Remote Living > Transportation
Chevy Volt (plug-in hybrid), + solar, + garage stationary batteries
SparWeb:
Thankfully, the subject of this thread is just about One person's experience with One EV and not about the electrical grid of the state of Arizona, the USA, or the world. Since the OP's got their own system set up professionally at home now, it's not their problem who else in the world needs to convert over later. Any trend in that direction, BTW, will most likely fix the limitation that Jlsoaz has with charging stations, by making a demand for more of them.
NB. There is a J1772 charging station between my house and work, now. I'm one step closer to making the change, myself :)
jlsoaz:
--- Quote from: JW on December 10, 2017, 06:15:25 PM ---are you using the EV to somehow power your house? I am ASE Advanced level Specialist and the voltages are out of reach to do something like that. If Im missing something let me know.
--- End quote ---
Thanks, I am not trying to power my house with the PHEV. It is just for driving. I do separately have 12 kWh of deep cycle lead acid batteries and a smart inverter to manage decisions as to whether to draw from grid power, solar power, battery power, or where to put the energy when not needed. The batteries are 4x12 Volts = 48 Volts (the installer told me on this particular system that was important). They are high amp-hour and seem to be still going ok after a few years in my garage.
jlsoaz:
--- Quote from: SparWeb on December 10, 2017, 07:08:29 PM ---Thank you very much for the report about the Volt. I am gradually approaching the need to replace my daily-driver car and I expect to look seriously at PHEV's on the next go-round. I live in the country, making pure-battery vehicles unlikely to suit my needs, especially in the winter, and especially considering the possibility of collisions at highway speed. Now that the field of HEV's has diversified and offers Plug-ins (in Canada, not all models are offered as in the USA), I have some serious contenders to choose from.
--- End quote ---
Hey, yes, your considerations seem somewhat similar to mine, but not the same of course (bit of a contrast between sort-of-rural Arizona and rural Canada). I like your thinking.... if a BEV is not right for you at this time, then go for a PHEV. A counter-point for me has been that the slowness of proliferation of new PHEV choices into the marketplace (at least two of the best sellers in Europe are still not here) meant that for me when I went to buy a used PHEV at my price point, there were very few choices. I don't know if you will find what you want (new or used) when you go to look at PHEVs, but if buying new, I do think there is a wider array of choices on the market or arriving soon.
Speaking only for myself/opinions my own.
jlsoaz:
--- Quote from: SparWeb on December 11, 2017, 11:36:55 PM ---Thankfully, the subject of this thread is just about One person's experience with One EV and not about the electrical grid of the state of Arizona, the USA, or the world. Since the OP's got their own system set up professionally at home now, it's not their problem who else in the world needs to convert over later. Any trend in that direction, BTW, will most likely fix the limitation that Jlsoaz has with charging stations, by making a demand for more of them.
NB. There is a J1772 charging station between my house and work, now. I'm one step closer to making the change, myself :)
--- End quote ---
Hi - one issue that I sort of anticipated (I guess) but which in its way feels somewhat unanticipated - when I had a short-range BEV, the location of J1772s was critical. With a PHEV it is all-but-irrelevant. Further (and I guess I sort of knew this) there is an issue with parking my PHEV and charging at a Level 2 since, if a BEV pulls up and needs it, and there are no others around, then they will be unhappy, may get up on their high horse, etc. I'm ok if they unplug me, but could do without the moralizing and etiquette debates so I largely avoid this.
I worked with a local business person years ago to put in the only public J1772 in this small county, and that helped me get home with my short-range BEV and so I'm quite familiar with when charging is a need and not a want. I think the issues are somewhat different for rural J1772 and DC quick charge spaced far apart, and for urban areas where folks may have more choice? I don't know. The urban folks also have to contend with a lot more crowding in terms of the on-the-road EV population. To my knowledge, I'll guess there are less than a dozen EV owners in the county. That one J1772 that is put in around here is the only proper J1772 "watering hole" for one's horse for dozens of miles, so I do use it for my PHEV, but gingerly (such as sticking around to move my car in case a BEV pulls up).
When I used to try to lobby some other local businesses to put one in, I sometimes felt like I was in the 19th century trying to sell saloon or b&b owners on the idea of putting in a horse watering trough.
addendum/ps: this may already be clear, but to note or re-note for a moment: there is a shift when you get a BEV or PHEV, involving getting used to charging at home at night (for most folks). So, yes, for some purposes, public charge stations are critical, but it bears mentioning that for many BEV drivers, and as well I think for many (nearly all?) PHEV drivers, a high percentage of charging takes place at home and, if a driver works for a place that is amenable, then at work as well.
SparWeb:
Hi JLsoaz,
Thank you very much for the etiquette tip! It makes sense - a sort of pecking-order should evolve that allows the battery-dependent vehicles to step ahead of the hybrids. There's a gas station 1 block away from the plug-in parking lot, so little reason to object when a Miev butts in ahead of a Prius, except one's pride!
I suppose one way to manage the politeness factor, and at the same time get some errands done while the car battery charges, would be to leave a card under the wiper of your car with your cell phone number. A BEV driver that pulls up may appreciate being able to call you before unplugging your car. This may not "scale up" to a city crowded with BEV's, but for now with just a few EV's around, the occasional call from a fellow EV driver sounds like fun!
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