Comments on: Could YOU Drive an EV? – Part I: EV Profiler

By: Breath on the Wind

Breath on the Wind — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:13:00 +0000

In the article I suggested that information (like temperature from weather services) might be combined with your car data to support the report. We could suggest many different conspiracies behind every marketed device. However even when the suspicions are accurate they become a tempting excuse for why we cannot achieve our goals. Shouldn’t we strive to succeed dispite all obstacles?

By: Breath on the Wind

Breath on the Wind — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:01:00 +0000

I very much doubt that we will achieve a world wide standard of voltage/frequency on the grid. At this point it would be too large a change in infrastructure.

It is true that most cars sit 23 out of 24 hours. You just need to make sure that you don’t park in the shade. But there is not enough area on a vehicle to recharge a battery with vehicle solar alone. Stationary solar would also be required. ROI for solar depends upon the amount of costs offset. Using an EV may allow you to offset the price of petrol if that is your alternative. Overall using an EV can increase the ROI (and lower the “payback period.”) Using an EV + solar will also allow you to calculate the number of solar miles driven: http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1733

By: Breath on the Wind

Breath on the Wind — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:46:00 +0000

An actual measurement such as with the EV Proviler is probably more accurate, however, as mentioned in the article, hypermiling techniques will probably skew the results. Imagine drafting an 18 wheeler for your journey compared to constantly alternating between the brakes and the accelerator. Fuel consumption will vary substantially. Your case may be borderline. Ford wants you to be happy and therefore will tend to be conservative with its suggestions. I suspect that the Focus EV will have a better efficiency (kw-hrs / mile) than the Ranger. If the Total KW-hrs capacity of the battery is also larger will be fine. In the next article in this series there is going to be a lot of calculations that may also be of some help to you.

By: Breath on the Wind

Breath on the Wind — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:36:00 +0000

It is a fair question Bob. If someone gets an email from Bob Wallace telling them that their mileage is suitable for an EV driver they may not find it as credible as if they were to read it in the Wall Street Journal. For the fleet manager to provide documentation from EV Profiler it eliminates some potential for fudging data and illuminates various computations that may be helpful to decision makers. As I mentioned in the article, private owners may also find it reassuring, but a smart fellow with a sharp pencil may be satisfied with their own handiwork.

By: euroflycars

euroflycars — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:53:00 +0000

To Bob_Wallace:

I’m afraid overkill isn’t the correct guess — I’d rather suggest Big Oil is luring behind this facility.

The fact that the device does not compute your figures by itself may mean that the remote service is tuned to return biaised results in order to deter you from buying an EV at all!!

Don’t let’s be naive as to who is the relentless killer of the electric car…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 06:35:00 +0000

Saw that, thanks for the share here though

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 06:06:00 +0000

Better question??? How far along is our rooftop solar infrastructure? Many other countries (China, Israel, Germany etc.) are moving right into swappable batteries using their rooftop solar. This results in a near 0 fuel cost after ROI. Extending the range is just a matter of swapping out the battery – not sitting and waiting for a charge. Some forward thinking car and electric bike manufacturers are already hooking up with solar installers. The savings over the 20-25 year life of the solar may surpass the cost of the vehicle. Foldable solar units can serve as a jump starter in many areas. $250 a month x 12 = $3000 per year = $36,000 over 12 years. America need to quit putting this money in the oil, bank and utility companies pockets. Let the average consumer partake in the benefits from the free energy of the sun.

Using a universal electrical standard for the batteries should be mandatory worldwide.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:58:00 +0000

I went on the Ford site because I was interested in the Focus EV. And although I daily drive my Ford Ranger EV, their site suggested I need a plug-in hybrid rather than a straight BEV. I wonder if this dodad would provide any better results.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:36:00 +0000

But Bob, you know how people are. They need the technology, the gadget, need their hand held. This should help some folks, I imagine.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:29:00 +0000

And this is superior to a pencil and a piece of paper how?

All one needs to do is to write down the last three digits of their odometer daily and make a note of any unusual driving.

Fleets should already have daily mileage estimates. They should be keeping mileage records for maintenance and vehicle replacement if for no other reason.

This just seems like overkill….