nmsj 2

4/5/2010 2:47:15 PM

Quote :

"I am already a TOU-D user, and plan to only charge mine after hours."

Cool! Who's your utility, if you don't mind me asking? They're putting Smart Meters in where I live (eventually), but TOU-D is way out for this area (Johnson City, TN).

I'm working on a TOU-D Smart Metering project, but it's over in London. The company I work for makes a database that we're trying to break into the AMI space with.

I don't doubt that we can handle it, I just think we need to plan for it, especially in areas where the grid is already overloaded. And I get annoyed when people call EV's "Zero emissions" when the power they are using could've come from a dirty ass coal peaker plant if they're not charging at the right time

4/6/2010 9:18:00 AM

Progress Energy. I pay about 4.5 cents off peak and 6.5 on peak with a $5 summer and $3.50 winter demand factor.

Duke energy is far better, though, with more time considered off peak.

I have saved about $5000 in the last 8 years with this meter.

4/6/2010 10:30:07 AM

didn't want to make a new thread...

2011 Mustang V6 does 48.5 mpg
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/24/2011-ford-mustang-v6-runs-776-5-miles-on-one-tank-48-5-mpg-w-v/

2011 Sonata does 66 mpg
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/2011-hyundai-sonata-1-065-miles-on-16-07-gallons-66-285-mpg/

6/24/2010 9:05:57 PM

^Pretty nutty about the Mustang!

Quote :

"Report: UK valuation experts believe EVs will be 'worthless' in just five years Many car buyers refuse to purchase new cars for one important reason: With a few very rare exceptions, new cars will lose a significant chunk of their initial value the moment you drive them off the lot. The biggest chunk of a cars depreciation typically happens in the first minutes of ownership and companies like Automotive Lease Guide in the United States and Glass' Guide in the UK specialize in estimating how much value will evaporate to estimate lease priceing. Glass' has taken a look at upcoming electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and come away with some very distressing numbers. Based largely on the expected lifespan of the battery, Glass's expects cars like the Leaf to be worth only 10 percent of its value after five years. The potential flaw in this analysis is the presumption that the battery will have little or no value after its useful life in the car. Electric vehicle advocates have claimed that even when the batteries no longer have sufficient capacity for use in a car, they could be used by electric utilities as buffers to help balance the grid. While this has yet to be proven, it could potentially tilt the balance back toward EVs. If this idea doesn't come to fruition, the severe depreciation could kill the nascent EV market before it every really gets going. "

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/21/report-uk-valuation-experts-believe-evs-will-be-worthless-in/

6/24/2010 10:23:03 PM

^^ that's cool and all, but in both cases it's a form of hypermiling and doesn't represent real driving conditions

the sonata is rated at 35mpg highway...nearly doubling that in real world circumstances is unrealistic

6/25/2010 9:19:13 AM

^agreed. However between being easy on the throttle and drafting on the highway it is very easy to beat the EPA's highway mpg rating. That being said I'd imagine 40mpg wouldn't be entirely out of reach under optimal conditions.

6/25/2010 9:54:23 AM

I'm seriously thinking about buying one of these, they get plenty of range to fart around and commute to work, and the price (26k) is pretty good too. I would save close to 2500 a year in gas, which over the 8 year span of the warranty would be 20k, close to the price of the car itself.

10/26/2010 1:48:28 PM