battery pack material to produce an alloy it can further refine into cobalt, nickel, and other valuable metals as well as special grades of concrete. Technology will soon allow for EV batteries to store energy produced by solar or wind power.

how much are new ones?

hard to tell what any thing will cost in 8 years. The battery have an 8year 100,000 mile warranty for 80% retention.

I still think hybrids and electric cars are not the way of the future.  They still rely on fossil fuels no matter what.  they are a filler technology.

Sorry to disagree with you on this on . I generate over 100% of all the electricity that I use both for our home and the electric car.  and for the rest of the country, Think of all the non-fossil power generation plants in the western United States (where I live) Hydro dams, Nuclear, solar farms, and wind farm. There are also more new solar power generating plants under construction now that were built over the last 20 years.

I don't care how much gas costs, it always puts a smile on my face driving my big block around. [big grin]
Yes, we take the Burban with the 454 on all our family trips.

I also agree with you here. I love my Z06 Corvette with the 427 engine and 505 horse power, unbelievable quick acceleration. My wife and I take it on trips all over the United States. The Corvette is a great weekend and vacation car. I have the leaf for around town and the Z06 to play. The right tool for the right project.

Just because I have solar and and electric car,  you should not place me in to the tree hugger category, far from it. All the solar panels we install,  the electric car we just bought and the water wise landscaping are part of our retirement plan to control our energy cost.