The EV explosion

[nexsuperne]

At the moment, I only have 3KW of solar PV, 4KW of solar thermal and an 8KW wood burner that does space and water heating.
The solar PV is connected to a wall of 896 18650 cells (Samsung 26F - 2600mAH giving 10KWH connected as 14Series64Parallel, split across 4 boards). At the moment, the wall is charged within 4 hours of sunrise, and goes back on to grid power at midnight, when cheap rate electric starts. This charges the wall back up to 100%
It runs nearly everything in the house, apart from the range cooker (9KW electric) and a tumble dryer.
The lights, heating pumps, washing machine, CCTV, Telecoms, TV, Fridge/Freezer and car charger are all on the wall. Adding the Leaf would have got it up to 30+KWH, or enough for 4 days straight without any solar PV.
I can add the Leaf traction battery in using the on board 360V to 12V DC-DC converter, which charges the cars 12V battery and then run that through another external DC-DC 12V to 48V buck boost converter as a temporary measure.

[Robaroni]

I almost didn't want to like it and we expected it to be a 238 mile range Leaf but found the Bolt to be a really fun car to drive with lots of pep and good handling in a very well thought out car.
After watching tons of YT's on the Bolt, both pro and con, and browsing the Bolt forum we expected the seats to be to narrow and the interior to be chintzy but they were fine. Sure the interior wasn't as nice as the Subaru I traded in but the Subaru killed us over the years with one problem after another and we were glad to get rid of it.

Bottom line, we leased it for three years. I'm watching gas prices rise again, the higher they go the better our choice was. Funny, I never saw it that way before getting the EV.

We're going more and more full electric now. Electric riding mower, tiller and string trimmers for the yard and now I see Mitsubishi is selling mini-splits that have high efficiency even at low temps like we get here.

I'm still way ahead on my electric bill so the thought of driving with no cost per mile, oil changes, antifreeze, transmissions, timing belts, mufflers, spark plugs, etc. is very appealing.

We'll see how the Bolt holds up and what will be available in three years. I'm wondering what the roll back on fuel standards will create. Will people go back to gas guzzlers? That's a scary but possible thought, after all car companies make a good buck on them and with less restrictions and no compliance car requirements the picture for EV's isn't as bright as it was before last November.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.
Rob

[pinballlooking]

CONGRATS! On the new ride.
I have never leased a car but I I was in your situation I would lease the bolt also.
Post some pictures. Did you get heated seats and steering wheel? I look forward to hearing how it performs.
Driving on extra solar is hard to beat we love it.

[Robaroni]

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

CONGRATS! On the new ride.
I have never leased a car but I I was in your situation I would lease the bolt also.
Post some pictures. Did you get heated seats and steering wheel? I look forward to hearing how it performs.
Driving on extra solar is hard to beat we love it.

Thanks PB!

Yes 'the little women' sort of demanded it but I think she's right. You use less energy in the long run and I heard the heated wheel was more than just bragging rights.

It took some time but finally I have a full battery riding mower, cordless string trimmers and a cordless tiller and of course now the Bolt.
I went back and forth with the Volt, another good choice, but felt the Bolt was ideal for the range of driving we do. This is our only car by the way although we do have an old F150 beater that gets used occasionally short range for transporting compost, etc.
Pics to follow of the Bolt and other 'appliances'.

Hopefully wind goes in this summer.
Rob

[pinballlooking]

You will be so glad she demanded heated seats/steering Wheel. It really helps save range in the winter and so worth it. The Bolt is not in my area yet.

[stevehull]

Damn, the Bolt is in California, the pacific NW and New York. Not in my area either - yet.

This is going to be a very interesting choice for me this fall. Bolt vs the new Leaf. Both will have similar ranges, the Bolt will have more production miles on it as the Leaf will come out this fall. But the Leaf will have some autonomous driving capability . . .

Then who offers the best lease . . . .

Lots of questions, but it is an exciting time indeed.

Roboroni, Look forward to your owner appraisal of features and your hard nosed perspective. I didn't know your area of NY had much wind potential. Here we have a lot of wind, but putting up a 10 kW wind generator is a BIG deal as it is a hefty tower and my tower climbing days are over. The other issue is cost. A wind turbine, watt for watt, is 4-5 times that of a self installed PV system which is mostly nuts and bolts on a rooftop.

On the other hand, wind are solar are very complimentary; solar is best in day,whereas wind peaks generally at night.

What type of wind turbine are you thinking of?

Steve

[pinballlooking]

@Robaroni
It is killing me I want to hear you thought on the BOLT after driving it around a while.
How many miles are on it so far? What are you and your wife’s thoughts about it?

[antdun]

Originally Posted by Robaroni

Creeky,
Cardinal rule - never fall in love with a car until you own it.
Rob

Way too late not to fall in love with Tesla vehicles in my case, even though I've never even driven in one. I just installed solar and I'm going to get a used Nissan LEAF so I'll be driving for nearly free. Solar and electric cars is an awesome matchup! I'm of course saving up for a Tesla Model 3 and will get one as soon as I can afford it, most likely used. Such an amazing car!

[stevehull]

I use geothermal heat pumps, which provide a cooling SEER of 35+ and a heating COP of 4+. And get free hot water all summer and about 1/2 of my hot water needs in the winter from the GT heat pumps. My 12 kW array and heat pumps is a great match for this. But I am REALLY looking at adding an EV and another 4 kW to the solar array.

For me it comes down to the 2018 LEAF and Chevy Bolt. The 2018 Leaf should be released soon.

Indeed, an exciting time!

Steve