New Elio email

[Rickb]

On average a person drives 39 miles per day. EVs start the day max charged for their use that day, ready to roll. The vast majority of chargie time is at home, overnight, non-peak hours. It takes on average 30 kWh of electricity to power the vehicle 100 miles…….about kWh per day

There is much more involved than what I posted. The energy used to mine, manufacture, deliver, and maintain than to do for oil. The initial cost of EVs is greater than what most people can afford as well. I can tell you, the entire life of my car (TCO, total cost of ownership) is going to be less than the initial cost of an EV.

I'm not against EVs, but I'm a realist when it comes to the cost of them. The big thing coming (especially if you listen to Steven Harris), there are going to be energy shortages (as well as food shortages) coming very soon.

You need the side by side actual cost of both drilling/shipping foreign oil/refining oil and mining to compare the costs. I doubt either one of us has seen that and rely on the general media sources we choose to read and believe. Lots of misinformation out there on both sides, for the average guy to debate. I‘ve read just the opposite Of what you stated above.

TCO comparisons are best for cars in the same vehicle class……sub compacts, compacts, SUV, sedan, pickup, autocycle, motorcycle, etc. The EV I purchased cost slightly less than the comparable ICE I would have purchased. My cost to operate the EV over the past 2 years of ownership is way less than my previous ICE vehicles………lifetime TCO of the car will be a significant personal savings. Note. I read an article written by a rural US postal mail carrier. Bought a Tesla Mole Y years ago to use on his daily route. He said the mileage allowance money he saved in gas and maintenance made his monthly car paymen, charged at home, and enjoyed the Ride for work and personal use. I believe him. I’ve heard people leasing smaller EVs……….money saved on gas made a big dent in the monthly lease payment. I put pencil to paper and I believe him. Lots of media stuff I question since it usually involves the politics of anti electric vehicle and anti-science based sources.

 

[JEBar]

we installed solar panels on our home back when Jimmy Carter was president .... the only reason we did was the solar install tax credit ..... in the short term it performed OK but as time passed, it proved to be more trouble that it was worth .... one issue we found out about the hard way was the added time, trouble and expense when we had to reshingle our roof .... granted I have no doubt that the technology had some a very long way but our experience left us with no desire to pursue it again

 

[Rickb]

we installed solar panels on our home back when Jimmy Carter was president .... the only reason we did was the solar install tax credit ..... in the short term it performed OK but as time passed, it proved to be more trouble that it was worth .... one issue we found out about the hard way was the added time, trouble and expense when we had to reshingle our roof .... granted I have no doubt that the technology had some a very long way but our experience left us with no desire to pursue it again

Based on your experience, I’m happy to be a condo dweller in retirement and don’t have single family home roof………..or I might be compelled to give Solar a try. I do appreciate the increased % of energy that I do use is from renewable sources.

 

[Hog]

Getting permits for panels on a roof is quite a nightmare. You need engineering reports for your roof design and the requisite building permits to start. The installers want you to install a new roof prior to the solar installation (you are not allowed to do the installation yourself as every stage of this project is inspected by various agencies as well as the public utilities.) You can start the installation after the new roof is inspected, because removing all the panels, wires, and microinverters is a major job that you never want to do again. Many people go with freestanding racks of panels now to avoid this. Utilities then offer a small buyback, usually at wholesale pricing for kw produced, while selling you marked up retail energy, some dont offer any buyback at all. Even if you cover enough Kw to get "free" electricity, you still lose, as you must pay the "panel charge" to have the meter, which in our area is $68 per meter, and we have two meters. Thats per month, so $136 per month to produce my own electricity and get a small wholesale "credit" against my "energy use", which of course is zero. Utilities have contributed to the lack of adoption through policies that ensure you stay connected and discourage self sufficiency, in many places you must be hooked to a utility to even get a C/O.

 

[Marshall]

Is Elio officially dead yet?

 

[Sonoran Sam]

Getting permits for panels on a roof is quite a nightmare.

At one point I was playing the the idea of charging a "Zero" electric motorcycle with solar panels. My thought process was to build a frame out of 2 X 4 (s) or 2 X 6 (s), attach wheels to the frame, mount the solar panels on the frames, wheel the panels out into the sun in the morning, run a cord to the "Zero" electric motorcycle and charge it all day. When the sun set, wheel the panels back into the garage.

This idea avoided any interaction with my electric company and the panels would never touch my roof.

 

[Hog]

Most of those electric bikes run high voltage lithium-ion batteries, they are not suited for charging with conventional solar chargers (solar charge controllers) as the battery chemistry is different and more dangerous, this is why they are usually provided with their own utility chargers. Solar uses Lithium-Iron-Phosphate batteries which are much safer to charge and the controllers vary the current/voltage with the temperature of the battery. Most of the bikes use 36 volt to 52 volt batteries so you need a 48 volt battery bank and charge control system which will need a large amount of panels. My house panels are 44 Volt maximum but generally run at about 39 volts, so you would need two panels in series to produce 78 volts (but only 5 amps) and then pump those volts to a charge controller that would convert the voltage to your charging voltage (52 volts or so) and use the extra voltage to try to make up additional amps. Many people are trying to convert their Teslas to charging from panels, but finding the solar array has to be huge and the controllers have to be made DIY.
The simplest solution is a few 100 watt panels hooked to a $20 controller and a deep cycle 12 volt battery then to a 1000 watt inverter. Just plug your charger into that. What you lose there is fast recharging time. Might take a few days to charge up.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Is Elio officially dead yet?

 

[Sonoran Sam]

@Hog Thank you for the information. I didn't get that far in my research of this project.
After the cost of the "Zero" motorcycle and just a few solar panels... I was way beyond (in dollars) what I thought I could save in gasoline.
My 600cc sportbike gets around 52-55 mpg, and the potential cost savings couldn't justify the expense.

 

[Hog]

If you dont need the panels I am always looking. Sounds like you are in the southwest though, shipping is a killer right now.