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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: ESokoloff on March 09, 2022, 07:36:22 AM

Title: EV Smugness?
Post by: ESokoloff on March 09, 2022, 07:36:22 AM
EV Ownership in these troubling times.
I live in Southern California & gas is marching towards (or past by now) $6/gal. 
Very thankful to be an EV owner right now.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Fred on March 09, 2022, 03:40:39 PM
We had some fuel supply chain issues here in the UK a few months ago. Enormous queues outside petrol station. Not only was I sumg about not needing to fill up, but I could zip round the queues that blocked the surrounding roads too. Double smug!
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: princec on March 09, 2022, 06:19:19 PM
Just saw diesel going for £1.80/L on the A303 as I whisked past on the SR/F.

Cas :)
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Richard230 on March 09, 2022, 09:36:31 PM
Just saw diesel going for £1.80/L on the A303 as I whisked past on the SR/F.

Cas :)

Diesel was going for $6.10 a U.S. gallon yesterday around here. I haven't checked today. Electric power is still around 35 cents a KWh in northern California, but that is scheduled to increase by about 30% later this year. My Zero, ridden within the speed limit, will use roughly 15 KWh to travel 90 miles. So a savings over current gasoline prices, but not by as much as I would have wished. I might add that three of my ICE motorcycles get between 60 and 70 miles per gallon at those same speeds.

My Saturn station wagon gets 26 miles a gallon around town and 32 miles a gallon on the highway. So riding both electric and a motorcycle does add up to a significant savings over time.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Sklith on March 10, 2022, 12:49:01 AM
Electric power is still around 35 cents a KWh in northern California, but that is scheduled to increase by about 30% later this year.

With electricity prices that high it seems like getting solar installed is a must. Even a small one just for charging your EVs would probably not take long to pay for itself.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Richard230 on March 10, 2022, 04:31:20 AM
Electric power is still around 35 cents a KWh in northern California, but that is scheduled to increase by about 30% later this year.

With electricity prices that high it seems like getting solar installed is a must. Even a small one just for charging your EVs would probably not take long to pay for itself.

Too expensive for my single-occupant home and Zero. My daughter is trying to get Sun Power to finish their 12-panel solar design. After two months they are still working on it. I guess there is a big demand for solar power in the U.S. right now. The price for the panels and a battery backup system for their 65-year old home is around $35K. I don't think I would live long enough to make that cost pencil out for my relatively modest power consumption. It works for them as there are four people in her home.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Sklith on March 10, 2022, 05:59:54 AM
Even a small 450W setup could potentially charge your Zero.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Richard230 on March 10, 2022, 07:10:39 AM
Even a small 450W setup could potentially charge your Zero.

But the OBC sucks 1300 AC watts out of the wall.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Sklith on March 10, 2022, 06:23:27 PM
But the OBC sucks 1300 AC watts out of the wall.
Wow I didn't know Zeros don't have the ability to limit the amperage, that sucks.
Title: Re: EV Smugness?
Post by: Richard230 on March 10, 2022, 08:30:49 PM
The other reason that solar is not all that popular in my neighborhood is that I live in a valley, surrounded by hills and sunshine is at a premium, especially during the winter when the angle of the sun is low.  :(

Fortunately my daughter lives in an area where they get a lot of sun all day long and a lot less fog than I do, too. So solar will pencil-out for them, especially as their electric power consumption is about three times more than mine.