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JoeS

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Came across this very nice writeup by an i-MiEV owner:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1265057/-Electric-Car-Early-Adopter-Report-1-Year#

Is Morgan in Austin one of our forum members?

I love his Range Equation:

R > C + 2E + 5
Where R = Range, C = Commute, E = errand
In other words, your EV needs enough juice to do your daily commute, handle two typical errands, and reserve a cushion of five miles to avoid anxiety on the way home.


I see that Vike also contributed an excellent discussion on heating and use of a heat pump.
 
MorganInAustin, welcome to our Forum! Just re-read your article and enjoyed it again. Amazing number of reader comments you had - many focused on vehicle heating as this winter's cold weather dominates the scene.

Love the points you emphasized in your article (you took them right out of our mouths) -

Range doesn't matter - the iMiEV's range is double the average daily usage in the US
Charge time doesn't matter - many of us, like you, usually use 120vac for our overnight charging
Strategy for long trips - think and plan ahead, DUH

I would add convenience of charging at home. Going to the gas station is now soooo distateful.

When I bought my iMiEV exactly two years ago, I consciously did not get CHAdeMO, now somewhat to my regret: Quick Charging is proliferating here on the West Coast and is becoming a necessity due to the large number of PHEVs hogging the public charging stations. The public charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with the number of new electric vehicles.

Anyway, Morgan, hope you'll enjoy some of the discussions we have here.
 
I'll have had my i-MiEV for 1 year tomorrow. Seems just like yesterday I drove it off the showroom floor.
 
Yeah, and now the place has a solar canopy with 2 charging stations.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jlc7xgwn6xp14qg/2013-02-23%2017.33.04.jpg

Photo was taken 2 days after buying my car. I traveled north 30 miles betting on a charging station, and left without fully charging.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dsqhsw29xxcnk5t/2013-02-23%2011.50.25.jpg

This was my first public charge at Baum Blvd. Automotive in Pittsburgh. But, if that didn't work out, I had a backup plan 2 miles down the road (ended up being 5 because we missed the turn.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gr4aayjfb3okx9o/2013-02-23%2015.20.29.jpg

CMU's Electric Garage with 6 charging stations with 110 VAC outlets on the side of each.

Video by PRCC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu5mID6Nl0Y
 
Oh, I almost forgot, Maintenance and Repair costs, including 3 trips to the dealer, total a whopping $15 for a replacement windshield wiper blade.

Total electricity cost for 9,153.5 miles is $178.46, using 2,549.42 kWh at an average of 1.95 cents/kWh, actually less with solar and public charging. I have saved over 370 gallons of gasoline by replacing a 25 MPG Cavalier and occasionally a 15 MPG truck.

Since October 9, 2013, my 9.54 kW solar array has produced 2.74 MWh, so I've generated more solar electricity in 4 months than my i-MiEV has used in 1 year, and those were winter months!

I could get used to this. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :ugeek:
 
Your cost/solar story sounds exactly like mine. I tell people "I get 45 miles per dollar". And my solar array produces 3x what the car requires.
 
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