Well it has been quite a while since I posted anything to the blogosphere. I would imagine that perhaps the opinion was that I'd quit. No, I've just been real busy reading everyone else's blogs.
Not too long ago I passed the first ten thousand miles in my wonderful Leaf. I would say still shiny new but with all the snow and a salt residue right now it's not so shiny. So 10k miles @ my old 25 mpg would be approximately 400 gallons of gas that I have not purchased. At roughly $3.50/gallon that means the cost of fuel savings alone is approximately $1400.
Now it's not really that much of a savings because my driving has increased because we're using the Leaf for family excursions around town instead of my wife's Corolla that we had been using before we got the new cars. The Corolla was getting about 35mpg and I don't have a good feel for the number of miles the family put on it. So for the sake of my math impoverished brain we'll stick with $1400 in gas savings. Or 2 car payments. Or a new laptop. Or new bicycles for everyone in the family.
And really, that's not all pure savings still. There was the cost of electricity to power my wonderful vehicle through the sweltering summer, the bitter cold of winter and the slush riddled streets of spring. The cost of electricity is much more reliable thanks to the cost estimator that is part of the CarWings application. Assuming the "OK" button was activated every, single, stinking time I started the vehicle (end of rant about the button), and using the summer electric rate year round the cost of electricity was $229.60. The reality is that the electric cost was less than that. The miles included the trip to Manhattan, KS which was free refills at public charging stations. It also doesn't discount the summer rate only applies June-Sept. The rest of the year is 1 cent/kWh less. I figure it's not worth splitting hairs over that much difference.
I must admit I also hit Very Low Battery warning again a couple weeks ago. However, given that there are more than twice as many public charging stations now compared to when I got the car, I wasn't really worried <bold and italics for effect>. The cold has affected the range significantly and that wasn't really expected but now I know what this summer and next winter will bring. This all equates to approximately 6000 pounds of CO2 tailpipe emissions that weren't emitted.
It's not much but it's a start. When I chatted with a local Leaf owner I found that I put more than twice as many miles on my Leaf than she had on hers.
Now all I need to do is figure out how to get some solar panels rocking and fill it up for "free".
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
Monday, March 25, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
The hazards of alternative energy
Just something to think about.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
Friday, February 1, 2013
Taxes, roads and the so called 'free ride'
The ether has been buzzing the last few weeks with proposed and implemented legislation regarding appropriately taxing alternative fuel vehicles.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I enjoy smooth roads. I appreciate the efforts of the road crews to clear the snow off the road at 0300 in the morning so I can get to the office at 0700. Yes, all this takes money and I am perfectly willing to pay for these services.
Having made that statement, let's delve a little deeper into the murky underworld that is government, reality, and a stab at human nature.
People seem to get upset when other people get a 'free ride' or 'something for nothing' even when they have the exact same opportunity to take advantage of the same solution. The fact that I am able to plug my electric car into a charging station at the county library and spend 60 minutes adding a charge to my car for free would make some to claim that I don't deserve to charge for free.
The democratically elected county government decided that it was worth spending government dollars on EV charging stations and for that I am grateful. I'm a tax paying citizen of the county. My taxes helped pay for the device and the price of the energy. My taxes also help pay for the health and human services division. I don't receive direct benefit from that but I still support it and think helping others is a good thing.
People might seem to think that I'm still getting a free ride. Well, I pay quite a bit more in personal property tax which goes to the county and the state simply because the sale price of my car was quite a bit higher than the cars I typically buy. In fact, the last new car I bought was $13,000. My Leaf sales tax and registration is based on the $38,000 price tag when I got the Leaf in June. Math $13,000 old car X 3 = $39,000. I would say the sticker price is a significant bump on the taxes. You know what, every person who would complain about my 'free fuel' has the same opportunity to trade in the smog producing mobile explosion that is the internal combustion engine and use an emission free electric vehicle.
In Missouri there is already a registration fee associated with all alternative fuel vehicles that don't use any gasoline. It says gasoline specifically in the fee. Plug in hybrids like the Ford C-Max Energi and Chevrolet Volt would be exempt from this fee even though it is possible and even likely that city driving with either of those vehicles would result in the driver using no gasoline and thereby pay no fuel taxes or help pay for road maintenance at all.
Some of the discussion to equalize the taxes centers around a tax per mile solution. This would require government monitoring and a very invasive one at that. Talk about a Big Brother solution. Additionally, even if you only use public transit and don't directly pay a fuel tax, you still want the roads in good repair and the streets cleared. According to Missouri, the gas tax for an alternative fuel vehicle is approximately $70/year.
Here's the simple solution. Set a registration fee of $70/year (or appropriate amount based on need) for ALL class C vehicles. Wow, simple, elegant and it would also cut down on a portion of government spending that must collect and monitor the taxes paid by the filling stations so the actual dollar paid will go further because there would be a reduction in government spending on the current solution. This would also mean that the government would still maintain a steady flow of income as vehicles register over the course of the year.
Don't limit the adoption of fuel efficient, alternative fuel, battery vehicles by strange and unusual fees. Encourage adoption with incentives and equality.
Environmental plug - we hold this Earth in trust for our children and our children's children. Let's try to leave it in a better place than we found it.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I enjoy smooth roads. I appreciate the efforts of the road crews to clear the snow off the road at 0300 in the morning so I can get to the office at 0700. Yes, all this takes money and I am perfectly willing to pay for these services.
Having made that statement, let's delve a little deeper into the murky underworld that is government, reality, and a stab at human nature.
People seem to get upset when other people get a 'free ride' or 'something for nothing' even when they have the exact same opportunity to take advantage of the same solution. The fact that I am able to plug my electric car into a charging station at the county library and spend 60 minutes adding a charge to my car for free would make some to claim that I don't deserve to charge for free.
The democratically elected county government decided that it was worth spending government dollars on EV charging stations and for that I am grateful. I'm a tax paying citizen of the county. My taxes helped pay for the device and the price of the energy. My taxes also help pay for the health and human services division. I don't receive direct benefit from that but I still support it and think helping others is a good thing.
People might seem to think that I'm still getting a free ride. Well, I pay quite a bit more in personal property tax which goes to the county and the state simply because the sale price of my car was quite a bit higher than the cars I typically buy. In fact, the last new car I bought was $13,000. My Leaf sales tax and registration is based on the $38,000 price tag when I got the Leaf in June. Math $13,000 old car X 3 = $39,000. I would say the sticker price is a significant bump on the taxes. You know what, every person who would complain about my 'free fuel' has the same opportunity to trade in the smog producing mobile explosion that is the internal combustion engine and use an emission free electric vehicle.
In Missouri there is already a registration fee associated with all alternative fuel vehicles that don't use any gasoline. It says gasoline specifically in the fee. Plug in hybrids like the Ford C-Max Energi and Chevrolet Volt would be exempt from this fee even though it is possible and even likely that city driving with either of those vehicles would result in the driver using no gasoline and thereby pay no fuel taxes or help pay for road maintenance at all.
Some of the discussion to equalize the taxes centers around a tax per mile solution. This would require government monitoring and a very invasive one at that. Talk about a Big Brother solution. Additionally, even if you only use public transit and don't directly pay a fuel tax, you still want the roads in good repair and the streets cleared. According to Missouri, the gas tax for an alternative fuel vehicle is approximately $70/year.
Here's the simple solution. Set a registration fee of $70/year (or appropriate amount based on need) for ALL class C vehicles. Wow, simple, elegant and it would also cut down on a portion of government spending that must collect and monitor the taxes paid by the filling stations so the actual dollar paid will go further because there would be a reduction in government spending on the current solution. This would also mean that the government would still maintain a steady flow of income as vehicles register over the course of the year.
Don't limit the adoption of fuel efficient, alternative fuel, battery vehicles by strange and unusual fees. Encourage adoption with incentives and equality.
Environmental plug - we hold this Earth in trust for our children and our children's children. Let's try to leave it in a better place than we found it.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
Thursday, January 3, 2013
2012 in review - quotes of the year
After a few weeks being involved on the mynissanleaf.com forum I found several enjoyable comments and decided that a quote of the year needed to be established. Additionally, some of my co-workers have made comments both positive and negative that were worthy of publication. So in no particular order, the 2012 Quotes of the Year.....
From the forum: Riding in a LEAF just makes everything else in the same price range seem primitive.
From the forum: First day, "Did anyone tell you your car looks like a suppository?" , the response was "There's a lot of science in that shape so it slips through painlessly."
From the office: (context - EV car puns) "...hard to exhaust that."
From a new EV friend: (context, waiting for his new Leaf) "I haven't been this excited since they came out with Kung Fu grip for the GI Joe!"
From the office: I like buying gas <shakes head in disbelief>
From the forum: The guy at the parts counter was about as useless as a cat flap on an elephant house.
From the office: (not EV but funny enough to post) It's ok, I already know I'm going to hell. I have my handbasket decorated.
From a local newspaper from an EV owner: (context, driving EV to California) That's not what it's for just like you can't mow your lawn with a Ford 150 truck.
And finally from the forum: I think it's a sign of how low-maintenance the LEAF is, that the Wiper Blade thread spends weeks at the top of the new posts
May 2013 bring hope, prosperity, and humor to all and an EV in every house.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
From the forum: Riding in a LEAF just makes everything else in the same price range seem primitive.
From the forum: First day, "Did anyone tell you your car looks like a suppository?" , the response was "There's a lot of science in that shape so it slips through painlessly."
From the office: (context - EV car puns) "...hard to exhaust that."
From a new EV friend: (context, waiting for his new Leaf) "I haven't been this excited since they came out with Kung Fu grip for the GI Joe!"
From the office: I like buying gas <shakes head in disbelief>
From the forum: The guy at the parts counter was about as useless as a cat flap on an elephant house.
From the office: (not EV but funny enough to post) It's ok, I already know I'm going to hell. I have my handbasket decorated.
From a local newspaper from an EV owner: (context, driving EV to California) That's not what it's for just like you can't mow your lawn with a Ford 150 truck.
And finally from the forum: I think it's a sign of how low-maintenance the LEAF is, that the Wiper Blade thread spends weeks at the top of the new posts
May 2013 bring hope, prosperity, and humor to all and an EV in every house.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
Monday, December 31, 2012
An end to 2012...one last EVSE scavenger hunt
Last post for 2012. I've enjoyed my Leaf for the last 6 months + 8 days. It is a wonderful car. I have had the opportunity to meet a number of enthusiastic EV owners and curious members of the public. This has been an awesome time for me. I've got the electric car that I've wanted for so long and it does absolutely everything I want. I charged it up Sunday to 100% and headed out into the wild.
The first stop was at the new device at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers. I was there a couple months ago for a Boy Scout dinner and was thinking it would be appropriate to have a device there. Now there is. It appears to be supported by 24 solar panels and potentially 2 vertical wind turbines.
I was just plugged in long enough to step into the store and thank them for putting the devices up. Interestingly in the navigation map for the Leaf they left off the "H" in Chouteau Trafficway and on the ChargePoint map they list the device as being in Claycono instead of Claycomo. The next Walgreens is on Vivion Road and there's a huge Metro park 'n ride area there as well.
The device is active on the ChargePoint network but I guess there are signs and painting still to do. I was going to pull in and charge anyway figuring the lot was empty but there was a car to the right of the picture so I couldn't pull through. So instead I went down the street to the Cherry Street Garage with its access off Oak Street. I'm still trying to figure that one out. I thought about charging over at the Atterbury Student Success Center like I did last weekend but I was happy where I was.
**I just got an email from the IBEW, that's a 5kWh solar array. With the winter angle of the sun they're pulling 3.5 instead of 5 they get during the summer. Neat, I want one.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
The first stop was at the new device at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers. I was there a couple months ago for a Boy Scout dinner and was thinking it would be appropriate to have a device there. Now there is. It appears to be supported by 24 solar panels and potentially 2 vertical wind turbines.
After a 30 minute charge it was off to find some Walgreens stores. The first stop was not quite over the river but it was through the woods of Loose Park. I had to wait for the deer to cross the road. Eventually I arrived at the device on Gregory Blvd. I arrived just in time for a breakfast snack of Snickers and Pepsi. I only charged long enough to eat. Even though there are plenty of areas to visit, the traffic is fast enough that it makes walking along the road dangerous. Now it was time for the longest single leg of the journey and this would literally be over the river and through the wood as I took more back roads to the north side of Kansas City and arrived at the Walgreens in Claycomo.
I was just plugged in long enough to step into the store and thank them for putting the devices up. Interestingly in the navigation map for the Leaf they left off the "H" in Chouteau Trafficway and on the ChargePoint map they list the device as being in Claycono instead of Claycomo. The next Walgreens is on Vivion Road and there's a huge Metro park 'n ride area there as well.
And just down the street in the City of Fountains (nickname for KCMO) you can see that someone left the water running.
From north of the river I drove back into the heart of the city. I was planning on stopping and using the device at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. Unfortunately that device is in their parking garage. I say unfortunate because that's a $5 parking fee. If I wanted to visit the Nelson or take the family I would gladly pay the fee because it's a very nice structure and access to the museum is free. However, this was just opportunity charging and a drive around town. That's not worth $5. So I continued on across Brush Creek to UMKC because I knew there were plenty of devices there. They are up to six devices each with dual handles so 12 cars can charge at any one time. In other words, all the Leaf's in KC at once...ok that's a little exaggeration. I was disappointed that for the second weekend in a row the device in the Rockhill garage was blocked by construction barriers.
All in all it was an enjoyable trip. It's fun to get around in the city and see parts that you've forgotten about or never visited. Searching for EVSE's is a lot of fun. It's great to see the support for the cars growing and the "Oh you have an electric car? Neat." comments are also growing in frequency.
**I just got an email from the IBEW, that's a 5kWh solar array. With the winter angle of the sun they're pulling 3.5 instead of 5 they get during the summer. Neat, I want one.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience
EVSE Scavenger Hunt --update
Welcome back readers. This is an update to the post Thanksgiving EVSE scavenger hunt. As I mentioned in the original post the device at MRIGlobal was confusing. I contacted their Media Relations department. They requested a phone conversation with me to discuss their EVSE solution.
We had a very pleasant conversation that afternoon. One of their concerns is that they have to maintain security for the facility. The reason for the public parking prohibited is their need to maintain the security of their environment. They do want the EVSE to be public but they need to maintain the security of their environment.
They are going to work on public signage to ensure that we know the device is available and the best process to reach them to use it. One thing I suggested to them was to enable the reservation option for ChargePoint. Thanks again to Pam and her director for encouraging public charging and EV's in KC.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience.
We had a very pleasant conversation that afternoon. One of their concerns is that they have to maintain security for the facility. The reason for the public parking prohibited is their need to maintain the security of their environment. They do want the EVSE to be public but they need to maintain the security of their environment.
They are going to work on public signage to ensure that we know the device is available and the best process to reach them to use it. One thing I suggested to them was to enable the reservation option for ChargePoint. Thanks again to Pam and her director for encouraging public charging and EV's in KC.
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Aighh... it's SNOWING run away
Sheesh, more snowpacalypse terror warnings from the news media. I don't mean to dismiss the real danger of winter storms but the way the news media is presenting the information is not the way to disseminate information. It is a method for generating fear.
Having said all of that my Leaf performed flawlessly in this morning's snow/ice. It was very easy to operate. My Leaf wasn't the car stuck alongside the road.
I would say the first foray into the winter wonderland that is the Kansas City streets with snow was quite successful.
Unfortunately the destination was less successful. For some reason, as yet unknown, the EV System Warning Light was flashing last night. So my snow drive this morning was to the dealer to have it evaluated. Low and behold, the snow and ice blew a transformer down south and probably also dropped some lines so they had no power.
Yes, that means no power to raise the door to the garage, no power for the computers, and worse, no power for the diagnostic equipment. Fortunately the salesman offered to bring me to the office while they wait for power to come on so they can diagnose the trouble with the system.
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness
Here we site like birds in the wilderness waiting for the power to come on....
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience.
Having said all of that my Leaf performed flawlessly in this morning's snow/ice. It was very easy to operate. My Leaf wasn't the car stuck alongside the road.
I would say the first foray into the winter wonderland that is the Kansas City streets with snow was quite successful.
Unfortunately the destination was less successful. For some reason, as yet unknown, the EV System Warning Light was flashing last night. So my snow drive this morning was to the dealer to have it evaluated. Low and behold, the snow and ice blew a transformer down south and probably also dropped some lines so they had no power.
Yes, that means no power to raise the door to the garage, no power for the computers, and worse, no power for the diagnostic equipment. Fortunately the salesman offered to bring me to the office while they wait for power to come on so they can diagnose the trouble with the system.
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness
Here we site like birds in the wilderness waiting for the power to come on....
Signing off for today
KSNOGAS
-------------
Try reading a book, it's a novel experience.
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