tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69303704422609263232024-03-18T21:46:32.089-07:00Going EV - Life with an Electric CarThe things we *didn't* discover in researching ownership of a Plug-in Electric Vehicle. Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-40128505404500383352022-03-24T04:30:00.006-07:002022-04-30T15:17:31.822-07:00Tesla Model Vision-only Autopark - Alternate Parking Space Target Selection!<br />While testing whether our October 2018 Model 3 was indeed now using Vision-only for Autopark (it does, and is apparently no longer restricted to Autoparking between adjacent vehicles using ultrasonic sensors), it was discovered that by creeping rearward with throttle after engaging Autopark (by pressing the blue "Start" button when presented), the system will (sometimes) sequentially re-target the next empty marked parking space. Experimentation suggests that this will occur a maximum of twice, for a total of three spaces consecutively selected. This was tested on both right and left sides of the vehicle (depending upon which side of the vehicle was positioned closest to passing available spaces).<div><br /></div><div><a href="#">View demonstration on YouTube</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Attempting to acquire beyond a 3rd targeted space resulted in cancellation of Autopark sequence in several attempts. Applying brakes at any point after engaging Autopark cancels the sequence (as always). This is likely not a feature, but an unintended behavior. Despite the slightly manual "override" nature of this behavior, the selection of a particular parking space is still determined by the vehicle system, and while the selection of a given empty space is possible, it is not certain - especially in circumstances where expediency matters.</div>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-28219366980669771852020-11-02T19:31:00.005-08:002020-11-02T19:31:43.741-08:00LADWP Offering Rebates Up To $1,500 for Used EVs<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The rebates are available for used EVs purchased on or after September 1, 2019.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Here is a <a href="https://www.ladwp.com/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=OPLADWPCCB649407&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased">PDF list of used electric vehicles eligible for the rebate</a>.<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more information, visit the <a href="https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/wcnav_externalId/r-sm-rp-usedev">LADWP Used Electric Vehicle Program web page</a>.</span></div>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-57928770263086784652020-08-18T19:10:00.003-07:002020-08-18T19:10:30.864-07:00Charging Your Tesla at Home: How Long Does It Take? How Expensive Is Home Charging Equipment?<i>A friend recently asked: "How long does it take to charge your Tesla at home -- and how expensive was the home charging station?"<br /><br />This was my response:</i><div><br />I configured our Tesla Wall Connector (an “EVSE” - more about that in a moment) to report that it can provide 40A at 240VAC (9.6kW). At that rate, it adds charge at a nominal rate equaling about 37 miles of range per hour of charge. So if we’ve driven, say 70 miles on a given day, then it will take around two hours to replace that charge. If our ~75kWh battery were at 0% (something you do NOT want to subject a battery to, much less plan that close - though I’ve arrived home with <6%), it would take over 8 hours to top off (assuming you wanted to charge to 100%, which no EV owner should be doing unless it’s absolutely necessary for the next leg of a trip), with the charging system going quite gently near the 0% and 100% charge capacity of the battery (lithium-based batteries do not take on charge well at these extremes).</div><div><br />Our car’s on-board charger is capable of charging from AC sources at a maximum of 48A, or about 44 mi/hr. But the 240VAC service for our EV charging can’t handle that load. When we first installed an Aerovironment 30A, 240VAC “Level 2” charging station, we had an electrician run a service line from our breaker box to the breezeway of our home. The electrician told me that he installed a 50 amp line, so if I needed more current in the future, I was set. But when I removed the Aerovironment EVSE to install a Tesla Wall Connector, I found the wires disappointingly small in gauge. After no small amount of research and measurement (no visible markings on the wire), I determined that the 8 gauge wire over the 50 foot run could only safely support 40 amps. Statistics of charging sessions indicate no apparent thermally-related voltage drop, so I’m happy with that.</div><div><br />Regarding costs: in addition to the $700 to have an electrician run the original EV line, the Aerovironment EVSE was $1,100. However, we received a $750 rebate from LADWP for installing an EV charging station. We charged the Tesla from the Aerovironment using an included J1772 adapter for a while, until I discovered that LADWP would rebate us the entire $500 of a Tesla Wall Connector. Not only could the TWC charge at a higher rate, but I no longer have to handle the J1772 adapter daily. Best of all, the Tesla charging handle has a remote charge port button (it could be fussy to sometimes have to open the trunk to wake the car to unlatch the charge handle). We’ve also benefitted from three Federal $7,500 rebates and three California $2,500 cash incentives for adding three zero-emission cars to the state’s rolling stock.</div><div><blockquote><i>“EVSE” stands for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, the “charging station” which incorporates a ground-fault system and an intelligent controller which is interrogated by an EV upon connection, reports it’s available current limit, and only while handshaking with a connected vehicle allows current to flow via big contactor relay. The charger in the car determines how much current the vehicle will attempt to draw based on the interrogation step.</i> </blockquote><blockquote><i>All contemporary EV’s AC charging is intimately managed in the car itself, monitoring charge and temperature and in the case of all of our EVs thus far, both heating and/or cooling the battery to optimize the charging process. Tesla cars even pre-heat or pre-cool the battery while on the road if the user sets a Tesla Supercharger as the navigation system destination, back-timing the thermal management so that the battery can immediately take on maximum charge. (Currently the highest Supercharger power is 250 kW - yes, more than most motion-picture generators, and capable of peak rates adding 1,000 miles per hour to a Model 3 or Y.</i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;">An EV owner’s commitment to upgrading home charging infrastructure should be consistent with their driving habits, lifestyle, and characteristics of the vehicle. Your Volt is the perfect example of NOT benefiting from the investment to upgrade to Level 2 (L2) charging equipment: 1)The longest possible L1 (120VAC ~12A) charge is almost achievable with a typical overnight parking period (~10-12 hrs); and 2) In an emergency, you can simply operate the Volt as a hybrid.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>If a Volt owner was determined never to operate the gas engine (keeping in mind that it must periodically run a maintenance cycle), and the owner’s lifestyle benefited from charging at 22-25 miles/hour during the day at home before once again using the battery, that might be a case for investing in L2 infrastructure, but there’s hardly a financial argument.<div><br />Our choice to spend $1,100 (after rebates in installing L2 charging was clear: we would attempt to go Cold Turkey on Internal Combustion (we never used our Dodge Caravan “backup” vehicle for local driving, and we do drive a small diesel RV for long-distance road travel). I decided that we would want our EVs topped off as soon as possible, in case an unexpected journey was necessary. The economic benefits of charging off-peak were pretty comical, as our annual fuel bill was something like $500. (I calculated that it would take 7.5 years to offset the $1,100 we were quoted to install the dedicated utility meter LADWP required to offer a discounted EV off-peak rate, and both of our first two EVs were inexpensive 2-3 year leases.)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>(The friend commented about <a href="https://engineering.stanford.edu/magazine/article/new-battery-electrolyte-may-boost-electric-vehicles-performance?fbclid=IwAR3keUPE6VsnKaxyWU3njrw2HaV3oxbGZ2g0VUtM2nfj6gRWu9koMkKG4A8">this article</a> about the development of new battery technology.)</i><br /><br /></div><div>Battery technology is economically improving, especially now. And the financial rewards of owning the Next Great Electric Battery tech represents a modern Gold Rush. The Lithium-ion batteries that power our mobile devices and most EVs have fallen in cost by an order of magnitude in a decade. The 23 kWh pack in our 2013 Focus Electric was probably worth $20K. Our 2016 BMW i3’s 22kWh battery was probably almost half that cost, and our Model 3’s 75+kWh pack was probably only around $13K in 2018.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS7xBmTqV4bqy07oRK1N9msXHBRqHDdKiM0QoMKc2qyGvXmEKivrl6mqfkICHWgPs50PTyfVM6B6C_c3q-HXmfe7khAftoGG_cc5Tu5B10Qm5uSS51uKIAUPam83nlSsC19qVrETLbVA/s0/Lithium-ion+Battery+Prices.png" /></div>So even this old battery tech will continue to herald much of the early EV adoption, as its cost per kilowatt-hour makes prices of electric vehicles on par with ICE-powered (understanding the operational envelopes are not the same). A battery technology with twice the energy to mass density at similar energy/cost will yield lighter, more efficient, less expensive cars, while also increasing the potential range.<div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">(It important to recognize that replacing the internal combustion fossil-fuel paradigm for local, urban travel addresses a huge percentage of consumer transportation needs, and that long-range travel requiring short-turnaround refueling might need to be compartmentalized as something not every owner needs or wants.)</div></div></div>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-42010787968280567862019-06-05T18:27:00.001-07:002019-06-05T18:39:21.343-07:00Tesla Model 3 - 12 Volt Power Socket "Circuit Breaker" Auto-Reset<h3>
THE SHORT VERSION</h3>
The 12-volt Power Socket in our Tesla Model 3’s console stopped working.<br />
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It subsequently appears to have “reset” itself (after some unknown interval, up to but probably less than 20 hours), and is functioning normally.<br />
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I wish I could know if and when it would reset itself in the future.</div>
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<h3>
THE TAKEAWAY (MAYBE)</h3>
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If the Power Socket fails (or maybe any 12 volt circuit on a Tesla Model 3), leave it empty and check back after (perhaps) a few hours. It will hopefully have automatically reset.</div>
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But exactly how long to wait, and whether this procedure will always work, is at this point uncertain to me.</div>
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<h3>
THE LONG VERSION</h3>
I discovered that the 12 volt Power Socket in our Model 3 was not supplying power.<br />
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In retrospect, I think it may have been dead for a while, but we do not currently depend upon the Power Socket on a regular basis, and I hadn’t had a reason to notice whether it was actually working. I think I’d attempted to charge a rechargeable flashlight from a 12VDC-USB power adapter some weeks ago, and determined there was something amiss with part of the charging chain: the socket, the USB power adapter, the Micro-USB cable, etc. But I got distracted from the task, and forgot about it. When I attempted to test-power a 12-volt cooler for a road trip, I discovered that the Power Socket was dead.</div>
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When I went to plug in the 12-volt cooler, I had to remove a 24 watt 12-volt dual-port USB adapter which had been in the socket (this may be important). This typical auto adapter to charge mobile devices via USB claims a maximum output current load of 4.8 amps - 2.4A per device. Tesla’s Model 3 Owner’s Manual claims that the Power Socket is capable of “up to 12A continuous draw (16A peak),” so this single device, if operating correctly, should use well under half the available current rating for the Socket. </div>
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But the cooler didn’t start. Eventually, I tested a few other 12V-USB adapters in the Model 3’s socket, then took the entire collection of cooler and USB adapters to another 12-volt socket in another vehicle and they all functioned normally. A 12-volt accessory socket voltage tester plugged into the Model 3 Power Socket also confirmed that it appeared to be dead.</div>
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I read long ago that the Tesla Model 3 does not incorporate traditional fuses to protect its low-voltage (12 volt) circuits, but uses solid-state current control and monitoring infrastructure, which temporarily interrupts current flow when the system measures excessive current for the designed load of the circuit. These “virtual fuses” or “virtual circuit breakers” would presumably reset automatically. In searching through the Model 3 Owners Manual, I’ve thus far found no mention at all of the topic, except to mention a maximum current rating for the Power Socket (“12A continuous, 16A peak,” pg. 21 of the Dec 2018 Model 3 Owners Manual).</div>
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I tried resetting the Model 3’s user interface from the steering wheel (hold both scroll wheels until the screen goes black). No change. (The owners manual says of the socket: “Power is available whenever the touchscreen is powered on,” so it seemed as though that would cycle the power supply to that circuit, and perhaps reset the current protection mechanism.) I tried using the <b>Controls > Safety & Security > Power Off</b> command, waiting 3 minutes and then waking the car with brake pedal. No change. </div>
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While all this was taking place, the Power Socket was sometimes empty, and sometimes had a USB adapter plugged in, its LED pilot light serving as a visual indicator of when the power was restored. It occurred to me that even though the USB adapter that had been plugged in for months seemed to work fine in another vehicle, that it might still have malfunctioned enough to trip the Model 3’s circuit protection system, and that even though the overcurrent condition might no longer be present, that the circuit might not “reset” until it was convinced that there was <b>nothing</b> connected. Even an empty USB adapter probably flows some current all the time. So I deliberately left the socket empty for several minutes, then tested it again.h I also tried two other different USB adapters.</div>
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The socket never worked that day. </div>
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I found no useful information from online forums about how/when/if the Power Socket circuit would reset (some Tesla forum posters said that they’d experienced a reset, but gave few clues as to how much time had elapsed). One poster mentioned “36 hours,” but I couldn’t tell if that was a suggestion or experience. </div>
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I contacted Tesla Support via their web-based chat system. I explained that we were preparing for a cross-country journey, and that we were depending upon the 12-volt socket, and asked what I could do to reset it. The chat agent responded that there was NOTHING I could do but schedule a Service appointment. I responded that we were imminently departing, and that I’d never been able to schedule a Service visit in less than several weeks. The agent responded that they had [changed their Service strategies], and that perhaps a mobile Tesla service rep would come to my location (we’re in Los Angeles, where I’d expect more Tesla Ranger visits, but so far, I’ve never even had one suggested). I said again that we were anxious that this might delay our travel plans, and the agent wrote, “I mean you can try a powercycle, but I don’t think it will help if the outlet is dead.” The chat rep pasted Power Cycle instructions into the chat window, asked if there was anything else they could help me with, and I said thank you and we ended the chat.</div>
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The provided instructions:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Power Cycle:<br />
1. Select the car icon on the bottom left of your screen<br />
2. Select safety and security<br />
3. Select power off (may be under Emergency Brake and power off)<br />
4. Are you sure you want to power off? --> Yes<br />
5. Wait 3 minutes<br />
6. Open and close the door to wake the car up<br />
7. Hold both scroll wheels on the steering wheel until you see the Tesla T logo appear.”</blockquote>
I tried the slightly different variation to what I’d already tried (opening and closing the door, and doing a “two thumb salute” reset afterward), but it made no difference. This was probably 30 minutes after my last testing session with the Model 3 Power Socket.</div>
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Defeated, I made an appointment with Tesla Service via the Tesla app. The scheduled appointment was 8 days away - delaying our departure by a couple of days, but I had no choice, and I hoped that perhaps a mobile service would be suggested after evaluation of my request.</div>
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<h3>
HEAL THYSELF?</h3>
The next afternoon - 19-20 hours after my last test of the Power Socket - as I was about to begin the day’s errands, I tested the socket again. It worked! I wasn’t completely surprised (after all, I did test it again), and I’m happy that it’s working, but I still have NO idea whether the circuit performed an automatic reset during the night, or something else happened. And assuming that it did automatically reset, how long did that take? And were any of the other conditions (i.e., plugged into charger; Sentry Mode; devices charging from Model 3 USB ports) important?</div>
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<h3>
RECAP</h3>
Here are my observations, speculations, and hypotheses about the experience so far:<br />
<ul>
<li>The 12-volt circuit protection system may reset itself: 1) after a certain period of time has elapsed; 2) if the overcurrent condition is no longer present; and perhaps 3) if the circuit is completely unloaded. </li>
<ul>
<li>Regarding item #3 above: I suspect that having the USB adapter plugged in for weeks or months may have prevented the protection system from resetting. Perhaps it waits for a period of time (1 hour? 2 hours? 6 hours?) after the overcurrent fault, and tests for presence of a load-carrying device. If it finds none, it resets. If it finds even as little load as an idle USB charging adapter, it waits to try again. </li>
</ul>
<li>While I’d LOVE to establish the exact amount of time one has to wait for the system to reset, I don’t currently have time to risk continuously triggering the Power Socket’s shutdown mechanism - especially if it might ultimately lead to a Tesla Service call. This would entail: </li>
<ul>
<li>Deliberately and repeatedly tripping the circuit protection by plugging in a device which attempts to draw more than 12A continuous/16A peak. I’d like to think the overcurrent protection system would protect the car’s systems from damage resulting from multiple overcurrent events, but that’s part of the risk of not having enough information. </li>
<li>Testing a variety of periods of time to establish the threshold at which the circuit is still found to be dead. (This is tricky: trying shorter intervals first and making them longer is somewhat self-defeating, if the act of testing resets the delay period. But starting at 19 hours and progressively lowering the intervals would take days as well.) </li>
<li>After writing most of this document, I discovered this Tesla Model 3 blog post from mid-2018 titled <a href="https://abstractocean.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360008501291-The-Model-3-Fuses-">Model 3 “Fuses”</a> where “Pete” writes: </li>
<ul>
<li>“<i>The good news is that the fuses are self-resetting, which means that after the current on the circuit has settled, they'll normally reset themselves; this can take 60-90 minutes, we've yet to determine an exact time frame...</i>” </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Why didn’t Tesla Chat Support know about this? They could have just scripted a response for the user to unplug all devices and wait overnight or a few hours, and then schedule an appointment for service if that doesn’t restore power to the circuit, rather than essentially saying “it’s broken, and there’s nothing you can do about it” which is pretty much the opposite of the actual answer. </li>
<li>While it may be a positive that the Model 3 can automatically reset its 12-volt systems without any action from the user, it’s important that we users identify the difference between a system that’s “going to eventually reset itself,” and one that won’t be working for another three weeks. For 19 hours, that’s where my wife and I were: changing our travel plans and figuring out a way to manage the trip without any 12-volt accessories. </li>
<ul>
<li>(While this may seem trivial to those who don’t use 12-volt devices, consider that there may be Model 3 owners powering important health-related devices like oxygen concentrators and CPAP machines.) </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h3>
THE CUTTING EDGE OF AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICS, BUT...</h3>
The good part about the Tesla Model 3’s 12-volt circuit protection system is that there are no fuses. The whole system is protected by solid-state systems that function as circuit-breakers, interrupting electrical flow to a circuit which has exceeded its safe maximum current load. <br />
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Also good: that the system appears to automatically restore power to the affected circuit when the overload condition is resolved. <br />
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I just wish I could be confident that the Power Socket - or any of the Model 3’s 12 volt systems - would automatically restore themselves in the future, and I would like to know with any certainty just how long we’d have to wait for the self-reset if this reoccurs, to determine whether the symptom was the result of a protective action or a system failure.<br />
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So far, I’ve found no explanations, only read theories and speculations from unconfirmed sources. I hope that can be remedied.<br />
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I’d love to hear the Straight Scoop from Tesla about exactly how this is supposed to work, and what Model 3 owners should anticipate if they trip one of the current protection devices. I think their corporate attitude is that as far as users/owners are concerned, it’s just “automatic” and takes care of itself (like windshield washers, and headlights, and other things over which I which we could take control, or take control more easily). And despite the fact that this is NOT reflective of a Tesla product failure (indeed, the “breaker” trips because of an external device failure or because the operator attempted to connect a device with an excessive current draw), it may be that Tesla thinks this makes some sort of negative association with users - as though the car’s systems were substandard or incapable.</div>
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<h3>
EXPLANATIONS ABOUT VOLTAGE AND CURRENT </h3>
<i><b>Voltage</b></i> is a measure of the potential for electricity to flow between two parts of a circuit. It sort of represents the readiness, if you will, of electrons to go from one place to another. Our homes have 120 volt and 240 volt devices. Traditional automobiles and the some of the Tesla’s systems, like lighting, audio entertainment and HVAC, are 12 volt. Our Tesla’s propulsion battery packs and motors operate in the 350-400 volt range. <br />
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<i><b>Current</b></i>, measured in Amperes or Amps, represents how much electric charge actually passes from one place to another in a circuit. Devices which use electricity will attempt to take as much current as they can without regard to whether the circuit can safely supply it - it is the responsibility of the user and the designers of the power distribution infrastructure (wires, connectors, fixtures, etc.) to appropriately select and design them for the intended loads. Components are initially selected based upon an economic balance of cost versus required performance. Put another way: wiring is only as big as it needs to be to confidently assume liability risk. </div>
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(NOTE: Modern electric vehicle charging represents an exception to the device current demand model, as EV's on-board charging systems actually communicate with charging interfaces, which report how much current they can safely supply, and the on-board charing system within the EV then safely limits its current draw below the reported amperage available.)<br />
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<i><b>Circuit breakers</b></i> and <i><b>fuses</b></i> are intended to protect distribution infrastructure from catastrophically and dangerously failing (i.e. wires in your home’s walls from heating enough to ignite surrounding structures) by interrupting electrical flow well below the current limits of the distribution components. </div>
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<h3>
TESLA OWNERS MANUAL - 12 VOLT POWER SOCKET</h3>
<i>From the December 20, 2018 “Model 3 Owner’s Manual” PDF file:<br /> 12V Power Socket </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your Model 3 has a power socket located in the center console's rear compartment. Power is available whenever the touchscreen is powered on.<br /><br />The power socket is suitable for accessories requiring up to 12A continuous draw (16A peak).<br /><br />Warning: The power socket and an accessory’s connector can become hot.<br /><br />Warning: To prevent excessive interference with the vehicle’s electronics, Tesla recommends that you do not plug any non-Tesla accessories, including power inverters, into the 12V power socket. However, if you do use a non-Tesla accessory and notice any malfunctions or unexpected behavior, such as indicator lights, alert messages, or excessive heat from the accessory, unplug the accessory from the 12V power socket immediately.<br /><br />⚠️Caution: Do not attempt to jump start Model 3 using the 12V power socket. Doing so can result in damage.<br /><img src="" /></span></div>
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Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-71380513098776669222017-10-26T15:39:00.003-07:002017-10-26T15:40:59.956-07:00"How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries" ArticleHere is a very nice article about issues affecting battery lifespan from <a href="http://www.cadex.com/">Cadex Electronics</a>, a Canadian company that specializes in battery technologies:<br />
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<i><a href="http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries">How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University</a></i><br /><br />The short list of takeaways about consumer Lithium-based battery use (from this and other resources I've read about lithium battery technology):<br />
<ol>
<li>Avoid overheating batteries </li>
<li>Avoid deep discharging as much as possible (don't let the device run all the way down) </li>
<li>Frequent partial charging is desirable (charge whenever you can)</li>
</ol>
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However, this document is <b>not</b> presented as a how-to guide for consumers using electronic devices powered by lithium-based battery technology. Indeed, in their own self-interest, many consumer goods contain sophisticated battery maintenance and management mechanisms, which apply many of the specific principles discussed in the above article.<br />
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In EV applications particularly, any significant procedural or parametric choices regarding battery charging are strictly controlled and limited by the charging systems which are built into the cars themselves (with the exception of "DC Fast Charging" solutions, which typically involve a combination of systems internal and external to the car). In order to be able to offer a product with acceptable performance <i>and</i> to have acceptable warranty risk, EV batteries are aggressively underutilized, masking their actual capacities. So the "empty" to "full" battery capacity available to the car and displayed to the user as "0 - 100%" may in actuality be, say, 22 - 90% (or whatever range the manufacturer has decided presents optimum cost/performance/risk for the given application). This ensures that their entire life cycles fall within a statistical sweet spot for longevity, never deeply discharging nor fully charging the pack. A user's deliberately preventing their car from achieving an <i>indicated</i> "100%" charge (which is actually something far less) is therefore unnecessary, as that has already been protected by this artificial capacity range. While there might still be battery longevity benefits to further conservatism, I wouldn't concern myself with trying to stop charging my EV short of an indicated 100% every day.<br />
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Likewise, battery temperature control is such a critical issue that most EVs both cool and heat their battery packs during charging and operation, actually using not-insignificant power (and therefore affecting energy budget) to protect the battery pack and optimize its range performance. There's little that a user can do to improve upon this thermal management - indeed, many EVs will defend themselves with warnings and shutdowns when faced with conditions which threaten damage to their expensive propulsion battery pack.<br />
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That said, experts appear to agree that frequent "topping off" of a lithium-based battery pack whenever practical does contribute to prolonged capacity performance. Because we attempt to exclusively use our EV for transportation, my choice is to charge it whenever I'm home, regardless of its state of charge when I return. My sensibility is that in the event of an unexpected transportation need, I want as much range as possible as soon as possible.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>When we got our first EV four years ago, I made spreadsheets to compare and evaluate several charging options, and determined that choosing to charge our EV on an automated schedule during off-peak utility hours when rates were lower yielded minimal benefits - on the order of $200/year if we drove 10,000 miles. This was my financial justification for Always Plugging In. Likewise, the cost of installing a separate utility meter so that we could qualify for an EV discount from our utility was so high that we wouldn't break even from the $1,100 electrical contracting work for 6-7 years of discounted electricity - and that EV was a 36-month lease.</i> </blockquote>
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These same principles generally apply to portable consumer products - their internal charging mechanisms attempt to shield the battery from deep discharge and overcharge. It is still true that consumers can benefit from charging their phones or laptops as much as possible. And unlike cars, it's very easy to leave a phone or laptop in the sun in a window or car and irreparably damage or severely cripple the battery in one event.<br />
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<br />Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-80071878715687152032017-09-10T02:07:00.003-07:002017-09-10T02:07:46.914-07:00A Solar-Powered Electric Motorhome? Not ExactlyThis recent <a href="http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1112479_dethleffs-solar-assisted-electric-motorhome-concept-unveiled">article</a> reported about the “e.home” concept motorhome being displayed by German leisure vehicle manufacturer <a href="http://www.dethleffs.co.uk/">Dethleffs</a>.<br /><br />Many casual readers might interpret this story (which is NOT in fact an actual product announcement, but only the debut of a “concept vehicle”) as suggesting that it is a “solar powered RV.” I hope to communicate here the reality of what is and is not possible regarding solar power and an electrically-propelled RV.<br /><br />As an owner of a small diesel-powered motorhome and having exclusively driven electrically-powered vehicles as a “daily driver” for the past four years, I’ve frequently done hobby number-crunching to understand the realities of living with a motor vehicle which carries less stored energy than a single gallon of gasoline. I’ve also had to calculate our energy requirements when “dry camping” - going for days “off the grid” depending entirely upon the power stored in what amount to a couple of large automotive-style batteries.<br /><br />The "home" part of a motor home has very modest power requirements - a couple of hundred watts worth of PVs (photovoltaic panels) can indefinitely maintain "house batteries" to allow frugal power use for lighting and modest ventilation, water pumping and communications/computing requirements. Heating and cooling the cabin beyond 20F differentials between ambient conditions and target interior temperatures requires thousands of watts of power. The Dethleffs e.home features a couple of nice ideas to address cooler climates (like Germany): a way of storing daytime solar warmth in the form of phase-change materials (like the resuable medical heat packs that can be activated on demand, and “reset” by melting their crystallized contents in a microwave oven) for release during cool evenings; and electrically-generated heat delivered to the users via radiant heat - as through warmed floors - which provides comfort in cool climates without attempting to directly heat the cabin air.<br /><br />Our “small” 11,000 pound diesel-powered Class-C motor home is capable of 20mpg at 60mph - quite good in a category where similar RVs can get single-digit mileage. Driving electric cars around the streets of Los Angeles, we’ve averaged 4.5 miles/kilowatt-hour - this fuel efficiency can be represented as “151 MPGe.” “MPGe” is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s unit of measurement to allow consumers to compare the efficiencies of gasoline-powered internal combustion engines with those of alternatively-fueled vehicles. So the suggestion here is that our BMW i3 has been using stored electrical energy as efficiently as a gasoline-powered vehicle that could go 151 similarly-driven miles on a single gallon of gas. <br /><br />The article mentions that the 3,000 watts of solar panels “help provide power to its electric drivetrain.” That’s a generous allowance, if potentially misleading. Pushing a small Class-C motorhome through the air at cross-country travel velocities using electochemical batteries is an ugly energy use proposition. The claimed battery capacity for the e.home is 228 amp-hours - about 4 times the capacity of today's typical 80-100 mile EVs, and about the same as a mid-sized Tesla Model S or X battery. Such a battery pack would likely weigh and cost 4 times as much (3K-5K pounds, and $25K-$40K) as typical EV battery arrays.<br /><br />I estimate that pushing the e.home through the air on level ground at 60mph requires about 40kW (54bhp), which is using stored power over 40 times the rate at which it can charge from sunlight. (Aerodynamic loading is exponential, meaning that the power requirements square with the speed. So if it takes 10 horsepower to push the shape through the air at 30mph, it takes 40 hp to push it at 60mph.) <br /><br />Three kilowatts (3kW) of photovoltaic panels aren't really going to have much charging impact upon an estimated 72 kW/hours of propulsion battery storage. Even if the e.home were parked in the sun, in the summer, close to the equator, in front of a mirrored wall to expose all the panels at once, it would take at least two days (72kWh/3kW = 24 hours) to restore a fully depleted battery. In real life, days are partly-cloudy, one lives in an arbitrary region below the Arctic Circle and less than half the panels are exposed to the sun at any given time, and then at inefficient, oblique angles. During a 12 hour day, the average yield of 3 kilowatt array would be little more than 1kW. For every hour driven at 60mph, the e.home would require 40 hours of sunlight to replenish in those conditions. That would result in a very leisurely travel schedule. If the e.home were driven to full depletion (all modern battery systems actually preserve a significant proportion of the cells' actual charge to prevent damage), then stopped somewhere in the German countryside to allow the PV panels to top off the propulsion batteries in "mostly sunny" conditions, I guess that the the propulsion pack would achieve 100% charge about Day 8 (maybe Day 11 or 12 if it were short winter days , and maybe 14-16 if you were trying to heat the cabin very slightly with electricity).<br /><br />The article does refer to a “plug-in motor home,” but again, this may be misleading. In the EV community, “plug-in” refers to motor vehicles which can be fueled by connecting them to the electric utiltiy. However, even this paradigm has its limiations. If a commuter drives 40 miles round-trip to work and home in a typical EV, the vehicle can be charged from any household outlet (so-called “Level 1” charging) in about 10 hours with no special equipment. Installing a “Level 2” EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) at one’s home or office allows charging at an increased rate so that the same 40 miles of battery use can be replenished in just two hours. Even at the higher Level 2 rate which is the most widely available public charging infrastructure, the e.home RV’s large 228Ah battery pack - similarly sized to the mid-sized batteries available in Tesla Model S and X cars - would take most of a day to fully replenish (~14-15 hours from depleted to full). (Most campgrounds have 30-50A power service at each RV site, allowing for similar or shorter EV charging times.) So even with plug-in charging rates 6-7 times higher than its solar panels can achieve, the e.home must plug in for at least 14 hours every 100 miles. (There is a faster commercial-only Level 3 charging infrastructure, but it is not widely distributed, and would almost certainly NOT exist along travel corridors conducive to camping.) If the e.home was plugged into a typical 6-7kW L2 charging station during a long summer day in the sunshine, the ~1kW contribution from its solar panels could shorten the charging time from depleted to full by an hour or so. <br /><br />So this concept RV shouldn't be interpreted as a "solar powered vehicle" (the title of this article appropriately calls this a "solar-assisted" concept vehicle). Unfortunately, many casual readers won’t perceive that. There's a reason that those cockroach-shaped solar-powered vehicles you see college engineering students "racing" (at 50-60mph) across the Australian outback ride on bicycle tires, can be picked up (gently) by two people and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We reached a technological threshold some years ago beyond which it's been possible to build a vehicle which can propel a human at 60mph on level terrain using the sunlight that falls upon the approximate surface area of a conventional motor vehicle. That said, accomplishing this feat requires that such a machine be made of exotic, expensive materials to manage weight and reduce aerodynamic drag, and utilizes the most efficient photovoltaic panels and electric motors, with impracical cost implications for consumer products. The <a href="https://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/">World Solar Challenge</a> takes place across thousands of miles of sunless, hot Australia, and also exposes the drivers to vicious and even dangerous interior temperatures, yet no competitor risks adding performance-robbing weight with refrigeration systems. These vehicles also provide no specific protection in a collision with a conventional vehicle, which weighs 10 to 20 times as much. <br /><br />So can an RV be propelled by sunlight generated by its own photovoltaic panels?<br /><br /><div>
Photovoltaic panels for residential use currently cost ~$3/watt and achieve efficiencies of 8-10 watts per square foot. So a fantasy solar-PROPELLED RV equipped with 100kW of PVs (so that the 80kW motor can operate in overcast conditions, and can have some reserve power to accelerate and climb hills, in addition to a 40kW cruise demand) would cost at least $300K for the PV panels alone (not including physical support infrastructure, plus interconnecting wiring and control circuitry, or batteries for load surges). The PVs would take 10,000 square feet of surface area. Figure 20% loss in area to framing, so that 12,000 sq ft of area is necessary to mount the solar panels. The surface area of a 53-foot semi-trailer is 450 square feet, so 26.6 trailers - we’ll round that up to 27 semi-trailers worth of PVs would be required to support the 100 kilowatt array. Unfortunately, the mass added by those 27 trailers exceeds the power produced by the 80 kilowatt motor in the RV, which can no longer move the $2M, 1/4 mile long solar road train. Point is, a self-contained solar-powered RV isn't in our future. For that matter, we won't likely be driving cars that are directly powered by the sun. Electrical energy storage will always be a part of the EV model, whether chemical, mechanical or otherwise. <br /></div>
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It's certainly possible to travel entirely on _stored_ energy generated by sunlight - we do that when we use gasoline and diesel fuels, which store years of sunlight collected by living plants and allow us to release that energy in a fraction of the time. In fact, wind and hydroelectric energy production are ultimately driven by our Earth's solar-powered weather system. Only nuclear power (which uses radioactive material produced billions of years ago) is a non-solar power source we currently utilize to propel our motor vehicles (in some municipalities, including ours). <br /></div>
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So, like many such announcements in our our current age, and appropriate to “concept vehicles,” the Deffleths e.home concept RV is more of a promotional idea than a product. All RVs could benefit from many of the efficiency features touted in the showcase vehicle. But the dream of an electrically-propelled RV that can recharge from sunlight on a self-contained system will remain a fantasy.<br /></div>
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I welcome the future in which a electrically-powered RV might exist. I've explored the idea as a Thought Experiment many times, and have commented that it will be a real landmark in EV battery, propulsion and charging infrastructure technology when and if it becomes economically viable to perform long distance leisure travel with the weight loads of an RV (in current practice, RV design goals of utility and comfort increase vehicle weight from 3 to 10 times as much as a passenger vehicle). <br /><br />I hope to see that.</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-52894339196434073952017-02-05T14:18:00.000-08:002017-02-05T14:18:18.209-08:00How Cabin _and_ Battery Preconditioning Work on the BMW i3Blogger <a href="https://plus.google.com/101424187575777915519">Tom Moloughney</a> wrote this nice post describing the behavior and functionality of the BMW i3's "preconditioning" features.<br />
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Importantly, the i3 has preconditioning functionality for both its cabin climate system - whereby making the cabin comfortable for occupants regardless of ambient temperatures outside the vehicle - <i>and also</i> preconditioning for the high-voltage (propulsion) battery - which can significantly improve battery performance in extreme operating temperatures. BMW has not been particularly helpful in describing these two separate systems to i3 owners, and it's far from obvious how to use them to best advantage.<br />
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Tom Moloughney's <a href="http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2015/03/bmw-i3-understanding-how.html">BMW i3: Understanding How Preconditioning Works</a>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-20148168419092136872016-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:002016-09-17T13:00:13.767-07:00California Lifts Limit on Green Clean Air HOV Decals<div class="tr_bq">
Per <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB838">California State Bill 838</a>, signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 13, 2016, the limit on Green <a href="http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/decal">Clean Air Decals</a> allowing qualifying single-occupancy vehicles to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)-only lanes on California highways has been lifted. </div>
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Previously, the green decals (issued to vehicle's satisfying <a href="https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm">California Air Resources Board</a>'s requirements for Transitional Zero-Emission Vehicles - primarily <i>plug-in hybrid vehicles</i>) were issued in finite batches. 40,000 decals were initially provisioned, and three subsequent state bills have issued extended the number of decals issued to a total of 85,000 as of <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB95">June 2015</a>.<br />
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Excerpted from <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB838">SB-838</a>:<br />
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<i>Existing federal law, until September 30, 2019, authorizes a state to allow specified labeled low-emission and energy-efficient vehicles to use lanes designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs). Existing federal law, until September 30, 2025, grants similar authority with respect to alternative fuel and electric vehicles.</i></blockquote>
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<i>Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of HOVs, which lanes may also be used, until January 1, 2019, the expiration of a designated federal authorization relating to HOV facilities, or until the Secretary of State receives a specified notice, by certain low-emission, hybrid, or alternative fuel vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of an HOV lane, if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Existing law authorizes the DMV to issue no more than 85,000 of those identifiers. A violation of provisions relating to HOV lane use by vehicles with those identifiers is a crime.</i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="color: red;">This bill would delete the maximum number of identifiers that the DMV is authorized to issue.</span> The bill would extend the operation of the above provisions for super ultra-low emission vehicles and ultra-low emission vehicles, as defined, to January 1, 2019. However, with respect to vehicles that meet the state’s enhanced advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicle standard or transitional zero-emission vehicle standard, the provisions would be operative only until the earlier of January 1, 2019, the date of the federal authorization, or the receipt date of the notice by the Secretary of State. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature by December 1, 2017, on the degradation status of high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the state highway system.</i></blockquote>
So green decals will again be issued, beginning with applicants who had already submitted paperwork and have been in a queue awaiting the possible issuance of additional decals. </div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-48980184624413584272016-09-17T09:50:00.001-07:002016-09-17T13:15:05.680-07:00California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP) Gets Funding for 2016-17!<div>
The <a href="https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng">California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program</a> encourages residents of the state to drive zero-emission or plug-in hybrid light-duty vehicles by providing cash rebates of up to $2,500 for EVs (and up to $5,000 for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles). </div>
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In June of 2016, funding for the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Program <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-clean-vehicle-rebate-project-no-money-20160616-snap-story.html">stalled</a> as the State of California failed to resolve its budget. CVRP applicants were informed that they would be placed on a waitlist, and <i>if</i> the state eventually approved funding, checks would be issued to waitlisted applicants in chronological order.<br />
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On September 14, 2016, California lawmakers approved <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1613">Assembly Bill 1613</a>, which provides $133 million in new funding to cover waitlisted CVRP applications and applications made during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Checks will begin to be issued immediately to waitlisted applicants, according to a CVRP representative I spoke to yesterday at <a href="http://www.altcarexpo.com/">AltCar Expo</a>. </div>
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AB-1613 will also introduce income cap restrictions on CVRP applicants, apparently in response to complaints that CVRP funds were being inequitably sapped by high-income households purchasing Tesla Model S and Model X products, thus depriving low- and middle-income families from participation (which was particularly pointed when the program actually ran out of funding). Effective starting November 2016, CVRP rebates will only be available to filers with joint income under $300,000 and individual filers with incomes under $150K. </div>
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$80 million of the newly approved California budget will be directed toward the new <a href="https://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/newsrelease.php?id=730">Plus-up Program</a>, which provides rebates of $5,000 to $9,500 (an additional $2,500 rebate is available to purchasers of new eligible zero-emission vehicles - California's incentive to put more EVs into the ecosystem) to lower-income applicants who turn in higher-polluting vehicles (over 8 years old, which must then be scrapped) and purchase low- and zero-emissions replacement vehicles. Eligible participants choosing not to replace their vehicle can opt for a mass-transit voucher worth $2,500 to $4,500, depending upon income level. </div>
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Funds for AB-1613 are generated by <a href="http://www.c2es.org/us-states-regions/key-legislation/california-cap-trade">cap-and-trade revenue</a>, wherein the State of California penalizes corporate entities for exceeding greenhouse gas quotas, and purposes those funds for pollution-reducing projects such as the CVRP.</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-49237474353022386012016-05-05T19:56:00.002-07:002016-05-05T19:56:16.054-07:00Japan Has More Electric Charging Stations Than Gas StationsAccording to this <a href="https://transportevolved.com/2015/02/17/official-japan-now-electric-car-charging-spots-gas-stations/">article from <i>Transport Evolved</i></a>, Japan now has more public and private charging points than gas stations. The article says Nissan claims 40,000 charging sites, versus 34,000 gas stations.Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-48470119337925545922015-10-09T18:49:00.001-07:002015-10-14T18:27:19.191-07:00Attending the 2015 AltCar Expo<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>September 18, 2015, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium</i></div>
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This year marked our fourth attendance of the <a href="http://www.altcarexpo.com/">AltCar Expo</a> Ride & Drive in Santa Monica, California. Attendance was a little light, but it was a Friday during business hours. There seemed to be a little less manufacturer participation as well, but there were also a few new players, notably Kia and Audi. Next month marks the beginning of our final of three years of our Ford Focus Electric’s lease, so we’re considering the possibilities.</div>
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Here are the cars I drove at this year’s event, in no particular order:</div>
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<a href="https://ssl.toyota.com/mirai/fcv.html"><b>Toyota Mirai</b></a> - This is the first-ever mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle to be made available to the public for purchase. The <a href="http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/">Honda FCX Clarity</a> and the <a href="https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/benz/green/electric_car">Mercedes-Benz F-Cell</a> are both limited-production developmental projects which have been available for lease in specific geographic markets.<br />
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As you can see in the photos, the Mirai isn't a beauty - distinctly Japanese and with a bit of show-car bravado. But I agree that these shouldn’t be mistaken for ordinary vehicles - I don’t know if Toyota plans to make money with these, but their promotional value as a technological milestone for consumers has value. Driving the Mirai was similar to the other fuel-cell vehicles I’ve driven: they feel like a lightweight electric vehicle. Most BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles, using only batteries for energy storage) have noticeable mass for their size (though this has been improving in the last few years). Fuel-cell vehicles don’t lug around big batteries (though they still have a small “hybrid”-sized pack - see note below), and it results in noticeable lightness compared to their BEV cousins. The Mirai had peppy performance (as much as we could tell circulating our one-block test circuit, in heavy Santa Monica traffic), and felt like a modern car. Notably, brake/regen harvesting transitions, which only a few years ago resulted in unexpected surges during traffic stop braking, were absent from the all vehicles I test-drove at this year’s AltCar event. Fit and finish on the Mirai was slick, as it should be for a $57,500 car. Toyota will also offer a $500/month lease program. Potential purchasers/lessees will have to qualify based upon their geographical proximity to hydrogen fueling stations (all current fuel-cell vehicles offered to the general public use gaseous hydrogen stored at pressures approaching 10,000-psi).<br />
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Toyota offers complimentary fuel for three years for purchasers of Mirais, and both buyers and lessees are eligible for a $5,000 California incentive rebate. Toyota failed in an initial application round for a Federal $10K rebate, and is re-filing. Availability of the Mirai will be the last quarter of 2015.<br />
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<i>HYDROGEN FUELING<br />We live 4.5 miles from the nearest station in Burbank, California - that’s pretty darn close, given the scarcity of these facilities. Range of the Mirai is EPA rated at 312 miles. Talking to a Mercedes rep about hydrogen stations, he said that the Burbank station was “old,” and I told him I’d looked at the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/kmQv8h8kW9S2">Google Street View</a> of the site and seen that it was very industrial. Such is life at the bleeding edge. But he commented that a few new sites “in the area” (the next closest is 30 miles away) were opening this year. In talking about infrastructure, he indicated that because of the state’s commitment to hydrogen vehicle research programs, it was possible to travel almost the entire state of California. But making the trip to Las Vegas was short by a single fueling stop, because California and Nevada couldn’t decide who would build the border-adjacent station. The Mercedes rep also said that this fueling station was also busy, and that was a problem because “if there are other cars in front of you, you have to wait for the fueling station to make more fuel.” I didn’t ask what this comment meant, but I’d never heard reference to “making hydrogen” at fueling sites. As it turns out, the <a href="http://cafcp.org/getinvolved/stayconnected/blog/station_station_burbank">Burbank fueling station</a> is in fact extracting gaseous hydrogen from natural gas.</i></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/article/bolt-ev-concept-car.html"><b>Chevrolet Bolt</b></a> - That’s not a typo, that’s the name of Chevy’s just-announced BEV (good luck to Chevy service reps talking to “Volt” and “Bolt” owners on the phone).<br />
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What we saw at AltCar was the Bolt show car which debuted at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show this past January, and we weren’t allowed to touch it, much less drive it. (I talked to their factory rep, and the show car can actually move up to 5 mph under its own power - “to drive on stage,” I said, and he laughed.) Shortly after the Detroit show, Chevrolet <a href="http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096753_gm-officially-confirms-it-will-build-chevy-bolt-electric-car-with-200-mile-range">officially announced</a> that it will put the Bolt into production. I asked the rep for any details, and the only two bullet points that they are committing to are price and range: $30K and 200 miles. Most of today’s EV offerings have ranges hovering around 80 miles, dictated by battery cost and weight. The Tesla Model S claims a range of up to 270 miles, but that vehicle costs over $90K and weighs 5,000 pounds. In our experience, with our lifestyle, our Focus Electric’s nominal 80-mile range has served us well for the past two years. But extending the travel radius on a single charge to almost 100 miles would obviously accommodate a considerably larger audience (some sources claim Americans drive an average of under 40 miles daily). I like the show car’s look, but I know better than to expect much of that to make it to production. The Chevy rep allowed that production probably wouldn’t be until at least the 2017 model year, and maybe not even then.<br />
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<a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/2016-volt/"><b>2016 Chevrolet Volt</b></a> - When we were car-shopping in the Fall of 2013, the Volt was on our short list of candidates. Its estimated 38 mile battery-only range really makes a difference with regard to our lifestyle - other plug-in hybrids claiming 20-21 miles would come just short of a round-trip we make frequently. Its unusually large battery was probably cleverly sized by GM to qualify for the maximum federal and state incentive refunds - at the time, it was the only gas-electric hybrid to qualify. My wife and I both liked its appearance, and we felt good about GM's commitment to making an "electric car with an engine," rather than the many electric-assisted hybrids which had existed for some time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">An early production prototype of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt </span></td></tr>
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However, there were a couple of unexpected deal-breakers, and both involved forward visibility. Like a lot of contemporary American sedans, the 2013/14 Volts featured a high beltline, sinking the driver down below a surrounding wall of doors and dashboard. Along with its raked windshield, this made for a gun-slit forward view from the front seats, and little sense of the locations of the forward corners of the vehicle. My wife is vulnerable to motion-sickness, and when someone has this propensity, of paramount importance is that they have a constant visual reference of the horizon. Having the forward view obscured by something at shoulder-height means that the slightest downward tilt of the head results in loss of visual contact with the horizon through the windshield. We test-drove a Volt a second time in 2013, and by raising the passenger seat to maximum height, it ameliorated the problem, but not enough. For me, the Volt’s combination of massive A-pillars, an opaque windshield border applique and a windshield rake that put the A-pillar almost a foot from my head created an obstruction which could obscure an entire motor vehicle only a few car-lengths away. Together, these characteristics took the Volt off our list of potential candidates. When we sat in a 2016 production prototype at AltCar Expo, my wife thought the windshield base/dashboard top looked noticeably lower. We then drove a 2015 demonstrator and concluded that Chevrolet had made changes which diminished the gun-slit effect. I still find the Volt’s interior (indeed, every GM vehicle I’ve driven in decades) somehow ill-fitting, banging my head into the roof above the door opening, and poking my elbows with the center console and door interior panels.</div>
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During our test-drive, I was asking for a refresher about available driving modes, and the Chevy rep said that because people had been driving it all day, the Volt’s battery was depleted, so we wouldn’t be driving on battery-only mode. What? I’ve previously mentioned the Volt’s <a href="http://www.plugincars.com/chevy-volts-mountain-mode-vastly-underrated-yields-new-driving-strategies-107176.html">Mountain Mode</a>, a too-complicated-for-consumers option to force the Volt to retain and build up battery charge for an upcoming grade ascent (as though people knew when a slope was approaching). And the Volt has a gasoline engine which primarily drives a generator to propel the vehicle via electric motor (and under special circumstances, propel the vehicle via a sort of physical connection to the wheels). Though I understood that Volts might deplete their battery during a prolonged high-speed run or hill climb, why should a car that’s cruising around the block all day and idling between kill its battery? <br />
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<i>Wow. I just discovered this <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/12/chevrolet-volt-tricks-using-mountain-mode-to-preserve-range/index.htm">Consumer Reports article</a> about the Volt’s Mountain Mode which describes it in a completely different way than any article I’ve ever read. And it makes the most sense. They’re saying that due to the EPA’s (and thus GM’s) priority on environmental impact, the Volt is programmed to utilize the stored battery energy first to minimize emissions during vehicle evaluation - so that’s how Chevrolet configures it. This explains why the battery on the test vehicle I drove yesterday was “dead” - in Normal and Sport driving modes, the Volt depletes the battery first, then switches to gasoline. Engaging Mountain Mode merely “hides” 10 miles of range from the system, so that it switches to gas while there is actually more capacity left in the battery (and in truth, all battery-powered vehicles don’t come close to discharging completely, in the interest of battery longevity). Later in a journey, when the Volt owner needs extra oomph to make a grade at speed (or just to cruise around a little town square silently), you switch back to Normal or Sport, and the reserved battery capacity is available. The article mentions that non-U.S. Volts (and some other plug-in hybrids) not bound by EPA goals have a “Preserve” mode which allows the user to save and utilize battery power on demand.</i></blockquote>
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The 2016 Volt will have a higher-capacity battery (18.4kWh vs 17.1), increasing its battery-only range from a stated 38 miles to 50 - not insignificant at all, when the goal is to accommodate the daily range of a potential customer (and with the fudge-factor of the Volt’s gas engine, a far less critical parameter to get absolutely correct than those of us with electric-only propulsion). Chevy has also lopped 200 pounds off the car, which I find impressive. The 2016’s exterior appearance is the most dramatic change in the car’s history. The new bodywork is nice and swoopy, but I still find the original a handsome shape.<br />
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According to this <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/volt"><i>Car & Driver</i> 2016 Volt article</a>, the drivetrain sounds as though it’s been completely changed. A different engine, two smaller electric motors versus the previous large/small motor arrangement, and chain(!) drive from the motors to the diff are some of the changes. C&D refers to the 2016 model as the “Volt II.” I don’t know if that’s an official Chevy line or their own.<br />
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The <i>Car & Driver</i> article says that the 2016 Volt has a “regen paddle” on the steering wheel, which allows the driver to momentarily switch to an aggressive regen mode by fingertip gesture. I like this - I’d like to have explicit control over regenerative braking in an EV (see my comments about driving our Focus Electic in “Low” mode below).</div>
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<i>While just looking up the 2015 Volt’s stated range, I noticed something I’d forgotten about - the Volt’s onboard charger has only been a 3.3kW device, upgrading to 3.6kW for 2016. But most BEVs since 2013 have featured a minimum 6.6kW charger. What does this mean? That when those of us with 6.6kW chargers anticipate charging times, we use “20 miles per hour” as a rough guide. If we’re traveling 110 miles during a day, I’ll figure a 10+ mile pad, so 120 total miles. The ~80 mile range of our full battery means we need 40 additional miles, or 2 hours x 20 miles/hour of charge time - a long meal while the car is plugged in. A Volt would take twice as long - 10-11 miles per hour - but then a Volt doesn’t actually HAVE to charge to complete its journey - a BEV does.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>An EV blog author <a href="http://www.plugincars.com/exclusive-chevrolet-volt-chief-engineer-explains-volt-drivetrain-says-volt-electric-vehicle-90758.ht">interviewed a GM Volt engineer</a> in 2011 about the behavior of the Volt’s powertrain. The engineer was evasive about describing the true nature of operation, because he correctly assumed that the details were beyond the audience’s comprehension. Unsatisfied, the blog subsequently published a <a href="http://www.plugincars.com/exclusive-video-want-know-exactly-how-chevy-volt-powertrain-works-95344.html">presentation of the Volt’s powertrain theory of operation</a> by Pamela Fletcher, Chief Chevrolet Engineer for Global Voltec and Plug-in Hybrid Systems. The video is a handheld camera shooting a projected presentation, but the content is worth the watch. Most interesting to me is the complex way that the Volt’s IC engine can contribute to mechanically propelling the vehicle: by engaging two of the system’s three clutches, the IC engine can then apply torque to the rotor the smaller of two motors (<a href="http://image.motortrend.com/f/roadtests/alternative/1108_2011_chevrolet_volt_vs_2011_nissan_leaf_vs_2011_toyota_prius_comparison/33290590/chevrolet-volt-powertrain.jpg">diagram</a>), and that in turn can only apply torque to the stator housing of the larger propulsion motor. Only by energizing the stators of both motors (with power from the battery pack) can the IC engine’s torque be transmitted to the road wheels, and then only under special conditions. GM engineer Andrew Farah made it sound as though the Volt engineering team had realized that this mode was possible without intending that as part of the original design. I think that the 2016 Volt may use a different strategy.</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.vw.com/models/e-golf/"><b>Volkswagen e-Golf</b></a> - The 2015 e-Golf is essentially unchanged from the first-year 2014 model (which I drove at last year’s AltCar, but never reported about).<br />
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I don’t have any strong impressions about this year’s drive - it’s a typical modern EV, with light controls (overboosted steering, light pedal effort), and competent performance. It’s the only modern Golf I’ve ever been in, and as my wife said, it’s kind of a “clown car” - very roomy on the inside. A very German touch (that I like very much): there are four levels of regenerative braking mode aggression. <br />
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<a href="http://www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/soul-ev/2016"><b>Kia Soul EV</b></a> - The Soul EV actually debuted in the 2015 model year, and I’ve seen the same one twice in public (in our medical center’s parking garage, all the EVs compete for a pair of 120VAC outlets which they’ve discovered at the end of a row).<br />
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What the Soul EV brings to the EV market is its unique form-factor (previously occupied by the Toyota Rav4 EV, a limited-production vehicle from 1997-2003, and a second-generation product using a Tesla powertrain from 2012 to 2014) and a class-leading range of 93 miles (while most EVs in the price class have around 80 miles of range). The Soul EV is also relatively inexpensive at $31,950 (before the $7,500 Federal tax credit). The interior feels like most modern vehicles, with lots of shiny plastic and fancy bezels around things that feel like consumer high-tech products. The interior space is as generous as the exterior suggests.<br />
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The Soul EV was a competent vehicle to drive, with pretty good control feel (my metrics about EV driving have changed after two years as an EV owner - but many idiosyncratic qualities of EVs have been addressed in the last two years). The Soul EV incorporates the fastest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car#US_Charging_Standards">standardized class of charging technology</a>, providing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAdeMO">CHAdeMO</a> port for this so-called “Level 3” charging, in addition to the more common SAE J1772 “Level 2” port.</div>
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<b>MORE ABOUT CHARGING:</b> </blockquote>
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<b>Chargers</b> - In modern EVs, the hardware which conditions incoming electricity to a form appropriate for the battery pack and which manages the process of adding electrical charge to the electric vehicle’s battery is incorporated into the vehicle itself. Charging technology monitors the battery pack’s charge state and temperature - in many modern EVs, actually heating and cooling the pack to compensate for ambient temperature as well as increased temperatures from charging.<br />
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<b>EVSE</b> - This acronym for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment may often be inappropriately referred to as a “charger,” but the EVSE - the box that mounts on the wall and sports a long, thick cable to the connector that plugs into the car - acts as an electrical liaison between the electrical supply source and the EV’s on-board charging system. Among the EVSE’s functions, it serves as a safety device for human users, only energizing the high-current, high-voltage connection after it has communicated with the device to which it is attached and determined that it is an electric vehicle. During this “handshake” interaction, the vehicle and EVSE communicate their specifications and requirements, after which the EVSE begins to flow current and the EV’s charger only pulls as much maximum current as the EVSE has reported it can provide. </blockquote>
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<b>Connectors</b> - The most common connector standard between EVSEs and EVs is currently the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772">SAE J1772</a>. J1772 jacks have been in common use by EV auto manufacturers since 2010, and the plugs can be found on all public EVSE stations, as well as the Level 1 EVSEs included with EVs. Higher-power DC Fast Charging was first provided via the massive and ridiculously-named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAdeMO">CHAdeMO</a> connector. More recently, the SAE’s new “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_62196#Combined_Charging_System">Combined Charging System</a>” connector (also massive) has begun to appear (on the Chevy Spark EV and BMW i3). Sometimes referred to as a “Combo J1772” (not an official moniker), the connector combines a backward-compatible J1772 jack positioned above a pair of 200-amp pins for high-voltage DC. Tesla uses a proprietary connector for its ultra-fast <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger">Supercharger</a> technology, but provides adapters for 120VAC (NEMA 5-15 - the common household AC outlet), 240VAC (NEMA 14-50 - typical of electric stoves) and a J1772 adapter. Tesla also <a href="http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-adapters">sells adapters</a> to plug your Model S into just about any kind of AC power outlet you might encounter in your travels. </blockquote>
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<b>Level 1 charging</b> refers to charging via familiar household 120 volt AC outlets. These EVSEs draw less than 15 amps, allowing users to plug EVs in almost anywhere. Almost every plug-in EV includes a Level 1 EVSE stored in the vehicle. However, at this power level, charging takes place at a leisurely rate: L1 charging typically adds something around 4 miles of range per hour of charging. This might seem impractical for EVs with 80 miles of range (never mind the nearly 100 hours it could take to top off a fully-depleted Tesla Model S), but the actual goal of fueling is to reach one’s target destination, and not necessarily to completely top-off the energy storage medium. So adding 35 miles of range during an 8 hour work day while plugged into an outdoor outlet at one’s workplace may be all that’s necessary to complete an otherwise impossible round-trip to home.<br />
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<b>Level 2 charging</b> represents the common public EV charging infrastructure, as well as the highest rate of charging that consumers can install at home (L3 is not available to the consumer). Level 2 charging typically adds around 20 miles of range per hour (varying with vehicle weight, efficiency, and charging station current) from a 240VAC connection drawing about 30 amps (the Tesla Model S charger pulls 40A; Tesla owners who install a $2,000 “<a href="http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-adapters/products/2nd-onboard-charger">dual charging</a>” option to their Model S can pull 80A, adding almost 60 miles of charge per hour). As of 2015, most current EVs have on-board chargers supporting 6.6 kilowatt charging.<br />
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For owners of “plug-in hybrids,” who have much smaller battery packs and the option of continuing their journey with traditional hydrocarbon fuels and have ranges of typical petroleum-fueled vehicles, I’d advise against the not-insignificant cost of paying an electrician $400-2,000 to install an $800-$1,500 Level 2 EVSE at their home. It’s not worth the benefit of charging a 20-mile range battery in 1 hour instead of 5 hours, since a plug-in hybrid user can immediately begin any unanticipated journey on petroleum fuels, even with a fully-depleted battery.<br />
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As an owner of a Battery Electric Vehicle, my priority is to have maximum range available as soon as possible, so I consider maximum charging rate critical. Likewise, I eschew the modest benefits of “off peak charging” (my research revealed that it would take us over six years to offset the $1,100 cost of adding the separate power meter required for off-peak discounted electricity. Ultimately, I realized that I was happy to spend an extra $200/year for the worst-case scenario of on-peak electricity rates, so that our EV would be ready for maximum range service at any given moment.<br />
<b>Level 3 “DC Fast Charging”</b> - only provided by public infrastructure, this system supplies up to 500 DC volts at up to up to 125 amps. Completely bypassing a vehicle’s built-in charging infrastructure, DC Fast Charging stations do conversions from AC to DC off-board in commercial-only hardware, and connect directly to batteries on vehicles supporting the standard. Very few DC Fast Charging stations currently exist, and I find it little incentive to make a vehicle purchasing decision at present. Even if you found one of the rare DC Fast Charging stations mid-way between two waypoints you needed to travel on a regular basis, the consequences of a station being non-functional would be catastrophic (your 30-minute “top off” could become a 4-hour charge, provided that you found a Level 2 charger nearby). Vehicles currently providing DC Fast Charging include Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Spark EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Tesla Model S, BMW i3 and Kia Soul EV.<br />
There seems to be no disagreement that charging batteries at DC Fast Charging rates is detrimental to battery longevity. Most manufacturers advise against “regular use” of DC Fast Charging. From page CH-7 of the 2013 Nissan Leaf owner’s manual: “NISSAN recommends using normal charging for usual charging of the vehicle. Use of quick charge should be minimized in order to help prolong Li-ion battery life.” <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/17/dc-fast-charging-not-as-damaging-to-ev-batteries-as-expected/">Recent studies</a> have suggested that the effects of regular DC Fast Charging have not proven as deleterious as originally thought. </blockquote>
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<b>Diminishing Battery Capacity Over Time</b> - even though this is a familiar characteristic of battery-powered devices, it presents a strange new paradigm for automobile operation. A vehicle which might have perfectly accommodated someone’s regular commute in the first years of ownership might no longer work as the vehicle’s batteries age. Consider a scenario where the owner of a new EV with a typical 23 kWh battery pack commutes round-trip to work 35 miles away on a mixed highway/surface-street route, returning to their home driveway at night with 9 miles of estimated range remaining. The remaining charge provides enough pad to make a 10-mile side trip, which on low-speed surface streets still leaves 5 miles showing on the range gauge when arriving at home. Four years later, the same battery pack has lost 15% of its capacity, and the EV can no longer complete the round trip reliably. Consider, too, that battery performance varies dramatically with ambient temperatures - another reason that California is a hotspot for EVs. Between battery temps and cockpit heat range impact, EVs operating in colder climates start off with a huge performance handicap. For some perspective: Nissan’s battery warranty for the Nissan Leaf’s propulsion battery only guarantees “nine bars” - which journalists quote as being “70 per cent” of full battery capacity. </blockquote>
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An <a href="https://transportevolved.com/2015/04/14/staffcar-update-after-73100-miles-our-nissan-leaf-loses-its-second-capacity-bar/#">interesting page</a> about a UK automotive blog’s staff Nissan Leaf and its battery capacity history. I had not given much thought to battery charge times increasing with age - not a problem for some EV lifestyles, but for those actually trying to charge mid-trip, something to consider. </blockquote>
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Watch this <a href="https://youtu.be/tNZ9jMFDmcw">nice explanation</a> of how lithium-ion batteries lose voltage and capacity over time. </blockquote>
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A <a href="http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/Real_World_Battery_Capacity_Loss">Leaf owner community Wiki</a> which is aggregating battery-capacity reports.</blockquote>
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<b><a href="http://www.bmwusa.com/bmw/bmwi/i3">BMW i3</a></b> - I’ve been sort of gushing about driving an i3 ever since last year’s AltCar Expo. Not because of its extreme aesthetic choices, inside and out (I’m OK with the i3’s appearance - my wife, not so much), or because of the caché of its brand, but because thus far, the i3 has the most unique and aggressive approach to regenerative braking control.<br />
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When driving our Ford Focus Electric, regenerative braking activity is indicated by a spinning indicator on one of the Focus’ three LCD displays. If the “Braking Coach” feature is enabled, the Focus <a href="http://electronicdesign.com/site-files/electronicdesign.com/files/archive/electronicdesign.com/content/content/74145/74145_fig4-ford-electric-brake-coach.jpg">reports a braking score</a> at each full stop. While the Braking Coach helps to train the driver how to most efficiently harvest some of the vehicle’s momentum when braking, the driver never really knows how much braking is being done by the motor in generate mode and how much energy is being converted to heat by the conventional friction brakes. There is no feedback to indicate where the regen/friction transition takes place in the pedal travel (although I think the first inch of travel or so probably signals that regen can begin to contribute). I choose to drive in the Focus’ “Low” shifter position (presumably designed for hill descent, the owner’s manual basically says to put the car in “D” and not worry about it) almost full-time, to give me readier access to regen at the expense of perhaps too-sensitive off-throttle motor-braking. In “Drive,” most EVs exhibit no motor-braking at all at throttle lift, coasting freely on low rolling-resistance tires and low drag bodywork. This freewheeling can be an alarming experience for the typical driver - at lower speeds, it can feel as though the vehicle’s cruise control is active. In the more-aggressive regen modes, EVs tend to motor-brake with the resistance I’d liken to engine-braking with a 5-speed manual transmission in a ratio between 2nd and 3rd. It takes a little practice to educate your foot/brain to adapt to this much off-throttle braking. During the rare opportunities to engage the Focus’ cruise control (traffic is rarely that predictable here in Los Angeles, and we’re never taking long trips in the EV), I’ll shift to “D” mode, so that cancelling Cruise doesn’t result in the somewhat sudden loss of speed which would occur if in “L” mode.<br />
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In the BMW i3, regenerative braking is the most aggressive I’ve ever experienced. At lower parking-lot speeds of 10-15mph, abruptly lifting off throttle actually nose-dives the car, more than lifting in 1st gear in a 5-speed. As speeds increase, the deceleration is somewhat more gentle. There is noticeable “gear whine” at lower speed off-throttle, and I wonder if BMW are using a continuously variable transmission to allow maximum harvest at any speed. BMW chooses to go even further, however - the i3 can be driven in traffic with no brake pedal use at all. Both times I’ve driven an i3, I drove aggressively in busy traffic, and only in the most extreme cases had to resort to using the brake pedal. For the rest of my short test drives, all full stops were accomplished by modulating the accelerator pedal alone. Perhaps because of this, the i3’s pedal effort for accelerator and brake are quite high - and far more than the too-light pedals of all the other EVs I’ve driven. I asked the BMW rep last year if the i3 was displaying brake lights when I was simply lifting off throttle, and he said yes. So that’s a bold choice - even a paradigm change in driving - which BMW have decided to make. And it’s that bold choice that makes it one of my favorite EVs. I love the idea that if I’m willing to adjust to a novel vehicle behavior (which I’ve already done to whatever degree our Focus Electric does regen), the EV is able to recapture as much energy as it can.<br />
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For almost $4,000, you can buy in i3 with a Range Extender option, which is a two-cylinder, 647cc gasoline engine driving a 34 hp generator. This increases the claimed range of the i3 from 81 miles to 150. Why so little difference? Last year, I don’t think I ever heard that the gasoline tank was only 1.9 gallons. Had I heard that figure, I’d have wondered why it was so miniscule. I’m still not sure what the whole answer is, but something I overheard from a BMW rep talking to a group of AltCar Conference attendees (concurrent to the Ride & Drive event, there are paid presentations by industry speakers) was eye-opening. I heard him say, “you can’t drive it to San Francisco” and something about the Range Extender engine not being intended to run for extended periods of time. So BMW thinks that users would be willing to pay $4K to sometimes be able to go 70 miles further than the battery’s 80 miles. Actually, in our experience, living where we do, and going where we go, that 150 miles pretty well defines the handful of maximum-distance trips we’ve undertaken in the Focus Electric, which required no small amount of pre-planning (finding a primary, secondary and tertiary charging location, all with something to eat or do while we charged) regarding a mandatory mid-trip refueling stop. I don’t think we’ve yet done a journey that required TWO charging stops. Would I pay $4K more for the Range Extender? Yeah, If I were already into the $43K for the i3. Sure. (Our 2013 Focus Electric’s MSRP was $39,995, which dropped to $33K in 2014 and is now $30K. $7,500 Federal and $2,500 California rebates apply, and there are some smaller incentives from energy special-interest groups and electric utility companies.)</div>
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<i>I mentioned this “limited operation of the Range Extender” story to a friend recently. He has a relative who is a BMW dealer mechanic, and he reports that a current issue is that some i3 owners - in defiance of BMW’s instructions to limit the operation of the Extended Range engine - are driving the vehicle as far and as long as they like. As a result, BMW dealerships are seeing a significant number of failures related to those tiny engines, and have been struggling with holding the owners responsible for violating their recommended restrictions on operation. </i></blockquote>
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The BMW i3 was - in the wake of the demise of the Fisker Karma - the only pure series hybrid electric vehicle on the market. This describes a system (like a diesel-electric locomotive) in which all propulsion is provided by electrical motors, and the internal-combustion engine serves only to drive an electrical generator, the output of which can be utilized to propel the vehicle or charge the battery pack. No mechanical connection exists between the IC engine and the road wheels. <br />
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I would be remiss not to mention the bizarrely-sized wheels and tires on the i3. In profile, they look like any modern low-profile tire on a big 19” wheel. Only they’re not as low-profile as they seem. Walk around to the front or back, and you’ll discover that the tires are Datsun 240-Z width 155/70-19s on 5-inch wide wheels. The i3’s base curb weight is a mere 2,799 pounds, so there’s less of a disadvantage with those skinny tires than, say, our Focus Electric’s low rolling-resistance 225/50-17, which have to deal with the FFE’s noticeable 3,640 pounds, as well as its impressive torque.</div>
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<i>This <a href="http://blog.caranddriver.com/bmw-i3-owners-hack-software-to-fit-extra-12-gallon-of-gas/">Car & Driver article</a> talks about i3 owners performing a software “hack” to increase the capacity of their tiny (1.9 gallon) gas tank (in the “range extender” models).</i></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.bmwusa.com/bmw/bmwi/i8"><b>BMW i8</b></a> - BMW wasn't giving test-drives of their $135K plug-in hybrid semi-exotic, but as with most alternative fuel events we've attended in the past two years, they did have one on display.<br />
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Here's a brief clip of the i8 Safety Car from this year's inaugural Formula E race in Long Beach :<br />
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<a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-ev-electric-vehicle.html"><b>Chevrolet Spark EV</b></a> - When we first drove the Spark EV in 2013, and subsequently considered buying or leasing one, there were three big bullet points: low cost, BAGS of torque and a cheesy, plasticky interior. Actually, a fourth bullet point was that it was one of the few vehicles with DC Fast Charging, but since there were almost NO DC Fast Charging facilities (there still aren’t many), we dismissed that feature from our decisions. </div>
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The 2013 Spark EV’s interior was monochrome plastic, with visible body-color painted metal surrounding it. “Cheap,” we kept saying. I didn’t want to care about that - the car leased for only $199/month, after all - but boy, was it cheap. The interior of the 2015 Spark EV we drove was significantly improved - just some simple ideas with two colors of plastic, and a bit of the piano-black and chrome that plagues many modern car instrument panels - but the overall effect was notably improved. <br />
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Did I say “bags of torque?” The 2013 Spark EV weighed just under 3,000 pounds, and the motor was rated at 399 foot/pounds of peak torque. Yes, that’s right, a number that’s as big as 400 cubic-inch V-8s used to make, but available at ANY RPM, if the speed controller allows it. To compensate for the inevitable problems of peak torque at 0 RPM, all EV manufacturers profile their motor’s speed controllers to limit torque at lower speeds. Despite that, getting the 2013 Spark EV’s tires to spin at speeds up to about 30mph was just a matter of dipping the throttle pedal a bit - it was a blast. This year, Chevy quotes the max torque at 327 ft/lbs - so they’ve dialed the character of the car down a bit. The stubby little econobox drove well, and much better represents the entry-level EV market that Chevy hoped to get. The 2015 Spark EV features the new SAE Combo Connector, which replaces the CHAdeMO connector of earlier models. It’s still not much of an incentive for us, but perhaps when we are replacing our Focus in a year, the charging infrastructure picture will have improved in this regard.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">The Spark EV's SAE Combo Connector combines the ubiquitous J1772 connector with two additional pins which carry high-voltage current for DC Fast Charging</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/benz/green/electric_car"><b>Mercedes F-Cell</b></a> - The F-Cell program began in 2002 (we saw one of these at an Alternative Fuels event in 2003). Starting in 2010, Mercedes-Benz leased 70 of these hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles in California (and as many as 500 in Europe) as part of a research and marketing program. Today, about 60 of those California vehicles are still in service, and M-B is still offering a 2-year lease program. I think the Mercedes rep said that the lease was now $299/month (it was twice that two years ago, and it was $849 in 2010), and includes fuel. There aren’t many hydrogen fueling stations (the F-Cell stores gaseous hydrogen at up to 10,000 psi), but we live 4.5 miles from one. Unfortunately, the F-Cell lease program will probably be closed to new lessees by the time our current lease ends October 2016.<br />
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The F-Cell is a nice car. I don’t have any point of reference about contemporary Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and it’s not exactly posh, but it’s tidy and competent. Like other fuel-cell vehicles I’ve driven, the electric propulsion seems like any other EV, but because it lacks the mass of a full-sized battery pack, it feels more like - well, a normal car.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">A photo of a first-generation Mercedes-Benz F-Cell that I took at an alternative fuels event in Griffith Park, Los Angeles in 2003</span></td></tr>
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<i><b>BATTERIES IN FUEL-CELL CARS</b></i><i><br /></i><i>Only during this year’s event did I realize that all of the hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles offered thus far also employ traditional batteries. I believe that the purpose is two-fold (at least): to provide the benefits of regenerative braking; and to provide vehicles with more peak current for acceleration than is supplied by the fuel-cell stack. This reduces the output requirements of the stack to something more than maximum sustained cruising (plus some specified road grade). During my test-drive, I noticed a gauge in the F-Cell labeled “F-Cell” which indicated values from 0 to 100. When I asked the road-test rep what that gauge indicated, he said that it was “how much charge the F-Cell had,” and that its current indicated 100 meant “that it was fully charged.” I think this means that when the vehicle is “run” mode, the fuel-cell stack tops off the lithium-ion pack whenever it has opportunity, preparing for a maximum-load acceleration/climate-control demand. </i></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-a3-sportback-e-tron"><b>Audi A3 Sportback e-tron®</b></a> - my friend Nathan (an Audi owner) received an “invitation” from Audi to test-drive this new 2016 offering a few weeks before AltCar Expo. When he forwarded the invite to me, it was the first I’d heard of the product. The A3 e-tron will be Audi’s first plug-in hybrid, and I’ve just read that they announced their intentions to offer plug-in hybrid versions of all their vehicle categories - the plug-in Q7 will debut next year.<br />
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Driving an A3 e-tron at an alternative fuel convention is a standout experience, especially for a gear-head. Every other vehicle at these events is either attempting to invisibly behave like any other internal-combustion commuter vehicle, or because of their electric-only propulsion, simply doesn’t seem like what most citizens have experienced automotively. Hardly anything at these events could be considered remotely “sporty” - many play to the tree-hugger community, and others try to hide their green intentions under a bushel.<br />
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The A3 had a typically Teutonic interior - black and purposeful. On the road, it’s got a taut suspension, and although <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-audi-a3-e-tron-sportback-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive-review">Car & Driver</a> say it weighs 750 pounds(!) more than a conventional A3 (actually, C&D’s own publications give the same weight for the e-tron and conventional A3, but Audi’s website says 3,616 vs. 3,175), the A3 e-tron didn’t feel heavy. In the “Dynamic” driving mode, we had very brief, exciting blasts from two stoplights under full gas and electric power, with the DSG gearbox (my first-ever time with a dual-clutch system) popping off two lightning shifts in about 100 yards before I had to brake for mid-city traffic. </div>
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The base price for the lowest trim A3 e-tron is $37,900. The Audi rep who went on the test-drive with us quoted something four thousand lower, which got me unnecessarily excited (in retrospect, I think he was quoting a hopeful post-federal-rebate price - an all-too-common marketing practice among EV manufacturers now). Even though both our Ford Focus Electric and the Chevrolet Volt had MSRPs of $40,000 two years ago, they have both fallen in price dramatically - the Focus is now under $30K, and the 2016 Volt MSRP is $33,170. However, the Focus Electric and Volt both qualify for the maximum Federal Tax Credit for Electric Vehicles incentive of $7,500 (smaller incentives are awarded to certified vehicles with smaller battery capacities), and up to $2,500 from the State of California. The Audi rep said that there had been some stumble in qualifying the A3 e-tron for Federal Tax Credit - articles online mention that they “expect” a $4,138 tax credit, but that’s obviously not certain. Even if they do qualify for Fed and CA incentives, the A3 e-tron will still be $5K more than a Volt.</div>
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<i>Very</i> german.</div>
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The Audi’s 8.8 kWh battery pack provides enough capacity for Audi to quote a 31 mile electric-only range - which equals the outgoing Volt, and is more than most plug-in electrics, which typically provide around twenty miles of battery-powered propulsion.</div>
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The current landscape of alternatively-fueled vehicles is a mixed bag. Some manufacturers are holding still, doing the minimum to fulfill California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) quotas (so-called “compliance cars”) - of these, some claim they are selling at a loss. Other manufacturers seem truly committed to a future of ZEV production, and apparently intend to profit from them. IC-electric hybrids have been commonplace for some time, and appear to actually be instrumental in allowing auto manufacturers to achieve mandated efficiency and emission goals. The number of plug-in hybrid offerings seems to have grown beyond being a curiosity. Here in California, a unique alternative-fuel vehicle market in terms of legislation, special-interest support, climate and consumer mentality, I see several BEVs and plug-in hybrids a day. This doesn’t reflect the attitudes or practicality of operating these vehicles for the rest of the country - as I’ve mentioned, operating a BEV in cold climes would be a lose-lose (running the cabin heat in our Focus Electric reduces range by as much as 30 per cent, and battery efficiency in that kind of weather would also be severely diminished). </div>
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Are these “early days?” Maybe. It’s hard to guess whether the current models of automobiles using something other than refined fossil-fuels represent the beginnings of what the general public will be driving in decades to come. Much of the current alternative-fuel market plays to a customer base who want to affect environmental and political change. Some customers perceive alternative-fuel car ownership as a financial benefit (the amount we’ve spent on electricity is less than 20% of the amount of money we’d have spent on gasoline on our old daily driver). A small segment are just interested hobbyists. Whether it’s to meet federal/state mandates for fuel-efficency or emissions, public relations, or actual profit, auto manufacturers continue to develop new offerings. Succeed or fail, we’ll all learn something from the results.</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-29998244913173439322014-09-14T16:32:00.001-07:002014-09-14T16:32:57.123-07:00Electric Air Conditioning Technology BenefitsJapanese industrial manufacturing giant DENSO <a href="http://denso-europe.com/densos-new-inline-e-compressor-makes-world-debut-on-ford-focus-electric/">debuted a new electrically-powered air conditioning compressor</a> in the Ford Focus Electric in 2012.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlh45UiYcJNQtOKvnOWdC6rfWSzfuQ1F94ovaj0CljMD02zaPU_1-7ew4gKwtS3e_-_xL2NUQXgPGEQjDXrCJ10OoMg4CWCUoLQTkERHsqvMYTiQfjI9nt36O2vB_tZVYCo-zSjacBoVw/s1600/Focus+110+Degrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlh45UiYcJNQtOKvnOWdC6rfWSzfuQ1F94ovaj0CljMD02zaPU_1-7ew4gKwtS3e_-_xL2NUQXgPGEQjDXrCJ10OoMg4CWCUoLQTkERHsqvMYTiQfjI9nt36O2vB_tZVYCo-zSjacBoVw/s1600/Focus+110+Degrees.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-September can be toasty in SoCal</td></tr>
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During our first summer of owning a 2013 Focus Electric, the benefits of having a variable-load A/C compressor in terms of energy use have become noticeable as I've observed the Focus Electric's user-configurable Climate energy use display. On days like today, when air temperatures on the asphalt here in Los Angeles exceed 110°F, the Climate gauge peaks at over 4 kilowatts of power when I first turn on the cooling in the hot car. But after running for only 5 to 10 minutes, I can maintain a comfortable cabin (at least in the front seats, with the A/C ducts blowing cool air directly on us) by eventually dropping the fan to its lowest speed - where the display indicates that the Climate system is consuming well under 1.0 kW. In the past, A/C compressors were not variable-load. They were on or off, and temperatures were either modulated by duty-cycling the compressor with an electrically-activated clutch, or by mixing engine coolant-heated air.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaeOUg2oE5WEZV1n2J99EIbdlOQ3v1dH4uAmYTNTAbc9xOEqqgDd4isfJeFkuB5kndCnkAmDxQUzW276O_Se8tl9E-JHFZlYsULHKKRDgXB1sZOeqz-SUV4JjG1bsIK0xi2NRTsZqGpE/s1600/Focus+AC+4kW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaeOUg2oE5WEZV1n2J99EIbdlOQ3v1dH4uAmYTNTAbc9xOEqqgDd4isfJeFkuB5kndCnkAmDxQUzW276O_Se8tl9E-JHFZlYsULHKKRDgXB1sZOeqz-SUV4JjG1bsIK0xi2NRTsZqGpE/s1600/Focus+AC+4kW.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just after entering the Focus Electric in 110°F temps, the Climate system works hard to cool the cabin, using nearly 5 kW. But within minutes, the HVAC system can maintain comfortable temps at under 1 kW.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-secret-to-limiting-power.html">wrote previously</a> that I do NOT use the automatic thermostat in our Focus Electric in hot weather, leaving the temperature set to "LO" to avoid the HVAC system activating its high-wattage <b>heater</b> to regulate the amount of cooling. I've practiced that for this entire summer, and the strategy works, except that sometimes it gets <i>too</i> cold when temps are merely "very warm" (85-90F), and even pointing the vents away from passengers and turning the fan all the way down doesn't moderate the cooling enough. This demonstrates how effective and impressive the DENSO-based A/C is, but how Ford still should have some way to regulate cooling without turning on its 6+ kW heater. When it's 82F outside and muggy, running the A/C at "LO" will make it <i>really</i> cold inside, and turning the A/C switch OFF results in immediately sticky conditions in the cabin.<br />
<br />
And as we head into winter, I'm reminded that the Defrost system appears to run both A/C compressor and heater to clear the windows. This is a typical strategy of all cars, but because the Focus Electric's cabin heater is electrically-powered, and uses a devastating amount of power (while heat in traditional cars is scavenged from the engine cooling system), a driver has no choice but to run the range-sapping defroster in order to maintain fog-free window interiors for safety.<br />
<br />
So bravo to DENSO for what appears to be a superb solution for efficiently compressing refrigerant with electricity. I've been able to maintain the same 245 Watt-hours/mile consumption rate that I'd averaged in the winter and spring months before hot weather arrived. I've read that electric A/C compressors are a trend among all motor vehicles, and I'm encouraged by our own experiences.<br />
<br />Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-7279177774257025922014-09-09T17:22:00.004-07:002014-09-09T17:22:53.294-07:00Test Drive an EV Next Week!September 15-21 is <i><a href="https://driveelectricweek.org/">National Drive Electric Week</a></i>, organized in part by <a href="http://pluginamerica.org/">Plug-in America</a>, The <a href="http://sierraclub.org/">Sierra Club</a>, and the <a href="http://www.electricauto.org/">Electric Auto Association</a>, and partially sponsored by <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/features/">Nissan</a>.<br />
<br />
Events will take place around the U.S. - <a href="https://driveelectricweek.org/events.php">this search engine</a> promises to locate NDEW events by zip code.<br />
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<br />
If you live in Southern California, the City of Santa Monica will host the 9th Annual <a href="http://www.altcarexpo.com/">AltCar Expo</a>, where many manufacturers of alternatively fueled (electric, natural gas, hydrogen, etc.) vehicles provide free test-drives to attendees. <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We attended this event in 2012 and 2013, driving most of the available (<i>and not-so-available, like the exotic, rare and lease-only Honda Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell car</i>) electric, plug-in electric, compressed natural gas (CNG) and fuel-cell vehicles before deciding to lease a Ford Focus Electric last October.</span></span>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-56963339843530810352014-09-02T12:00:00.003-07:002014-09-05T11:33:43.193-07:00Blink Network Introduces Kilowatt-Hour Pricing & Reduced Time-Based IncrementsToday, I got an email from CarCharging, the new owner of Blink Network, announcing a change in pricing structure on September 2, 2014 for charging electric vehicles. In "states where such pricing models are permitted" (CA, CO, FL, HA, IL, MD, MN, NY, OR, UT, VA and DC), CarCharging says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Fees for Level 2 EV charging stations owned by Blink and operated on the Blink Network in the kWh eligible states will range from $0.39 to $0.79 per kWh, depending on the state and individual’s membership status. Fees for DCFC chargers owned by Blink and operated on the Blink Network in the eligible states will range from $0.49 to $0.69 per kWh, depending on the state and individual’s membership status.</i></blockquote>
Blink's previous pricing schemes sometimes charged the user for hours connected, even after charging had completed. This was a useful strategy to discourage the use of EVSE stations as private parking for EV owner, and to encourage turnover so that more EV owners could have access.<br />
<br />
While we have grumbled a few times about paying far more than the a fair price for charging because our parking stay continued hours after charging completed, I think I'd actually rather have the old system that provided a likelier opportunity for any arriving EV owner to take on charge by applying pressure on users to move on after charge completion. I'm really tired of finding EVs (mostly Tesla Model S) using spaces marked "Electric Vehicle Charging ONLY" as private parking spaces, without even the effort of connecting a charging cord. For those of us attempting to make a go of electric-only vehicles, use of public charging is NOT about parking privileges.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.carcharging.com/about/news/all/carcharging-introduces-new-pricing-policies-enhances-functionality-blink-network/">10/2/2014 CarCharging's announcement of Blink Network pricing changes</a>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-88505184558472062982014-08-25T20:52:00.001-07:002014-08-26T00:19:41.742-07:00"Car & Driver" magazine: "Assault on Battery - Three Early Hybrid
Energy Storage Fears That Never Materialized"While thumbing through my backlog of unread automotive periodicals, I discovered this article from the June 2013 issue of <i>Car & Driver</i>. I appreciate the selection if topic, not just as a an EV owner, but because the popular media often fails to follow up on their own predictions about anything. <br>
<br>
<i>Car & Driver</i>, June 2013 "<a href="http://blog.caranddriver.com/assault-on-battery-three-early-hybrid-energy-storage-fears-that-never-materialized/">Assault on Battery - Three Early Hybrid Energy Storage Fears That Never Materialized</a>"Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-85457431136510780342014-05-23T03:53:00.000-07:002014-05-23T03:53:09.547-07:00Will an EV Fit Our Driving Lifestyle?<span style="font-family: inherit;">We find that in discussions with acquaintances about the subject of EV ownership that the most common reservation about ownership of the current crop of EVs offering ranges of 75 to 80 miles is, "Yes, but what if I suddenly decide to . . ." In nearly every case, these comments have been made by individuals who have absolutely rigid daily schedules with invariable driving routes, and are the least impulsive of characters. <br /><br />I, on the other hand, am known to set off on a mission with little to no notice. <br /><br />And yet, after seven and a half months of EV ownership, we have yet to jump in one of our gasoline-powered vehicles because a trip exceeds the range of our Focus Electric. <br /><br />To be fair, we're trying harder than most to make the EV work. To that end, we're sometimes defining our itinerary by the requirements of recharging on the road. If we were driving a hydrocarbon-fueled car, some of those trips would have been different, and a few would have taken significantly less time due to fueling (<i>charging</i>). We're treating this EV ownership as a learning adventure, and so it's interesting and fulfilling to go through these new experiences. But we're actually doing <b>more</b> exploring than we would have before owning the EV; driving more often, and further from home than we typically would, just to see how bad it is.<br /><br />And you know? It's not bad at all. <br /><br />Sure, once our round trip exceeds 70 miles, it takes some extra thinking (which I find fun, but many wouldn't). When it's a LOT further - approaching two full battery charges, we look for excuses to spend the hours charging doing something useful or fun in proximity to the charging site. Did we do this before owning an EV? No. But the point is that rather than Cramping Our Style, our EV has encouraged us to explore its limits. We haven't called AAA to tow us to a charging site. And we've never gotten caught out so that we end up sitting in our car waiting for enough charge to get to our next waypoint. <br /><br />So what's the takeaway?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>When we were deciding whether an EV would fit our lifestyle, I discovered that we'd only driven our daily driver about 5,000 miles during the previous 12 months. As it stands right now, we're on track to put about 8,000 miles on the Focus Electric every 12 months. That's how enthusiastically we've been using it.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Living in Los Angeles, round-trip distances to points of interest can certainly challenge even two full charges (<i>160 miles</i>) of our Focus Electric. And yet we've never resorted to another form of intra-city transport since getting an EV. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I've <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-public-ev-charging-stations-might.html">written previously</a>, the current state of public charging infrastructure is such that it's unlikely to be truly useful to most people. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I think the 80 mile typical range of a single, daily EV charge suits the majority of drivers. For anyone with a predictable itinerary under 60 miles per day (<i>many sources claim the average daily U.S. commute is 32 miles, and I'm allowing for impromptu side trips</i>), the cost of operation and ease of use make an EV a perfectly serviceable second car (<i>we actually think of our EV as our primary vehicle, and our small motorhome as a secondary vehicle for even short- and medium-distance adventures</i>).</span>Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-11378925441371326862014-05-22T20:08:00.000-07:002014-05-26T03:51:13.822-07:00Avoid Automatic Temperature Control to Minimize Range Impact from Air Conditioning in a Ford Focus ElectricIt’s now May 2014, and we’re entering our 7th month of leasing a 2013 Ford Focus Electric. Here in Southern California, we’re having a hot spell, with temps touching 100 degrees, and thus we enter a new phase of our experiment that is EV Ownership: hot weather operation. <br />
<br />
Not having an internal combustion engine (ICE) from which to utilize waste heat, the Ford Focus Electric (FFE) uses power from its main 325 volt, 23 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion propulsion battery to power what is obviously some kind of electrical resistance heater, probably not unlike the glowing wires in your toaster or hair dryer. Based upon my observations and crude calculations (<i>using data from the FFE’s own range-estimating battery gauge</i>), the heater uses electricity at a rate of around 6,000 watts - about the same as the typical household electric oven, and what I'm guessing the FFE requires to move through the air at 30 mph. This has a devastating impact upon vehicle range. The FFE has a nominal range of 80 miles or so (<i>potentially going over 120 miles in low-speed, stop-and-go traffic, or only 60-65 miles at 65 mph on a hilly road</i>). If the heater were powered for the duration of a full-battery trip, its total range would be reduced by about 30% - dropping the range from 80 miles to around 56. Yikes.<br />
<br />
<div>
I’m sure we’re not the only EV users who choose to wear warm clothes and make do with our seat heaters whenever possible. We live in Los Angeles, and our mild local weather played a part in our decision to take the EV plunge. I probably wouldn’t have "gone electric" if we lived in the FFE’s home state of Michigan. Between low-temperature battery efficiency loss and having no choice but to run the heater, I wouldn’t be surprised to lose half of the Focus’ range in truly cold climes. But SoCal winters rarely reach the 30s, so that’s not an issue.</div>
<div>
In my early experiments with the FFE’s HVAC (<i>Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning</i>) system, I was <b>as</b> struck by the apparently small range impact of the A/C system as I was by the traumatically <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2014/01/cabin-heat-enemy-of-ev-range.html">high burden of heating the cabin</a>. This is particularly impressive, since the FFE has an electrically-powered refrigerant compressor, and because A/C compressor load has historically been a significant contributor to energy use, even in conventionally-powered automobiles. (<i>Since writing this, I’ve read that electric A/C compressors are a trend in automobiles in general, so they apparently provide some efficiency benefits.</i>) Furthermore, the Focus Electric’s A/C system is fairly effective, maintaining a comfortable cabin even during an hour of 100 degree driving, despite bright California sunshine and the FFE’s generous greenhouse.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM WITH FORD’S HVAC SYSTEM IN THE FOCUS ELECTRIC: IT TURNS ON THE ELECTRIC HEATER TO MAINTAIN A TARGET A/C TEMPERATURE</b><br />
Doing experiments today in 98 degree weather, I observed a 10.7% reduction in estimated range by engaging the A/C and selecting “LO” temperature (<i>the HVAC system never stops cooling at this setting</i>). But as I raised the target temperature on the HVAC system until it exceeded what was the apparently the cabin's current temperature (<i>at 71° F</i>), the battery range dropped precipitously (<i>see graphic below</i>), reducing range by over 26%. Obviously, the system was engaging its electric heater to modulate the HVAC temperature.<br />
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<img height="588" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jmsBSkByFUuUY0s7b-K1O_Cs6505hx792E_Ik9_vEEr8nLaWxFwFqb0nPdD7Fi-28yGMbYjSMK2YVMO5iIqOvb8oZoWpGt2OJIGhR6q5FbNyTvmAYytlinNU5sx5-HP6tg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
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In an internal-combustion vehicle, with its vast supply of free waste heat, mixing in warm air with dry, refrigerated air to adjust temperature is a practical approach (<i>though running a compressor full-time does impact fuel use and vehicle emissions</i>). But in the range-challenged world of BEVs (<i>Battery Electric Vehicles</i>), it is decidedly NOT practical. <br />
<br />
I appreciate that the Focus Electric is a “conversion” of sorts - that is, it’s not a ground-up design of a vehicle intended to run on electric propulsion alone. Ford obviously makes and sells only enough of these to fulfill federal mandates or incentives (<i>only a few thousand have been produced in two years</i>), and their decision to engineer a BEV based upon their successful and mature Focus platform is sound (<i>Ford proudly mentions that Focus Electrics are built amongst their fossil fuel-burning siblings on the same production lines in Wayne, Michigan</i>). I accept that like some of the other adaptations of existing platforms, there are compromises that manufacturers and users have to accept: the cargo area is severely diminished by battery pack; just maintaining a fog-free windshield costs 30% of the vehicle’s range; and vehicle dynamics reveal that Ford didn’t engineer the Focus Electric’s suspension for that added 600-odd pounds of battery.</div>
<div>
(<i>I’m a harsh critic of any product in general, and automobiles is a lifelong hobby, so I’m particularly picky about vehicle design and performance. But though I sound negative, the Ford Focus Electric is generally a dandy car, and we enjoy using it daily.</i>)</div>
<div>
But having the energy-sapping 6 kW heater turn on in a BEV when it’s 100 degrees outside is absurd. Perhaps there’s some reason they don’t want to cycle the electric refrigerant compressor off and on, as conventional auto A/C compressors did for decades. Perhaps the sensibility of the designers is to always provide low-humidity cabin air, regardless of outside temperatures. Many contemporary automobiles run their A/C compressors full-time, mechanically routing some or all of the dehumidified “conditioned” air through the engine-coolant heater core as necessary to supply the cabin with desired air temperatures. But this is an <i>electric car</i>, and it’s already a hard sell to convince the public to buy automobiles with 1/4 of the range of their existing vehicle, and which takes hours instead of minutes to refuel. Further crippling the range of the vehicle in <i>hot</i> weather (<i>and most chemical batteries neither like being hot nor cold</i>) because the heater is employed to counter the A/C system's cooling - that’s just asinine. And although the gas-engined Focuses probably use warm-air blending in their HVAC systems - and the FFE has no doubt inherited much of that system - Ford probably had to design and manufacture an electric heater which surely didn’t exist in the conventional Focus. So they must have had the opportunity to configure the control systems <b>not</b> to energize the heater when in “A/C” mode. <br />
<br />
In the last few days, I’ve discovered that operating the Focus Electric’s air conditioning system in high-90s weather and bright sunshine results in: 1) a comfortable cabin environment; and 2) the HVAC system’s apparent inability to reduce cabin temperatures much beyond that comfortable temperature. So while it appears that the target temperature on the HVAC system can be set to a typical temperature: say, 72 or 74 degrees, with the attendant 11% range loss in 100-degree conditions - the reality is that if the outdoor temperature then drops to, say, 85 degrees, the A/C system is then able to achieve those target temps. At the point at which the target temp is achieved, the FFE turns on its heater to maintain that target, as evidenced by a sudden reduction in estimated range. So ironically, the energy consumption for cooling the cabin in the hottest weather is far lower than if the temperatures are cooler (<i>if the HVAC system is allowed to automatically control the temperature</i>). <br />
<br />
<b>MY SOLUTION FOR LOW-POWER A/C OPERATION</b></div>
<div>
My strategy for minimizing energy usage while cooling the cabin is simply never to set a target temperature. I set the HVAC target temperature to the “LO” minimum setting, and adjust the cabin temp by adjusting the fan speed, Recirculation mode and vent openings. This prevents the system from ever reaching a target temp and energizing the heater.</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>If it gets too cool:</li>
<ul>
<li>Decrease HVAC fan speed</li>
<li>Re-aim the vents away from occupants</li>
<li>Close vents partially or completely</li>
<li>Turn the Recirculation mode off, so that the system uses warmer outside air</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>If it gets too warm:</li>
<ul>
<li>Open vents and aim more directly at occupants</li>
<li>Increase HVAC fan speed</li>
<li>Turn Recirculation mode on, so that the system ingests pre-cooled cabin air</li>
</ul>
</ul>
Manually turning the A/C mode switch off and on when the cabin feels too warm or cool, like automobile HVAC thermostats of days past, will also work. This will use the least energy short of using no refrigeration at all. But this is a very inconvenient and invasive way to operate the vehicle.</div>
<div>
(<i>NOTE: It’s important to also set the temperature target to “LO” when simply ventilating without running the A/C system, for the same reason. If for any reason the HVAC system measures the cabin temperature as being lower than the requested temperature - i.e., the air cools as the sun sets - it wil energize the heater. Again, in internal-combustion cars, this warming of air is essentially free. But in an EV, this shouldn’t be the automatic behavior of the HVAC system.</i>)<br />
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<b>NO AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL FOR US</b></div>
<div>
I find this all more than a little disappointing. This is the first vehicle we've ever owned that had a fully "automatic" HVAC system, allowing the left and right cabin occupants to simply pick a temperature and ignore the system, which then provides comfortable temperatures by whatever means necessary. But since the system is hardly energy-efficient or well-designed for EV use, I'm unlikely to ever engage the automatic feature.<br />
<br />
Some of the inefficiency of internal-combustion engines (ICE) results in constant waste heat emitted from the cooling radiators and exhaust pipes of those vehicles. Our Focus Electric's cost of operation is a fraction of a similar ICE vehicles, partly because its systems suffer less thermal loss. However, having to then generate cabin heat for occupant comfort and safety becomes an energy burden which must be accounted for and borne by the same economically- and dimensionally-limited electro-chemical batteries which currently constrain EV range and refueling time.<br />
<br />
<b>WHAT'S THE ANSWER?</b></div>
<div>
In this particular case of the Ford Focus Electric, I think a lot of improvement might be gained by minor software and hardware changes. If I could, I'd just disable the electrical heater in the summer altogether (<i>although I think it may be involved in battery pack heating and cooling, which probably takes place year-round</i>).<br />
<br />
I recently read in an online forum of Focus Electric users that some anomalous behavior of the HVAC system (<i>sometimes powering up with the blower in full blast, always turning on the A/C mode with the fan, etc.</i>) could be remedied by rebooting the car's infamous MyFord Touch system. This suggests that perhaps the “heater with A/C” behavior about which I’m ranting here is under software (<i>designed by Ford, and running on the Microsoft Auto operating system</i>) control. So there’s some possibility - even hope? - that the behavior could be changed - or at least made user-optional - by a future firmware upgrade. Yeah, right.<br />
<br />
I'd like to think that purpose-built electric vehicles might incorporate better ideas about scavenging and routing the inevitable waste heat created in the vehicle's energy and propulsion systems, keeping them in thermal reservoirs for use in cabin climate, and generating additional heat as economically as possible. In our Focus Electric, simply attempting to prevent the windshield from fogging in cold weather - a safety-related issue - requires energizing the monstrous battery-zapping heater. Ideally, there should be a very low-power defogging heater which can run constantly in these conditions.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>CONCLUSIONS</b></div>
<div>
Carrying around stored electrical energy for automobile propulsion remains a challenge in search of a solution. Although the Tesla Model S would appear to have achieved something with a claimed 300 mile range, it's 85 kilowatt-hour battery contributes substantially to its $90,000+ price (<i>which may not be profitable</i>) and certainly to the car's massive 4,700 pounds. And while the Model S has a range which sounds similar to a fossil-fueled car, even its proprietary, semi-exotic and rare Supercharger charging stations take 30 minutes to add 170 miles of range. Use existing public charging infrastructure to recharge your Tesla Model S, and it takes the same 20 miles/hour as most other EVs - not even remotely like a gas-station fill-up. If future battery solutions provide similar range at a fraction of the cost and half the weight and volume, having a comfortable cabin in an EV will cease to be an extravagance.<br />
<br />
For now, you can stay as warm or as cool as you like, as long as you're not trying for maximum range.<br />
<br />
<b>ADDENDUM</b><br />
<i>5/26/2014: I've performed additional testing. Here are some results.</i><br />
<br />
The behavior where the FFE’s HVAC system energizes the heater while in A/C mode is complex. Here are observations I have made which characterize the system’s apparently energizing the electric heater to balance cooling in order to maintain a target temperature. Notice that the results are dependent upon a combination of ambient temperature and selected HVAC target temperature:<br /><ul>
<li>First, configured the Message Center display (left of the speedometer) to display MyView, and configured MyView to display Accessory Power. With HVAC off, the Climate level displayed no power use.</li>
<ul>
<li>With outdoor temperature reported as 98°F, in bright sunshine:</li>
<li>Turned on the HVAC system, and turned on the A/C (NOT using “Auto” mode).</li>
<li>Set target temperature to 73°F. </li>
<li>MyView displayed about 1kW of power use for Climate.</li>
<li>After allowing the A/C to cool the cabin for 20 minutes of driving, only small variations in Climate power use occurred. </li>
<ul>
<li>This is apparently because when outside temperatures were very high and the vehicle was in direct sunlight, the A/C was unable to achieve the temperature.</li>
<li>Increasing the target temperature while observing the Climate power level, the power level increased to 5+kW when the target temperature was set to 78°F - apparently the current measured cabin temperature.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>CONCLUSION: At very high outdoor temperatures, the system is incapable of cooling the cabin to what might be considered typical comfort temperatures: i.e., 72-75 degrees F. Because the system cannot achieve the selected temps, the heater is never energized to balance the refrigeration system. </b></li>
</ul>
<li>With outdoor temperature reported as 80°F, in bright sunshine:</li>
<ul>
<li>Turned on the HVAC system, and turned on the A/C (NOT using “Auto” mode).</li>
<li>Increased the target temperature until MyView’s Climate power increased to over 5kW - in this instance, this occurred at 75°F.</li>
<li>Reduced the target temperature to 74°F at which point Climate power dropped to <b>less than 1kW</b>. (Setting the temperature to "LO" appears to <i>constantly</i> use 1 to 1.5kW, so setting a target temperature <i>does</i> potentially use less power, but only if the user constantly adjusts the temperature to chase the cabin temp.)</li>
<li>After allowing the A/C to cool the cabin for less than a minute, Climate power raised to 5+kW.</li>
<li>After a few minutes more of operation, Climate power fell again to under 1kW. Allowing the system to continue to run resulted in the repeated cycling of the 5+kW Climate reading.</li>
<li><b>CONCLUSION: At warm outdoor temperatures (which in conjunction with greenhousing effects create uncomfortably warm cabin conditions), the A/C system can easily cool the cabin to the desired temp. When that temperature is achieved, the HVAC system energizes the heater to balance the refrigerated air. </b></li>
</ul>
<li>With outdoor temperature reported as 62°F, at night:</li>
<ul>
<li>Turned on the HVAC system, and turned on the A/C (NOT using “Auto” mode).</li>
<li>Increased the target temperature until MyView’s Climate power increased to over 5kW - in this instance, this occurred at 64°F.</li>
<li>Reduced the target temperature to 62°F at which point Climate power dropped to around 1kW.</li>
<li>After allowing the A/C to cool the cabin for 20 minutes, Climate power never increased.</li>
<li><b>CONCLUSION: Uncertain. The implication is that the A/C system was incapable of reducing the cabin temperature enough for the interior thermometer to register 62°F. It’s unlikely that any user would wish to cool their cabin in these conditions, however.</b></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-30195990786174981172014-05-11T20:43:00.001-07:002014-05-12T07:33:01.675-07:0010 Things You Should Know About Charging Electric Vehicles<i>This is a recap of concepts I've covered <b>at length</b> in previous posts.</i><br>
<ul>
<li>1) It's pointless to be able to "search for nearby charging stations," unless you're prepared to wait at least 1 hour for every 20 miles of charge you need.</li>
<li>2) There aren't nearly enough public charging sites to <i>actually matter</i>. If one happens to be in walking distance of a place you need to go, consider yourself lucky. <i>(By the same token, if you know of a charging site at which you'd like to charge, it's not likely to be available - see #5.)</i></li>
<li>3) Yes, you can travel further than the full range of your EV's battery by stopping to charge. But if you do not plan carefully, you will either be stranded or find yourself sitting in your car for hours while it charges.</li>
<li>4) Public charging stations work, but how useful they are depends upon your level of commitment and/or spirit of adventure.</li>
<li>5) There's no guarantee or even likelihood that any given public EVSE will be available. It may be:</li>
<ul>
<li><i>non-existent</i></li>
<li><i>non-operational (broken, or never completed as an installation project)</i></li>
<li><i>charging another EV</i></li>
<li><i>inaccessible because an EV or ICE (internal-combustion engine) vehicle is using the space only for parking</i></li>
</ul>
<li>6) Even though most public charging stations deliver around 6-7kW (kilowatts), some don't.</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Those that can achieve at least 6-7kW replenish most vehicles at about 20 miles/hour. But some vehicles can only charge at about half that rate (i.e., some Nissan Leaf models have only 3.3kW chargers), and some public EVSEs don't provide more than 2-3kW, even to vehicles capable of charging at higher rates.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>7) Most for-pay public charging stations provide a way for EV users who have not previously established an account to pay for charging.</li>
<ul>
<li><i>This involves a telephone call, a credit card, and a way to identify the charging station.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>8) For-pay charging services may bill: a) by the hour of charging; b) by the kilowatt-hour <i>(amount of electricity transferred)</i>; or c) by the hour of being plugged in <i>(regardless of charging)</i>.</li>
<li>9) Regardless of your vehicle's battery capacity, the time required to replenish the battery at most public charging sites is about the same:</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Most "Level 2" EVSEs provide around 6 kilowatts, providing about 20 miles of range for every hour of charging.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>10) For many users, <b>public charging is irrelevant</b>. If you don't drive more than 70 miles a day, don't worry about it.</li>
</ul>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-42211771606998517392014-02-14T16:06:00.001-08:002014-02-16T15:50:22.546-08:00Planning ahead to travel beyond the Single ChargeBecause public EV-charging infrastructure is quite sparse, it's challenging to travel beyond a single charge. Making regular trips which require charging away from home can become routine. But with a little planning, even unfamiliar destinations beyond a single charge can be achieved.<br />
<br />
I've made up the expression <i>single charge</i> to represent any round-trip travel which can be completed without recharging one's EV. It's an important concept, because things get considerably more complicated beyond what's possible on a full battery charge. When your vehicle only has a range of about 80 miles and takes 4 hours to completely refuel, time management is an important aspect of attempting trips which require refueling. In the four and a half months we've owned our first all-electric vehicle in Southern California, we've challenged ourselves to use our Ford Focus Electric, regardless of the destination. So far, we've never reverted back to our gasoline-powered vehicle. In that time, we've probably made only six or seven trips which necessitated a charge to return home. The longest round trip was exactly 200% of our battery range, for which we added about 15% - about 20 miles - of extra range. So we had to add 115% of a full charge while we were out and about - a total of about 5 hours of charging for a trip which took about 2.5 total driving hours.<br />
<br />
In my previous posts, <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-do-i-charge-my-ev.html"><i>How Do I Charge My EV?</i></a> and <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-public-ev-charging-stations-might.html"><i>Why public EV charging stations might not be as useful as you think</i></a>, I discussed the state of public charging infrastructure. The upshot of the latter post is that there's rarely a public charger where you happen to <b>need</b> to charge your vehicle, but the trick to charging on the road is deciding whether you can do something you already need to do <b>where the EV charging is</b>. This is obviously nothing like going to a gas station for a 5 minute fill up. But it <i>can</i> work, with a little thought. <br />
<br />
Here are some important strategies we've developed and lessons we've learned:<br />
<ul>
<li>You can't have someone bring you a gallon of electricity. Emergency <a href="http://www.plugincars.com/aaa-introduces-roadside-emergency-charging-electric-cars-107663.html">roadside EV charging trucks</a> may exist <i>somewhere</i>, but I'm not counting on them <i>anywhere</i>. If you run out of charge completely, you'll be getting towed.</li>
<li>You must be aware of how much real-world range you have, and how long it takes to add charge to your battery pack.</li>
<li>It's tricky to anticipate how much battery charge a given trip will take. Many variables, including traffic conditions, elevation changes, and even the mood of the driver can affect EV range.</li>
<li>Not all charging stations (EVSEs) charge at the same rate. Your plans can be torpedoed by a given amount of charge taking 6 hours instead of the expected 3.</li>
<li>Figure out if there's something you can do wherever you find a charging station, for as long as you need to charge.</li>
<ul>
<li>Meals are the most practical solution; shopping can work as well. Most EVSEs are located in or near retail areas, so both of these services are likely to be within walking distance. </li>
</ul>
<li>To avoid charging in an unfamiliar neighborhood after dark, try to charge on the outbound leg of the trip earlier in the day.</li>
<li>We prefer to charge on the road <i>before</i> an appointment or event, so that (<i>assuming it's a one-charge trip</i>) we won't have to think about it again after the event. </li>
<li>Charging infrastructure is flaky and unpredictable. Never assume that your planned primary or even secondary charging locations will be functional or available. Plan to have enough charge to drive to another charging location.</li>
<li>Many townships here in SoCal have a municipal (often free) charging station. But they're typically located in a parking lot at city hall, which may not be a place where you want to walk or sit in your car after dark. </li>
<li>If you see a car plugged in at a charging station, don't assume they'll <i>ever</i> leave. We've seen several cars in shopping center EV spaces that were there for 8+ hours.</li>
</ul>
<br /><ul>
</ul>
<h3>
CHARGING STRATEGY EXAMPLE</h3>
<br />
Let's put some of this wisdom to work in a scenario:<br />
<ul>
<li>We're traveling to a destination that is <b>40 miles away</b>, over unknown terrain (<i>we don't know about elevation changes, which soak up a lot of range</i>). So our <b>round-trip is 80 miles</b>, and we'll be traveling on Los Angeles freeways.</li>
<ul>
<li>Worst case for battery range, traffic will be light and fast, and we'll travel at 65mph or faster (<i>because of aerodynamic drag, traveling 60mph uses 4 times the energy of going 30mph</i>).</li>
</ul>
<li>The nominal range of our battery pack is about 80 miles at 60-65mph on level ground.</li>
<ul>
<li>This can increase by a substantial amount if the traffic is slow, but <b>I'd only count on going 70-75 miles</b>.</li>
<li><a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2014/01/cabin-heat-enemy-of-ev-range.html">Turning on the heater in our Focus Electric's climate control</a> can reduce range by more than <i>30 per cent</i>.</li>
</ul>
<li>I'd like to have <b>at least 10-15 extra miles of range</b> than anticipated.</li>
<li>On a 240 volt, 30 amp <i>Level 2</i> charging station, our EV will add <b>20 miles of range to its battery every hour</b>. This is a typical rate for most EVs. (<i>Be warned that some L2 EVSEs are configured to charge at a lower rate. However, most will achieve the 30A rate.)</i></li>
<li>So if our battery delivers 75 miles of range, and we add one hour of L2 charging, then 75 + 20 = 95 miles. That's about 15 extra miles over our 80 mile target. </li>
<li>We want to add 20+ miles of range at some point during the day. We'd prefer daylight hours. </li>
<li>We can't <i>add</i> 20 miles of charge <b>until we've <i>used</i> at least 20 miles of charge</b>. So we use tools like <a href="http://plugshare.com/">PlugShare.com</a> to locate a charging station that is on our route, and at <i>least</i> 20 miles away from home.</li>
<ul>
<li>We use the Yelp! links and other search engines to determine if there are dining/shopping establishments close to the located charging site.</li>
<li>We also locate a few contingency charging sites further down the route, in case the first choice fails.</li>
<li>Online and smartphone EV charging location-finding tools promise to show real-time status of whether chargers are in-use, but that doesn't help if someone plugs in 30 seconds before you arrive, or are parked in the space but not connected to the charger (<i>and thus EVSEs don't show "in use" status)</i>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>We stop at the scheduled charging site, and (<i>assuming that the charging station is available and operationalI)</i> have a leisurely 1+ hour meal or shopping trip.</li>
<li>Using smartphone apps on for our car, or from the charging services, we monitor our car's charging progress. The car <i>and</i> charging network apps notify us when the car has completely charged (<i>if we choose to let it reach full charge</i>). </li>
<li>With a full battery, we complete our day's journey, knowing that we have 10+ miles of surplus charge for unexpectedly high power consumption or a (small) side-trip.</li>
</ul>
Based on the experiences and criteria I've mentioned above, online and smartphone tools for planning EV trips and finding/using charging locations aren't very good at this point. Most of them prioritize finding a charging site nearby. If you are looking for a way to charge your EV nearby, you're probably too late. No EV owner would think this way for long. Ideally, the tools should put as much emphasis on what <i>else</i> you can do while charging at a given location as the charging itself. You may be waiting for many hours for your vehicle to charge, so you'll really want something to do while you wait. And navigation tools (<i>including EV in-car navigation systems</i>) should take elevation changes into consideration for range estimates.<br />
<br />
<div>
<h3>
GOING TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE </h3>
<div>
<br />
If you have a good relationship with the home or business owner at your destination, this opens up the possibilities of charging at both ends of your commute. The important parameters are:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>the charging rate of your charging hardware</li>
<ul>
<li>the "Level 1" EVSE (<i>discussed in my <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-do-i-charge-my-ev.html">earlier post</a></i>) included with most EVs charges at 3 to 4 miles per hour; Level 2 EVSEs that are typically permanent installations charge at 15 to 25 miles per hour</li>
<li>there are portable L2 EVSEs (<i>we chose to purchase a "plug-in" L2 EVSE in the event that we think we might have access to 240 volt, 30+ amp connections "in the field"</i>) which can be transported with the vehicle</li>
<li>if the destination is frequent, you may choose to permanently install an L2 EVSE there, but the cost of hardware and installation isn't trivial</li>
</ul>
<li>how long you'll be visiting</li>
<ul>
<li>The math is simple: <i>required miles to complete journey</i> / <i>charging rate in miles per hr</i> = <i>hours to charge</i></li>
</ul>
<li>how much charge you need to return home</li>
<ul>
<li>Depending upon how much battery charge you have upon arrival, how far the return trip is, and how much surplus you want as range insurance.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<b>EXAMPLE</b>: When you arrive at Grandma's house after a 60 mile drive, your EV shows 20 miles of remaining range. You need at <i>least</i> 40 miles of additional range (<i>but it may take more or less power to make the reciprocal trip on the same route, depending upon elevation changes or traffic</i>), and you'd like 10-15 mile of "pad." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you have a Level 1 EVSE and plug into a 120 volt outlet in Grandma's garage:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>55 miles to complete journey / 4 miles per hour @ L1 = 13.75 hours</b></blockquote>
If you have a portable Level 2 EVSE, and use an adapter to plug into the outlet for Grandma's electric oven (<i>and Grandma isn't planning on baking cookies for you while you're there</i>), or you pay to have an electrician install a 240 volt, 30 amp outlet for your EVSE at Grandma's:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>55 miles to complete journey / 20 miles per hour @ L1 = 2.75 hours</b></blockquote>
<div>
So if you're spending the night at Grandma's or don't mind listening to her talk for 14 hours, you can get by with Level 1 charging. But if you had L2, you could just have a meal, watch an episode of "<i>Murder She Wrote,"</i> and go home. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Will Grandma mind you using her electricity? She might, but in this example, with our Ford Focus Electric and at 20 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, that 55 miles of charge would cost about $3. You can leave it in her tip jar, if you think she minds.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
THIS IS A LOT OF TROUBLE, ISN'T IT?</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Many, if not most EV owners won't attempt journeys which exceed a single charge. That's really the expectation of manufacturers who are selling EVs now, and of consumers who purchase them with full knowledge of their range limitations. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sure, this is a lot more effort than using an internal-combustion vehicle. With most conventional cars, you could make at least two of the round trips in the example above on a single tank of fuel. But if you've read this far, you might just be the adventurous sort who welcomes such challenges of EV ownership. </div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-28345845105012004352014-02-13T18:30:00.000-08:002014-02-18T17:29:46.901-08:00Regenerative BrakingBack in 1999, we rented the now famous GM EV1 on a couple of occasions. Long interested in both automobiles and technology, it was only natural for me to be interested in what that project attempted and accomplished.<br />
<br />
One of the common press buzzwords for the EV1 was "regenerative braking." GM engineers would refer to it as "regen." They promise of regen was that the EV1 would attempt to recoup some of the energy wasted during deceleration. This energy would put back into the battery pack, rather than lost as heat, as is the case with traditional internal-combustion vehicles and friction braking systems (<i>which the EV1 also utilized</i>).<br />
<br />
After reading much hype about the complex engineering and motor/charging control system programming involved in the EV1's regenerative braking system design, I was disappointed when I finally saw empirical data of the increased range. I think that GM claimed something like three or four additional miles of range, and though the EV1 publicized a maximum range of over 100 miles, real-world range was more like 70. So the benefits were single-digit percentage of range improvement, at best.<br />
<br />
To be fair, if they really got 5 or 6 per cent improvement, that's pretty impressive, especially given that those first-generation EV1s used lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries take on charge at a significantly lower rate than the lithium-ion and lithium-polymer packs that power today's EVs and hybrids.<br />
<br />
Most if not all of today's mass-produced plug-in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles employ some sort of regenerative braking system in an attempt to increase the range/efficiency of these vehicles. The <a href="http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=93&t=4">millions</a> of hybrid vehicles that have been sold utilize regenerative braking systems and small battery packs to improve the energy efficiency of those vehicles.<br />
<br />
<h3>
SO WHAT IS REGENERATIVE BRAKING?</h3>
<br />
The idea behind regenerative braking is to exploit any opportunity in which the momentum of the vehicle needs to be diminished, and store as much of this energy harvested from either slowing the vehicle or maintaining speed while decreasing altitude on a downhill grade. The friction brakes employed in automobiles (<i>including EVs</i>) convert momentum into heat. When the throttle is lifted on an internal-combustion vehicle, the the vehicle's momentum is also converted into heat at it compresses air pumping through the engine (<i>in a manual-transmission vehicle</i>) or churns the fluid inside the automatic transmission's torque converter. In pursuit of greater efficiency, vehicles with regenerative braking attempt to replace these traditional momentum-transferring mechanisms with systems that store as much of that energy as possible for later use.<br />
<br />
Beginning almost a century ago, commuter light rail cars and buses have used mechanical storage mechanisms for this purpose, either spinning up a heavy flywheel or even winding a large spring mechanism as part of the braking system. When these frequent-stopping public transit vehicles were ready to depart for the next stop, the operator released the mechanically-stored energy to assist the vehicle's normal propulsion source in getting the vehicle moving from a standstill. Crude as these systems might seem today, the ideas are still valid (and still in use, in some cases) and provide useful energy-reducing benefits by salvaging some of the energy normally lost as heat.<br />
<br />
Today, in addition to the more well-publicized electrical battery regen systems employed in vehicles, there are ultra-high pressure compressed gas batteries used in urban public transit and delivery vehicles in much the same way as those flywheel and spring systems, to store as much energy as possible from any given stop to offset the enormous task of overcoming the loaded vehicle's inertia when stopped. Though none have been put into practical use in vehicles, many experiments have utilized high-speed electrically-powered flywheels as batteries for storing and returning energy from braking.<br />
<br />
<h3>
ELECTRIC REGEN</h3>
<br />
Electric motors and electric generators are very similar. Indeed, many electric motor designs function very well as generators.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>Thought Experiment</b>: Two identical, high-efficiency, permanent magnet electric motors are mounted on a tabletop. On each of these motors driveshafts is mounted a hand-crank. Between the two motors are connected two wires, so that the two motors and wires complete a circuit. If the hand crank of one motor is spun with sufficient speed and force, the other motor will begin to turn. If instead, the hand crank is turned on the second motor, the first motor will turn from the electrical energy passing through the circuit. If while turning the "generator" crank someone else places a load on the "motor" - perhaps by dragging their hand on the motor's spinning shaft/crank, the person cranking the generator will feel the effort increase. Likewise, if a low wattage light bulb powered by the generator is replaced by a higher-wattage bulb, the generator operator will feel the additional effort. Note that when these experiments are performed, both motors, the light bulbs and the wires are likely to become warm to the touch. Some of the heat is from mechanical friction from the moving parts of the motors, but most is from electrical resistance. This is evidence of energy leaving the system in the form of heat, and thus a loss of efficiency. This loss is in practice unavoidable. </i></blockquote>
Electrically-based regen systems use an electric generator - typically the very same electric motor used for propulsion - and an electronic control system to reverse the flow of electrons from the battery to the motor whenever the system detects an opportunity to do so. As in the thought experiment above, applying regen creates a torque load in the opposite direction of travel to wheels connected to the motor, so regen systems must be designed not to upset the stability of the vehicle through excessive application of this braking torque (<i>i.e., locking up the driving wheels in slippery conditions because the braking torque is too high</i>). But it should be as aggressive as possible to reap the maximum efficiency.<br />
<br />
Regenerative braking systems will attempt to "harvest" the momentum of the vehicle under several conditions:<br />
<ul>
<li>when the driver applies the brake pedal</li>
<ul>
<li>the regen system attempts to achieve maximum generator braking torque, but if this is inadequate to the request signaled by the driver's brake pedal pressure (<i>i.e., an emergency</i>), then the friction brakes must work in concert, and have priority</li>
<li>if the brake pedal pressure is below a certain threshold, then the system has the opportunity to modulate braking torque entirely through regen, with no friction braking</li>
<li>below a certain road speed, motor regen no longer generates effective braking torque, and so a transition from regen to friction braking must take place during a full stop</li>
<ul>
<li>A common malady of vehicles employing regenerative braking is that the transition to friction braking is typically non-linear. Most often (<i>at least in my regen driving experiences of about a dozen different vehicles</i>), there is a sudden increase in braking effect as the friction brakes take over. I think this is chosen as a more desirable transition than having the braking effect suddenly diminish, but it causes drivers unfamiliar with those cars to nose-dive during this "grabby" increase in braking effect. With some practice, one learns to feather off the brake pedal just at the transition. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>when the throttle position is insufficient to maintain current speed for the current conditions</li>
<ul>
<li>when the vehicle encounters a downhill grade or tailwind</li>
<ul>
<li>the regen system will attempt to convert excess momentum to battery charge</li>
</ul>
<li>depending upon how much the throttle is lifted, and which regenerative braking mode is selected, the system attempts to slow the vehicle with motor braking/regen</li>
<ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
Different manufacturers have different philosophies and strategies about how aggressively their regen systems attempt to harvest. Some vehicles (including our Ford Focus Electric) provide the driver with feedback for driving behavior that maximizes regenerative braking gains. These vehicles coach the driver with visual display aids to generally brake over longer distances at modest deceleration rates, which allow the regen system to perform nearly all the speed abatement, while using the friction brakes as little as possible to avoid needless energy loss as heat.<br />
<br />
It's important to grasp that it's impossible to recoup <i>all</i> of the energy from a moving vehicle's momentum with a regenerative braking system. Some energy will inevitably be lost as heat from friction and other mechanical inefficiencies, and there will be loss in electrical and electronic control systems. But systems have become efficient enough for vehicle manufacturers to profit by manufacturing and selling them, and for vehicle owners benefit from measurable energy-use reductions. If you drive up a 400 foot incline and the regen system harvests during the 400 foot descent, you still use significantly more energy lost as heat than if the road were level.<br />
<br />
<h3>
IS DRIVING A CAR WITH REGENERATIVE BRAKING DIFFERENT?</h3>
<br />
I would say that there is a place and time for a car's regen to be completely undetectable, but for certain users - particularly the current crop of early-adopters of EV and regen technology - having noticeable differences in operation due to regenerative braking is a desirable trait. Certainly those vehicle owners who wish to take a more active role in exploiting the energy-saving benefits of EV technology - the same population who coined the term "hypermiling" to describe challenging oneself to drive their vehicle while using as little fuel as possible - are not only willing to accept additional consequences of the technology, but embrace them.<br />
<br />
<h3>
REGEN-BRAKE TRANSITION</h3>
<br />
As much as manufacturers would like to make cars with regenerative braking seem absolutely no different to the user than any other vehicle they've operated, such has (<i>in my opinion</i>) not yet been achieved. I haven't driven every vehicle equipped with regen, but I've driven several examples from many different manufacturers, most of whom have developed their own regen technology. And they all suffer from a similar issue which I'll call <i>poor regen-brake transition</i>.<br />
<br />
A difficult task engineers face with regen is that for maximum recovery of energy during deceleration and hill descent, friction-braking should take as little part in the process as possible. But for reasons of safety, cost-efficiency and common sense, friction-brakes must be part of the vehicle's braking system. This is partly because the electrical braking torque available in a given vehicle regen system is never adequate for maximum braking, and because electrical generators no longer function effectively below a certain rotational speed. So during a given traffic stop, the system controller will somewhat suddenly hand over braking duties from regen (or a mix of regen/brake, during heavier braking) to friction-brake only. Because electrical braking torque is dependent upon battery load in a regen system, there are conditions under which regen is typically unavailable.<br />
<br />
During a typical traffic stop, the EV's control system will attempt to harvest as much energy as possible during the moments that the driver indicates that they wish to lose velocity by pressing on the brake pedal. If the brake pedal is pressed moderately over a long, gentle stop (<i>which several EVs encourage through dashboard brake-coaching displays), </i>the motor controller will keep the wheels engaged to the motor - now functioning as a generator - and route the generated power into the battery pack. If the brake pedal pressure indicates a need for braking which exceeds regen, then traditional friction brakes continue to work as in a conventional vehicle.<br />
<br />
<h3>
ALTERNATE REGEN MODES</h3>
<div>
<br />
Many vehicles with regenerative braking offer two distinctively different regen modes, both of which actually affect the behavior of the vehicle with respect to throttle (<i>and perhaps should actually be called "throttle modes"</i>). Neither of these modes causes the vehicle to behave as a typical internal-combustion vehicle with an automatic transmission. The two modes have varying names, but the concepts are the same:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Normal, "coasting" mode - When the throttle is lifted, the vehicle provides NO additional braking force except mechanical friction from moving parts and aerodynamic drag. Because most EVs and hybrids deliberately use low-drag bodywork and even tires, very little speed loss results from decreasing the throttle at medium and low speeds (where aero drag has less effect). In the most extreme case of differences between Internal Combustion (IC) cars and low-resistance EVs, lifting the throttle may give the driver the impression that the throttle is still applied, because the deceleration is nearly imperceptible.</li>
<ul>
<li>IC cars with automatic transmissions provide significant "engine braking": the engine is partially coupled to the road wheels through the torque converter, and when engine speed is reduced, a braking torque is applied to the wheels. So we're all accustomed to a certain deceleration rate when we lift off the throttle. EVs in "coast" mode barely slow down in an attempt to preserve momentum.</li>
</ul>
<li>"Low gear," "Braking," or "Regen" mode - When this mode is selected (<i>often using the vehicle's "shifter," even though this is actually an electrical or software change</i>), the regen system responds to any reduction in throttle position immediately, aggressively slowing the vehicle through electrical braking torque, and sending any harvested electrical energy to the battery pack for storage. Manufacturers have a difficult time explaining this mode, and why the user might employ it. Most manufacturers present the feature in much the same way as manually selecting a lower gear (<i>2nd or 3rd gear</i>) in an IC car with an automatic transmission to provide engine braking on long downhill descents. But then, most people never use that feature of IC cars, and most people with EVs won't do a lot of long downhills. My thoughts about Braking/Low Mode:</li>
<ul>
<li>To get the most out of regenerative braking, I drive in this mode most of the time, except during high-speed highway driving. However, it takes a bit of practice to drive smoothly.</li>
<li>This is far more demanding of the driver. Driving in this mode requires disciplined control of your throttle foot. In most EVs, I liken the effect to driving a 5-speed manual vehicle in a gear about halfway between 2nd and 3rd. Lifting abruptly off the throttle in this mode at 60 mph causes enough deceleration that it could alarm passengers, and in traffic, creates the potential hazard of slowing you significantly while not activating brake lights. With throttle practice and experience, it need feel no different than any other car.</li>
<li>There is NO DIFFERENCE between holding the throttle in a position in this mode that slowly loses speed and lifting off the throttle in "coast" mode.</li>
<li>It would certainly be possible to use more energy through unnecessary slowing in this mode.</li>
<li>I recommend against using this mode while using cruise control, since canceling cruise then results in somewhat more abrupt slowing than conventional cars.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>NOTE: I presented the tabletop generator/motor experiment to illustrate that the braking torque utilized in regenerative braking systems depends upon an electrical load. In the case of regen, that load is a partially-discharged battery. In the case of our Ford Focus Electric, if I leave home with a fully-charged battery pack and put the car in "Low" mode, I get no braking torque effect for the first mile or so of operation, because there is no discharged battery to provide a resistive load. In fact, occasionally if I happen to be in Low and braking for a traffic stop during that first few minutes of operation, the Focus might abruptly slow as it suddenly adds regen braking torque when the battery pack falls below full charge. Toyota Prius hybrids apparently maintain their batteries at around 40 to 60 per cent of their full capacity, so that they can always have "headroom for regenerative braking." </i></blockquote>
<br />
<h3>
SO WHICH REGEN MODE SHOULD I USE?</h3>
<div>
<br />
If this all sounds like a lot of trouble, don't worry about it. Just select the default drive "coast" mode and have a good life. You may initially feel as though your car isn't slowing down as much as it should when you lift off the throttle, but that's by design. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is lively discussion in online forums about which of these modes is "best," or most efficient. Personally, I prefer the idea that if I see an opportunity for maximum regen harvest (<i>a traffic light turns yellow ahead</i>), that it's easier to fully lift off the throttle than to apply only enough brake pressure to trigger regen, but not so far that I waste precious momentum in friction braking. So thus far, I've tended to stay in "Low" mode in our Focus Electric as much as possible during city driving. I operate in Drive mode on the highway to avoid subjecting cars behind me to unexpected slowing without any brake lights, but if I slowing traffic or am approaching an impending exit ramp, I'll throw the vehicle into Low mode for maximum regen. I'm an "involved" driver in any kind of vehicle, so this isn't an imposition for me, but for most drivers, I think this would be too much to do. (<i>I intend to experimentally drive in normal Drive mode for an extended period to compare efficiency results.</i>) Initially, it may be tricky to gently transition off-throttle, but as with most things, one becomes accustomed to it with practice.<br />
<br />
<h3>
HOW WELL DOES REGEN WORK?</h3>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Our Focus Electric reports than in 2,885 miles of operation, 627 miles were from regenerative braking. Since I have no way to disable its regenerative braking, I can't provide a comparative figure, and I have to take their word for the reported figure. But if it's accurate, then regen has saved us almost 28% of our energy cost.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>(I just noticed for the first time that our Focus Electric has occasionally logged my wife's wireless key fob as the current driver, even though I've almost exclusively driven the car. And the dashboard display only shows statistics from the currently logged key fob. So I just updated the figures above to reflect the 159 miles previously excluded from calculation. That makes for an even more impressive effect than the 19% energy savings I previously cited.)</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While the big picture of ecological impact of the manufacture, servicing and recycling of battery electric hybrids is still in question, manufacturers and government organizations have been convinced enough of regenerative braking's validity that increasing numbers of automobile models are adopting the strategy to achieve energy and emissions goals. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As energy storage technologies continue to mature, regenerative braking will play a incrementally larger role in our energy and transportation future.</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-42662291884956977212014-01-21T22:43:00.001-08:002014-01-21T22:43:40.799-08:00Choosing a "portable" Level 2 EVSEAs I was researching EVSEs to install at our home, I discovered a distinctive characteristic that there were "plug in" models, which typically use a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector">NEMA</a> 6-50 plug and receptacle to connect the EVSE to an AC electrical supply, and "hard wired" models, which are to be permanently connected to an electrical supply. Some brands only sell one version or the other, and some are available in both connection options. In some cases, there were subtle differences between features, such as the length of the cable between the EVSE and the vehicle connection plug.<br />
<br />
I was immediately interested in the notion of having a "portable" Level 2 EVSE. I don't know if that's ever going to come up, but if we ever did try to drive a long distance in an EV (in our current Ford Focus Electric, that would mean driving for one hour, then charging for 3 and a half, then repeat), we'd want to have as many charging options as possible. If we have to stop at a friend's house to top off, we don't want to have to stop for 20 hours with our Level 1 charger - we'd like to have a 3 hour meal/visit and hit the road again. It's not something I expect to do more than a few times, but I'm up for that adventure, and I like to have my options.<br />
<br />
I was considering adding my own NEMA 6-50P plug to some EVSEs which were only available hard-wired (some people refer to the end of wires without terminals as a "pigtail"), but then noticed a subtle mention in one manufacturer's collateral material that their plug-in model claimed to incorporate ground fault circuitry, but their hard-wired made no mention of GFI. This may have been a typographical error, but it made me wary of adding my own plug, and it wasn't a deal-breaker to eliminate that brand from my candidate list.<br />
<br />
In the end, we bought an <a href="http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/at_home">Aerovironment "Plug in" EVSE</a> for a few reasons. I've used public installations of them, so I know they think they're rugged enough for years in that fully exposed environment (we installed ours in a covered breezeway, as we're currently parking our EV in our driveway, due to conflicts with other garaged vehicles). And the Aerovironment piece is, while not exactly small, certainly far from the biggest of the EVSEs out there, all of which do the same task. Our Focus Electric gave up a LOT of the Focus' original cargo compartment to its battery pack, so keeping things compact helps. Finally, I established early on that the Aerovironment mounting bracket and EVSE incorporate a hasp for a padlock, so I can secure it (at one point, I was going to mount the EVSE on the front of our house near the street). It's also a "quick release" bracket - although the tolerances between the EVSE and mounting bracket are a bit <i>too</i> close, and it's not at all easy to remove. That said, I don't expect to remove it much, so it's not a big deal.<br />
<br />
We had an electrician run a custom 50 amp, 240 volt circuit to a NEMA 6-50 receptacle on our breezeway wall (the EVSE and our car require only 30 amps, and specify 40 amp service, but the electrician ran wire big enough for a little future-proofing). Local code required that in this "damp" location (even though it's under our continuous roof), the receptacle be installed inside a "weatherproof" enclosure.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwLGtVbdwb10s4AT0VemXTyvqJwvLpeT65ndifzPsUBObFEPXmSljVbm0BOimUPZA1yc7tpdLSwohc3jfiYh2iUkGBRr0sh3Kv-g65pV95GKAYJ3NofxucmS0sdD4yIDTM6dhmbNXxB8/s1600/P1410567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwLGtVbdwb10s4AT0VemXTyvqJwvLpeT65ndifzPsUBObFEPXmSljVbm0BOimUPZA1yc7tpdLSwohc3jfiYh2iUkGBRr0sh3Kv-g65pV95GKAYJ3NofxucmS0sdD4yIDTM6dhmbNXxB8/s1600/P1410567.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerovironment "Plug In" EVSE, with NEMA 6-50 outlet in "damp location" mandatory weatherproof enclosure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I still haven't gotten around to collecting the pieces, but theoretically, with a few inexpensive adapters, we'll be able to charge from household electric clothes dryer or stove circuits (provided they are 240 volt, 30+ amp), and campgrounds (via their 50 amp NEMA 14-50R service, if they have it).<br /><br />We might never try going more than a couple of full charges from home, but if we do, I'll be ready for it.<br />Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-91264137107631929532014-01-15T18:24:00.000-08:002014-02-16T15:51:11.580-08:00Cabin Heat - the Enemy of EV Range?<h3>
THE FREE (HEATED) RIDE IS OVER</h3>
<div>
<br />
For the past century of internal-combustion (IC) powered automobiles, we've taken for granted the luxury and convenience of having heat (<i>unless you owned an air-cooled Volkswagen, but that's another topic</i>). When we've needed heat to maintain comfort (<i>or in more severe climes, to survive</i>), or clear the windshield of our IC cars, we've used "waste heat," excess thermal energy which is a side-effect of IC power. This excess heat is conducted away from the hot combustion regions of the IC engine and into the air around the vehicle. So using some of this heat before it's simply exhausted from the vehicle is for all practical purposes free. We incur almost no energy consumption consequences when we turn on the cabin heat in our IC car. (<i>Actually, in extremely cold conditions, some IC vehicles can have trouble reaching a sufficiently high engine temperature for efficient combustion and oil viscosity. So in these cases, turning on cabin heat might further over-cool the engine</i>.)</div>
<div>
<br />
The amount of energy required to maintain human-comfortable temperatures in a poorly-insulated metal box which is constantly being cooled by 65 mph, 10 degree Fahrenheit air flowing over it is impressive. While there are parts of EVs that get warm during operation, there isn't nearly the amount of excess heat that has been available in IC vehicles. So EV manufacturers have had to resort to using some of the precious stored electricity from the vehicle's battery to make heat. The heating system in our Ford Focus Electric, and probably most EVs, is a <i>resistive</i> heater. A resistive heater uses electricity to heat conductors - wires - over which cabin air is drawn. The shocker is how much power the heater draws. My calculations (<i>see below</i>) suggest that the heater uses almost 7,000 watts of power - slightly more than a typical home electric oven.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>GM's pioneering EV1 and Toyota's 2004 RAV4 EV incorporated "heat pumps" to heat and cool the interiors, but I've thus far found no evidence that any current EVs are employing that technology. Heat pumps, while power efficient, work somewhat slowly at moving heat from one place to another, and would probably be a poor choice for an environment in which the entire volume of the cabin could lose all its heat during the 30 seconds it might take to buckle the kids into their seats.</i></blockquote>
When I turn on the heater in our Focus Electric, its range estimate falls by slightly more than 30 per cent - it is assuming that I'll leave the heater on for the entire journey (<i>which is one of many flaws of range estimation</i>). In many cases, the heating system will be able to reach the desired temperature so that either I or the thermostat will turn off the heating element. When I tested the range impact for this article, the full-charge range estimate (<i>which varies based upon the previous driving cycle</i>) for the Focus at the time was 91 miles, and I estimate that the Focus would have to be traveling at 60mph on level ground in moderate temperatures to achieve that. The Focus' battery pack has a capacity of 23 kilowatt/hours (kWh). So we can extrapolate that for our 2013 Ford Focus Electric:<br />
<ul>
<li>91 miles @ 60mph = 1.5 hours</li>
<li>23 kWh full battery / 1.5 hours = 15.33 kW (20.56 horsepower) @ 60 mph </li>
<li>91 miles no heat / 63 miles with heat = 1.44 = 44% more power with heat</li>
<li>0.44 heater coefficient x 15.33 kW @ 60 mph = 6.75 kW heater power </li>
</ul>
<div>
So our Focus Electric's heater has a devastating impact upon range. In the worst case, a new EV owner might spend the entire spring and summer season commuting 60 miles to their workplace and back, arriving home each evening with 15 surplus miles with which they could run errands before recharging. But when the winter arrived, they'd discover that in addition to some range lost to battery efficiency at low temperatures, they would be unable to complete the same journey while maintaining any sort of cabin heat. We live in Southern California, and our Focus has heated seats (<i>I envy Chevy Volt owners' heated steering wheels</i>). So down to the low 40s, we've made do with being a little bit cooler and cranking up the seats (<i>which have no noticeable impact upon range</i>). But if you lived in a really cold place, you'd have to deal with a lot of discomfort, or come up with an additional charging stop.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>In our Focus Electric, which has an "automatic climate control system," selecting any temperature that's even a single degree above the current cabin temp will energize the heater, and cause the range estimate to plummet until it reaches that target temp. The same is true for the Defrost mode. So it's a bit more involved to use an EV's climate system if the intended journey approaches the ultimate range of its battery pack. The Focus Electric is what I call a "conversion" - it utilizes many parts and systems from the existing Ford Focus internal combustion car it's built alongside. The "legacy" HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) control system operates as blithely unconcerned about power consumption as it does in IC vehicles, and every time I call for a little fresh air, the HVAC gleefully turns the fan on full blast and cranks up the heat or A/C compressor, forcing me to frantically start poking at its controls to limit its effect upon vehicle range. A vehicle purpose-designed to be an EV could and should incorporate systems and operational modes which are more energy-aware. I wish that the Focus Electric had a low-power heating element just to keep the windshield from fogging. Instead, I engage the mighty 7 kilowatt heater system and watch the battery gauge instantly plummet to 2/3 of its previous range estimate.</i></blockquote>
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<div>
If you operate your EV in a region with frequent or prolonged periods of intense cold, you should consider that its maximum range could dramatically change during the cold season due to heater use. Here are some strategies to limit the range-reducing effects of using cabin heat on an EV:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Bundle up in a lot of clothes and avoid using the cabin heat</b>. However, it can be impossible to go without turning on the defroster. When it's cold outside and you're exhaling inside, you eventually end up with either fogging or frosting condensate on the inside of the windows. In our Focus Electric, there is little choice but to engage the power-sapping heater when the "defrost" function of the HVAC system is called. </li>
<li><b>Use cabin preconditioning to preheat your vehicle while still connected to a charging source</b>. In addition to passenger comfort, this helps with interior defogging and exterior defrosting (<i>when parked outside</i>), but at no small cost in electrical energy from the utility company. Much of this cabin heat will be quickly lost in very cold conditions when in motion. If there are no charging facilities at the other end of the commute, preconditioning will be unavailable for the return trip. Cabin preconditioning, while not affecting battery range, does have its cost (<i>see "Cabin Preconditioning" below</i>).</li>
<li><b>Use the heat sparingly</b>. In the pursuit of range, we're willing to have a cold cabin. But I'm far less cold-averse than most people, and if it were REALLY cold, or had passengers, I'd still want some heat. We use our seat heaters in lieu of cabin heat whenever possible. We're all used to being warm and toasty in an IC car. I don't see that happening without significant consequences any time soon in an EV. </li>
</ul>
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Of course, if your journeys use only a fraction of a full battery, and you don't mind using more energy, you can crank up the heat and stay toasty warm. Even then, you'll be spending less on energy and have a lower carbon footprint than you would in an IC car.<br />
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<h3>
CABIN PRECONDITIONING - A HIDDEN COST?</h3>
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An oft-mentioned feature of modern electric cars is "cabin preconditioning" or "climate preconditioning." And for the 15 years I've been hearing about it, I've found it both an appealing idea - your car is already warm in the winter, or cool in the summer - and what sounds like a perfectly logical strategy for an electric car: that you use your home's boundless electrical supply so that your precious battery charge can be preserved for propulsion.<br />
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<br /></div>
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. . . and work it does. Our Internet-connected Focus Electric provides on-board and remote (<i>via website or smartphone app</i>) programming of "Go Times" - the anticipated time of departure. Select one of the preset temperatures, and for the 15 minutes prior to the Go Time, the climate system attempts to reach and maintain that target temperature. Alternatively, the user can "Remote Start" the Focus Electric (<i>a funny expression, since there really is no "starting," per se, except to put the car into Drive mode, which is decidedly NOT what you want to do when you're not in the car</i>) from key fobs, smartphones, and the Web. If the user is prescient enough to leave the climate system in the "on" position and set to a target temperature (<i>I'm so focused on managing power, I don't even run the climate control beyond getting barely comfortable while in the car</i>), the remotely-started Focus will attempt to achieve that temperature for a maximum of 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
<strike></strike>Again using our extrapolated Focus Electric data:</div>
<ul>
<li>6.75 kW heater x 15 minutes / 60 mins in an hour = 1.69 kWh per 15-minute precondition</li>
<li>23,000 watt hour battery / 91 miles = 253 wH/mi @ 60 mph</li>
<li>1.69 kWh 15-minute precondition / 253 wh/mi = 6.67 miles @ 60 mph</li>
</ul>
So a single morning's 15-minute precondition cycle would be equal to almost 7 miles worth of highway driving. Assuming you preconditioned just once each weekday morning, that's 21.67 avg weekdays/month x 1.69 kWh = 36.62 kWh/month. Using our (<i>Los Angeles DWP, late 2013</i>) highest tier electrical rate of about 20 cents/kWh, that's $7.32/month to precondition your cabin. That might not seem like a lot, but I drive our EV <i>5 miles every day of the month</i> with that much electricity.<br />
<br />
And that doesn't even take into consideration that you might turn on the heat <i>while you're driving</i>.<br />
<br />
So cabin preconditioning is nice. There's the convenience of getting into a car with a comfy cabin and a clear windshield. But if you are interested in EVs because you want to reduce your energy footprint, just know in advance that cabin preconditioning can have significant energy-use consequences.<br />
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<h3>
AIR CONDITIONING - NOT THAT BAD (SO FAR)</h3>
<br />
In the case of our Focus Electric, the energy impact of turning on the air conditioning compressor to cool the interior or de-fog the windshield appears to be far smaller than the heater. During the same test I performed with the heater, turning on the A/C dropped the Focus' range estimate from 91 miles to only 89 miles - representing only a few hundred watts of power. This is pretty impressive, given that just 30 years ago, automotive air conditioning compressors used as much horsepower as our EV does to move through the air at 55mph. We haven't yet used the vehicle in the truly hot weather that we can get here in SoCal, so we don't know how high temps will further reduce battery range, or whether the Focus' high-efficiency electric A/C compressor can refrigerate well enough to keep us comfortable in triple-digit weather. I'll report as I can.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>During our first month of EV ownership before our Level 2 EVSE was installed, I plugged our Level 1 EVSE through a <a href="http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html">Kill-A-Watt</a>. This product is an electrical energy logging device, intended to let consumers determine how much energy any given appliance in their home uses. When I compared the Kill-A-Watt's logs to the Focus Electric's on-board log of energy use, I discovered that the Kill-A-Watt reported over 30 per cent more energy use than the Focus - and this was without doing any cabin preconditioning. I have no way of knowing whether the Kill-A-Watt or Focus are accurate or not in their data logging, but the suggestion is that the car's records might not reflect the amount of electricity actually pulled from the energy grid and billed to the user. This does make sense - the car isn't responsible for whatever inefficiencies there might be in the rest of the power transmission process. But the point is that an EV's historical log of electrical use probably doesn't present the entire picture of electrical cost-of-operation. The Kill-A-Watt is 120 volt, 15 amp maximum, and can not be used with our 240V, 30A L2 EVSE. I intend to install a separate energy logging system in our home electrical system to accurately determine how much energy the EV is using - if I do so, I'll report that here.</i></blockquote>
</div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-83592663091539175622013-12-21T20:00:00.000-08:002014-02-16T15:51:46.519-08:00Why public EV charging stations might not be as useful as you think<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the first things most new or prospective electric vehicle owners research is the locations of public EV charging stations. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT AN ELECTRON TO CONDUCT</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We live in Los Angeles, an enormous city where many of our friends think nothing of driving 45 miles (still in Los Angeles County, mind you) to grab a bite to eat. L.A. has as large an electric vehicle fueling infrastructure as currently exists - which is to say, a lot more than most of the United States. Still, there's not enough of a network of charging facilities that you're likely to be able to plug in your vehicle where you happen to be going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />A brief online search suggests that there are around 120,000 gas stations in the United States. That averages to one station per 2,700 citizens. So California, with 38 million residents, should have around 14,000 gas stations. According to the <a href="http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/stations_counts.html">U.S. Department of Energy</a>, as of January 2014, there are 5,176 non-residential electric vehicle charging stations in California. However, some of these are so-called "legacy chargers," which may not have ever seen any significant use beyond promotional propaganda a decade ago. In practice, public charging stations are far more sparse than those numbers suggest. Even though a few modern companies are maintaining networks of paid public charging stations (and there are still some legacy free charging stations left over from various utility and municipal trials and promotions from the past 15 years), there are not nearly enough stations to be called ubiquitous. Their usefulness is severely limited by their scarcity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Y7PUEGSIz6m2MJJJLGswxr509i7ZmgBm3Cn3vHkateXJ4HjGLS5cZQfRM4MV9Lq4WiDXBSBJAMudzXzGgJ7Vi20voijUMO7QhY5tzEtNuMFyiNfyFXeaSA08kJZFJHN7UAh7CUeHdDQ/s1600/Public-EV-Radius-LA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Y7PUEGSIz6m2MJJJLGswxr509i7ZmgBm3Cn3vHkateXJ4HjGLS5cZQfRM4MV9Lq4WiDXBSBJAMudzXzGgJ7Vi20voijUMO7QhY5tzEtNuMFyiNfyFXeaSA08kJZFJHN7UAh7CUeHdDQ/s1600/Public-EV-Radius-LA.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">EV charger-locating site PlugShare's map of Metro Los Angeles illustrates that even in the middle of densely-populated L.A., you could easily end up walking 3 miles - one-way - to and from the nearest charging site.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So while California might lead the way in public EV charging stations, that's not as meaningful as it sounds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">CURRENT PUBLIC EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In our first weeks of EV ownership, I explored the available public charging infrastructure. We established accounts with the handful of companies maintaining for-pay charging networks. One of those companies, ECOtality, declared bankruptcy during our second week of ownership and its new owner is still struggling to reestablish a business with its network of Blink charging stations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">During our first couple of days with the Focus Electric, I drove around and located the public charging stations near our home. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Several things about public EV charging became apparent:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">EV charging stations are where they are, not where you want them. There aren't nearly enough that your destination is likely to be within reasonable walking distance of one. (<i>And when I say "reasonable walking distance," I don't just mean a few blocks. As illustrated in the map above, that's a 3-hour walking round-trip.</i>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a number of websites and smartphone apps which promise to show the user the locations of charging stations. These services seem to think that users want to be able to locate a <i>nearby</i> charging station, as one would when running out of gasoline or diesel fuel. But because your fuel range is more precious to begin with (it's like having a fuel tank with 1/4 of typical capacity), you'd be foolish to wait until you needed to add charge before you started looking for a recharge. And because refueling takes a serious commitment in <b>time </b>(<i>the public "Level 2" charging stations typically add about 20 miles of range per hour</i>), it requires a some commitment to spontaneously decide to charge. Imagine looking down at your fuel gauge, and thinking, "Oh, I need to find a place to refuel, because I'm down to 10 miles of range. I hope we can find a refueling site within 10 miles (which could take 30 minutes to reach in Los Angeles) and we'll need to find something to do for two and a half hours while we take on enough fuel to get home." When your vehicle is constrained by these parameters, you do NOT put yourself in these situations.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of those charging stations that <i>do</i> exist, a significant number are non-operational. Some have been vandalized or accidentally damaged; many have problems communicating with their networks (as with ATM and credit-card transactions, a real-time electronic transaction takes place in order to start and stop the charging process). One station located at a retail location I frequent has been on-again/off-again every time I've visited. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">A given public charging location has equipment to charge from one to four vehicles (typically one or two). The sales rate of plug-in vehicles has increased far faster than installations of charging locations, so the likelihood of finding an unoccupied charging site decreases daily.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even when a municipal sign bearing a local ordinance number prohibits non-electric vehicle parking in a charging space, it's not at all unlikely that an internal combustion engine-powered (ICE) vehicle will be parked in the spot, potentially preventing EVs from proceeding to their next destination. This is known in the EV community as <i>ICEing</i>. Many charging stations aren't marked as EV-only at all. Perhaps worst of all, EV owners occasionally use the charging spaces as <i>parking</i> spaces without charging - a serious breach of etiquette and manners, since many full-electric drivers are depending upon supplementing their charge to complete their journey.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">We established an EV charging account with the Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority, which has EVSEs (<i><b>Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment</b>, the official term for the hardware that connects your EV to a source of electricity</i>) at some of its mass-transit parking lots. When I reconnoitered the Metro subway station near Universal Studios in Hollywood around 8am one morning, I discovered four EVs charging at the four available charging points at that locale. In all likelihood, those four drivers had gone to work for an 8-hour day, and might well expect to do the same every weekday. So the prospects of anyone else using those charging sites would be dim, or they'd have to engage in a competition for early arrival.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though it might seem logical to locate charging stations close to home, it's probably <i>not</i> that important, if you have your own "fast" Level 2 EVSE installed. In the event that your home charging system fails, it might be helpful to know you can walk two and a half miles home while your car charges, but if you depend upon public charging, you might just as likely end up charging 30 miles from home and having a long lunch there while waiting. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's the problem with the current public EV charging infrastructure: a citizen commuting daily, using almost the entire range of their EV on the way to work, then riding public mass-transit, charging their vehicle during their workday, and finally driving their EV home at night is arguably using their EV to greatest advantage. They're generating lower emissions; lowering fuel costs; and (potentially) reducing use of fossil fuels, etc. But if there's no guarantee of recharging your vehicle before returning home, then it's an impractical or impossible plan. I'm not sure how the owners of those four cars I saw charging at the Metro station make it work - I suspect that they're not actually driving far enough to <i>require</i> a charge at the end of their day. Which would be a breach of etiquette and logic - taking up a charging space for 9 hours when your car only needs 30 minutes of charge (even a fully discharged average EV will be finished charging in 4 hours). Chances are, some of those EV drivers are using the EV-only parking as leverage to have a parking space in these over-capacity public transit parking lots. This is just another problem with having such a thinly populated charging infrastructure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the EV community, there are conventions that: a) if you arrive at a charging station and the car connected to the station has completed its charge, you can unplug the cord from the charged car and use the EVSE if you can get the cord to reach your own charging port; and b) if you arrive at a charging station and the adjacent vehicle is still charging, leaving your charging port door open is a message that you'd like the other EV owner to plug the EVSE into your car when they leave. However, these practices are only possible when more than one parking space is within range of the charging station's cord. Only on a few occasions have I seen more than one parking space designated for sharing a vehicle charging station.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(In the case of <b>free</b> chargers - mostly legacy municipal experiments and pilot EV programs from a decade or more ago - the charge will start automatically. In the case of for-pay charging, most charging networks provide smartphone apps through which users can remotely start a charging session. Our Focus Electric also has its own Internet connection, through which we can see if it's plugged in. I'd also be happy to pay to charge someone else's vehicle on our charging account in those rare occasions where I found another unattended EV indicating that it needed a charge at a for-pay EVSE.)</i> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As an exercise, I've experimentally plotted what it would take to drive our Focus Electric from Los Angeles to Las Vegas - a trip we make regularly for trade shows. In a conventional car, in good traffic, the 270 mile trip can be completed in a little over four hours on a single tank of fuel. To be able to make the trip in our EV, we'd want to arrive at a charging station every 60-70 miles - and that infrastructure <i>almost</i> exists, but for a 150-mile gap in the California desert. At each stop, <i>if</i> there was an available charger (some EV charging apps promise to show whether EVSEs are occupied and functional, but in only a few attempts to use this information, I've experienced very poor accuracy), <i>and</i> we could get our charging network account to work (I've had problems with perhaps 1/3 of the dozen attempts I've made so far), we'd then have to wait for three to four hours before driving the next hour to the next charging site. Assuming we made every charging stop, found the station vacant and charged for 3.5 hours every 60 miles or so, we'd make the "4 hour" drive in about 19 hours. But if any of those chargers were out of service - of the few excursions we've made requiring more than a single charge, one of them required <i>four</i> attempted locations before finding a working charger - we'd <i>never complete the journey</i>. So while installing just one EVSE each in Victorville and Baker, California might make the theoretical chain of required stops, it would hardly count as a kind of fueling network. In my limited experience with public EV charging stations, there's no way that I'd count on that thin an infrastructure being 100% operational, and it could only accommodate a few vehicles traveling in the same direction. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite <a href="http://bellevue.patch.com/groups/going-green/p/aaa-to-offer-mobile-emergency-charging-for-electric-vehicles">stories</a> that there are automobile club emergency EV charging trucks which can provide Level 2 roadside charging, it sounds like these "pilot programs" provided a couple of specialized vehicles for each of a few states. I'm not planning my family's security on whether one of a few trucks in California is available at the time.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Public charging stations continue to slowly increase in number, but not at a rate which will improve this situation in the near future. It's still "pioneer days" for EVs, and those of us taking this plunge are constantly reminded of that. Even though my wife's workplace is claiming that they'll eventually be installing six EVSEs, we already know of four EVs that might use them. By the time the equipment is installed, there might be more vehicles than that. When the number of employees at one workplace which are commuting in EVs exceeds the number of charging stations,</span> it would take some cooperative effort and scheduling serendipity to<span style="font-family: inherit;"> work harmoniously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
PUBLIC CHARGING NOT REQUIRED</h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My plan for owning and operating a plug-in electric vehicle never depended upon using public stations. I still think it makes perfect sense for us to charge our vehicle at our home and use it primarily within the 35+ mile radius of operation of a single full charge. Owning an EV in a region without any public charging infrastructure could be perfectly workable. As we've owned the Focus Electric and experimented with traveling further than a single charge, we've developed strategies and familiarity with those restrictions. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, we haven't felt restricted by having an EV. In fact, we have yet to revert to driving one of our ICE vehicles in three months. Partly, that's because we're willing to academically explore the consequences and compromises of driving trips which require more than a single charge, and because we enjoy the adventure of it. We done about six so such journeys so far. But for the day-to-day vehicular needs of our life, driving all-electric has been easy and fun.</span></div>
Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-31440471742347564332013-12-20T14:00:00.000-08:002014-02-16T15:53:47.350-08:00How Do I Charge My EV?<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">FUELING EVS</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Charging electric vehicles is a very different proposition from tanking up with liquid hydrocarbons. When we fill up on gasoline or diesel fuel, we use the product of thousands of hours of sunlight which fell on hundreds of square feet of plants, hundreds of millions of years ago. We transfer the potential energy to propel the vehicle and its occupants hundreds of miles at more than a mile a minute in a matter of seconds in a refined form of this petroleum. Through the magical process of photosynthesis (<i>upon which pretty much all life depends</i>), plants capture a tiny proportion of our sun's total light energy and store it in molecules they make from water, carbon dioxide and a smattering of other compounds. The natural process of plants decomposing to petroleum over vast periods of time is a battery of sorts, which takes millions of years (<i>plus no small amount of human time and energy to extract, transport and refine</i>) to store, but releases useful amounts of its stored molecular energy on demand when we press on the throttle pedal. Modern electric batteries can be thought of as faster than fossil fuel storage, in that they can store energy in minutes, rather than the millions of years to yield "fossil fuels." But since the Industrial Revolution, we humans have become both accustomed to the convenience and fantastic energy density of these energy sources upon which much of our civilization depends. We take for granted that the "liquid sunshine" through which we've been burning is for all practical purposes a one-time resource (<i>for our species, anyway</i>) and an effectively finite one. Regardless of how much crude oil there is left on the planet, when it's gone, it'll take a couple of hundred million years to make another batch - and our own molecules will be part of that batch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Today, we have a highly developed civil infrastructure which produces and distributes electricity to wherever humans need it. The electricity might come from any number of sources, including combustion of those plant-based fossil fuels, the releasing of the atomic bonds formed at the beginning of time in nuclear reactors, and "renewable" sources such as photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric and wave power. When we tap into this ubiquitous electrical network and store its potential in a modern electric car battery, the process is limited by the electrochemical nature of batteries. Most contemporary EVs use lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries, the same technologies which are currently favored to power our mobile communication and computing devices. These battery technologies offer the most economical balance of duration and power performance to volume and weight, while offering improved charging performance (<i>lower times</i>) over prior technologies. However, charging batteries currently takes far more time than traditional liquid refueling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Find out what sources are used to produce the electricity at your location with the Environmental Protection Agency's "<a href="http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/how-clean.html">How clean is the energy I use?</a>" website.)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">CHARGING EQUIPMENT</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Current EV vehicles actually incorporate the charging hardware <i>in the vehicle</i>, as the charging process is meticulously and intimately interactive between the charging circuitry and the battery system. This is practiced to protect the extremely valuable battery (which may represent more than half of the value of the vehicle) from range and lifespan damage due to electrical load and thermal extremes. All electrochemical batteries are affected by extremes in temperature, and electric vehicles can expect to be operated in the full range of temperature extremes, although range will be adversely affected in very cold and very hot conditions. Many vehicles, including our Focus Electric, both heat and cool the battery pack to optimal temperatures during charging and discharging to maximize both their range and their lifespan. EV manufacturers also limit the charging and discharging thresholds of the batteries during user operation to considerably less than the batteries' ultimate limits. I've read that the Chevrolet Volt pack discharges to only 30 per cent of its capacity, and I think most packs stop charging well short of 100 per cent. So while it might be possible for current EVs to have markedly longer ranges than they do (on a brand-new battery), manufacturers deliberately software-limit the stress on batteries to extend and ensure their warrantied service life.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since the "charger" is actually built into the EV, it's considered incorrect to refer to the hardware used to connect the vehicle to an electrical supply as a "charger." The official term for this device is the awkward acronym "EVSE," for "Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment." However, the community seems to accept "charging station" as an expression to refer to both home and public/commercial EVSEs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
IS IT AS EASY AS PUMPING GAS?</h3>
<div>
<br />
Easier. Plug in the cable from the EVSE, and the car starts charging. When it's done, it will automatically stop. Whenever you unplug the cable, the charging automatically stops.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
HOW DO I USE FOR-PAY EV CHARGING?</h3>
<div>
<br />
In our limited experience with using paid charging stations, we've used only two networks: ChargePoint and Blink. These two companies predominate in the Los Angeles area. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Both services provide customers with methods for paying via monthly account or on a per-use basis. They have provisions for "guest" use, so any EV owner can walk up to a public EVSE, call a phone number on the EVSE, give a credit card number to a live operator, and they will remotely authorize the EVSE to begin charging your vehicle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
By establishing accounts with these charging networks, you get discounted charging rates, and the convenience of initiating a charging session by simply waving an RFID card by the EVSE. Rates vary, and are set by station owners, but range from similar to our home electrical rates to three times as much. Even at the highest rates, it's less expensive than gasoline, and we have so infrequently used pay public charging that it's not an issue for us.<br />
<br />
UPDATE 2/16/14: I previously neglected to mention that some for-pay charging stations charge the user by the hour - <i>even after the car completes charging</i>. I think this is fair - they're trying to incentivize users to move on and make the station available for another EV user, and protecting their ability to generate revenue.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
FREE ELECTRICITY?</h3>
<div>
<br />
There are many charging stations out there there are free to use. Most of these are municipally supported - almost every town has at least one free charging station at their city hall, apparently installed as part of an "initiative" for some purpose or another. Some of these are over a decade old, and not compatible with modern mass-produced EVs. Some have been converted to the modern J1772 connector.</div>
<div>
Most car dealerships for brands (Nissan, Chevrolet, Ford, Fiat, etc.) that sell EVs have publicly-accessible EVSEs on their lots. We've never used one, but we've been with friends using one of two parking-lot stations in a Nissan dealership for their Leaf, and our Ford dealer's EVSE is in a terrible location partially blocking a driveway through their service area. Between those two examples, I think we can extrapolate that a dealership is not going to be the best choice for charging. I've heard of people having the chutzpah to ask to charge their differently-branded EV and being begrudgingly allowed to use them. I've also seen something about "priority to (brand name)" somewhere on the Web, so some dealerships actually have established a policy to charge off-brand EVs.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
WHAT DO EVSEs DO?</h3>
<br />
If they're not doing the charging, what do EVSEs do? They provide a safe interface between the electrical supply and the charging port on the vehicle. That is, the EVSE does not energize the plug electrically until it is certain that it is connected to an electric vehicle. Users of electric vehicles would be expected to charge them in all environments (i.e., standing in the pouring rain), and EVSEs are often located where they can be accessed by small children, so their functionality must NOT be that of a 240 volt extension cord.<br />
<br />
In addition to incorporating <i>ground fault interrupt</i> circuitry to help prevent electric shock to users, EVSEs only energize the conductors on their connectors when they have established communication with an EV, and interrupt power when they detect that the connection has been broken. EVSEs can even anticipate when the connection is <i>about</i> to be broken with switches built into plug latch mechanisms. This prevents potentially dangerous and destructive arcing from unplugging a very high current load connection at as much as twice the 120 volts with which most citizens are familiar.<br />
<br />
EVSEs also report the amount of current which they can provide to the vehicle. The vehicle should then only begin charging at a current at or below the EVSE's advertised rate.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy5XUKnRnZ9bEwGyw5Ug7byQdu4-WRlIxVolRBW-xBv0D8vGwTyvj33_gn39FC3-EBzm07mD1V1ZJvNTORS7-WhUSorzFTYabyVkFyNGlkstMjG5kfkzzPmywvi2xcjItwJFz5Snr2tw/s1600/Aerovironment-EVSE-Installed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy5XUKnRnZ9bEwGyw5Ug7byQdu4-WRlIxVolRBW-xBv0D8vGwTyvj33_gn39FC3-EBzm07mD1V1ZJvNTORS7-WhUSorzFTYabyVkFyNGlkstMjG5kfkzzPmywvi2xcjItwJFz5Snr2tw/s1600/Aerovironment-EVSE-Installed.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Our Aerovironment Level 2 EVSE</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><h3>
ELECTRICAL CONCEPTS</h3>
<br />
Here are some basic electrical concepts that the EV owner may encounter regarding charging equipment:<br />
<ul>
<li>The unit of measure of electrical difference of potential is a <i>volt</i>, abbreviated with the letter "V," as in "240V." The higher the voltage, the easier it is for electrons to flow past conductive impediments, or <i>resistance</i>.</li>
<ul>
<li>Typical household outlets are 120 volts. Some appliances, such as all-electric clothes dryers, stovetop ranges, ovens and air conditioners are designed to run on 240 volts, and will use plugs and outlets that are incompatible with 120V outlets. </li>
</ul>
<li>The unit of measure of electrical current is the <i>ampere</i>, also called the <i>amp</i> for short, and abbreviated with the letter "A," as in "30A," meaning "30 amperes." The higher the amperage, the more work can be done by that electrical source. </li>
<ul>
<li>Typical household outlets and the wires to them are designed to safely convey about 15 amps of current. If that current is exceeded by more than the safe level (<i>like plugging the waffle iron and toaster into the same circuit</i>), then a fuse or circuit breaker designed to limit the current to 15A will interrupt the circuit before the wires inside the walls get dangerously hot from exceeding their designed maximum load of (<i>in this case</i>) 15 or more amps. </li>
<li>Some appliances may require higher currents of 20 to 50 or more amps of current. These will utilize special plugs, preventing the higher-current device from being plugged into an outlet with inadequate supply. Some outlets and plugs are designed so that lower-current <i>devices</i> can also be utilized in outlets designed for higher-current devices of the same voltage.</li>
<li><i>Circuit breakers</i> are a protection mechanism to prevent wiring and connectors inside the structure from dangerously overheating due to overload. The current rating (in amps) of the circuit breakers is chosen to suit the expected load from connected electrical devices, and the total load of all the circuit breakers is chosen not to exceed the available current from the wiring supplied by the utility company to the circuit breaker panel. From the circuit breakers, wires designed to conduct a specific maximum current are routed to one or more locations, where they are terminated by either an electrical outlet, or a permanently-wired device.</li>
</ul>
<li><i>Supply</i> refers to the electricity which flows from utility company infrastructure to the customer's site, through a circuit overload protection mechanism (<i>fuses</i> or <i>circuit breakers</i>), and to the outlets and devices which require electrical power.</li>
<ul>
<li>A <i>device's</i> rated operating current should <b>never</b> exceed the current rating of its <i>electrical supply</i>. So a 12A appliance is fine in a 15A circuit. So are three 4A devices. A 10A toaster and an 11A microwave oven in one outlet, totaling 21 amps, is NOT appropriate and should cause a 15A circuit breaker to "trip" in order to protect the 15-amp rated wiring and connectors.</li>
<li>An <i>electrical supply's</i> current rating can and <i>should</i> exceed the loads placed on that circuit by the <i>total current draw</i> of all devices on that circuit. For example: It is OK to plug either a 1A, 10A, or 25A device into a circuit properly wired to supply 40 amps. It is also OK to plug all three, totaling 36 amps. Having a higher-rated supply circuit (that has been properly installed for its advertised amperage) than the expected device's rated load is typical and desirable: when you turn a single 60 watt porch light on, that represents a 0.5A load on what is likely a 15A circuit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br /><ul><ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">CHARGING STANDARDS</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are currently a handful of EV charging standards. These are characterized by: 1) the voltage and current requirements of the charging equipment; 2) the rate at which the given charging system adds charge to the vehicle's battery; and 3) the kinds of physical connectors used to connect the charging equipment to the vehicle. Most contemporary EVs have flexible charging systems that can electrical supply from a range of available supplies. These systems often automatically adapt to the available power supply.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The charging standards most commonly encountered by EV users today include:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Level 1 - Uses the SAE <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772">J1772 connector</a> on both the vehicle and the charging equipment. Plugs into common household 120 volt AC outlets, and draws less than 16 amps. While this allows users to plug their cars into existing outlets found anywhere, charging is extremely slow. In the case of our Ford Focus Electric, Level 1 charging adds about 4 miles of range per hour, so a fully depleted battery pack might take as more than 20 hours to replenish at this rate. Most vehicles are sold with Level 1 chargers included. Despite the apparently slow charging, it's a good thing to have with you at all times. We visited friends recently who live far enough away that we required an additional 30 miles of charge to return home. But because we were parked at their house for more than 7.5 hours, an extension cord across their yard was adequate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Level 2 - Uses the SAE <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772">J1772 connector</a>. Using 240 volt AC sources up to 200 amps (typical home Level 2 EVSEs range from 20 to 60 amps), this is also sometimes referred to as a "fast charger." Charging rates/times vary. In the case of our Focus Electric, our home L2 EVSE and commercial L2 stations add about 20 miles per hour of charging. All of the for-pay charging stations we've encountered so far were Level 2.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">DC Fast Charging - Uses the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAdeMO">CHAdeMO connector</a>. This infrastructure promises charging rates which close the gap to traditional liquid hydrocarbon fueling. The Chevrolet Spark EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and some models of Nissan Leaf are equipped with connectors for this very fast charging standard. (<i>Tesla Motors is currently taking pre-orders for a $1,000 CHAdeMO adapter for their Supercharger-equipped Model S. Non-Supercharger Model Ses will require an additional $1,900 upgrade.</i>) Most CHAdeMO-equipped EVs claim that the 480 volt DC charging system can charge a fully depleted battery pack to 80 per cent capacity in about 30 minutes, providing 60 to 70 miles of range (<i>Tesla claims 150 miles in an hour</i>). This is still far less than the 300-600 miles of range a gasoline or diesel vehicle can add during a 5-minute refueling stop, but makes far more practical the notion of a trip which requires multiple full charges, where each 1 hour/60 mile drive would be followed by a 30 minute charge (our Focus Electric requires a 3.5 hour charge to replenish each 1hr/60mi driving stint). Nissan warns that DC Fast Charging may significantly affect the long-term range performance of the battery pack, indicating a deleterious effect of this charging system upon batteries. For 36-month leasees, this isn't as much of a concern, but for purchasers of EVs, this might give pause. In any case, CHAdeMO charging stations are very rare, even in the Pacific Northwest where the standard has had the highest distribution. I considered this as attribute while we were shopping, and when I realized how unlikely it was that we'd actually encounter a CHAdeMO station, I excluded that consideration.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tesla Motors - EV manufacturer Tesla Motors chose to establish their own proprietary connector standard, rather than adopt the widely-used <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772">SAE J1772</a> connector (they make adapters to most of the other connector standards available for purchase). But since 2012, Tesla has sold over 20,000 Model S in the United States, and projects 30,000 more sales in 2014, so they may not have needed to conform to the widespread standards. Because the Model S' optional 85kWh battery pack is far larger than every other EV (giving the Model S three to four times the range of other EVs), but it uses a similar amount of power during operation, the rate of miles of charge over time is similar (effectively depending upon driving style), but replenishing the full pack on slower systems can take a <i>long</i> time. Tesla maintains and is expanding its own network of Supercharger DC fast charge stations, which can add 120 miles of range to their 85 kWh Model S in 20 minutes, or 200 miles in 30 minutes. Tesla's intentions are to provide owners of their premium EV an infrastructure for traveling longer distances with similar ease to traditional internal-combustion refueling. As of 2013, Tesla announced their intention to make each of their Supercharger Stations into a "battery swapping" station, where owners could pay to borrow a charged battery pack, which could be changed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAdeMO">as little as 90 seconds</a>. Tesla also <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger">claims</a> that by Winter 2013, they will have established a "coast to coast travel" network - but I suspect that this reaching <i>one point</i> on each coast, so you might still end up 1,000 miles short of your destination. </span></li>
</ul>
<br /><ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">CHARGING RATE DOES MATTER</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While charging an EV battery is many times slower than replenishing gasoline or diesel fuel, it provides practical fueling times for many situations. At the typical Level 2 charging rate of 20 miles per hour, a typical 8-hour workday or sleeping period is enough to recharge the batteries of those EVs whose ranges are 100 miles and under (<i>8 hours x 20 miles of charge/hour = 160 miles</i>). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But it's important to consider available charging rates together with expected driving habits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
For some EV owners, there may be little incentive for spending potentially thousands of dollars to install a Level 2 EVSE. Though a Level 1 EVSE may charge slowly at 4 miles/hour, if your commute is 20 miles round-trip, you only need 5 hours of L1 charging to compensate for that. It could be perfectly economical and acceptable to charge only with the L1 EVSE.<br />
<br />
At the other end of the spectrum, the fastest available charging might seem like a way to travel beyond the range of a single battery charge. However, even 20 mile/hour charging rates of typical L2 public charging stations create awkward delays in travel. Pausing at a charging station for 90 minutes to gather 30 miles of additional range to complete the day's travel may not coincide with a productive or safe location for spending 90 minutes. It's possible to do - we've been scheduling meal stops within walking distance of charging locations before we set out on trips which exceed a single battery charge. But it's an awkward process, and finding an occupied, faulty or even missing EVSE at your planned stop can sabotage the plan and the trip. Many owners won't be exploring the world past the range of their EV's battery, but we've been deliberately making that part of our ownership experience. While it feels like Pioneer Days for EV owners, you can make it work with some preplanning and a willingness to take longer trips at a, uh, leisurely pace.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
The Tesla Model S and those few vehicles with DC Fast Charging can charge much more quickly, but the networks of public charging stations supporting them is even smaller than the thinly-distributed Level 2 stations that predominate. The difference with these fastest charging technologies is that an EV owner might be willing to wait 30 minutes to collect 60 miles of charge, while 3 hours (<i>at L2</i>) would be intolerable. But one might have to drive 30 miles out of the way to find stations that support these fastest standards. (<i>Some members of the EV community - including Tesla Model S owners - make their home EVSEs available for use by sharing their location on sites like <a href="http://www.plugshare.com/">PlugShare</a>.</i>)<br />
<br />
<h3>
SO DO I NEED A FASTER CHARGING SOLUTION?</h3>
<div>
<br />
Maybe not. The answer for you is based upon several factors:<br />
<ul>
<li>How much power you will use for your commute.</li>
<li>How fast your vehicle can charge (which is a combination of your vehicle's charging system and the current that a given location's EVSE provides).</li>
<li>How long your vehicle will be stationary at an charging source. </li>
<li>Whether you want your vehicle to be charged as soon as possible, for unexpected transportation needs, or are prepared to potentially leave the vehicle charging until shortly before the next schedule departure time.</li>
</ul>
Here are simple formulas for visualizing what kind of charging schedule you can expect from a given set of these parameters:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>[Miles depleted from battery] / [EVSE miles of charge per hour] = [hours to complete charge]</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>[hours to complete charge] + [arrival time @ EVSE] = [charge completion time]</b></div>
<br />
So for example, if your drive to work is 22 miles one-way, then a round-trip would cover 44 miles. If the Level 1, 120 volt, 15 amp EVSE which came with your car charges at a rate of roughly 4 miles per hour, and you arrive home at 6:30pm (18:30), then:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>44 miles / 4 miles chg per hr = 11.0 hrs (11 hrs, 0 mins)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>11:00 + 18:30 = 5:30am charge complete</b></div>
<br />
While the same trip with a 20 mile per hour Level 2 EVSE results in these figures:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>44 miles / 20 miles chg per hr = 2.2 hrs (2 hrs, 12 mins)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2:12 + 18:30 = 8:42pm charge complete</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
In the real world of EV driving, the actual impact of driving even the exact same route can affect battery depletion and thus charging times by more than 30 per cent, so some actual driving tests would be necessary before committing to a charging solution.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
PUBLIC CHARGING - IT WORKS, BUT . . .</h3>
<br />
Perhaps some day, every parking spot will automatically charge our cars inductively. But for now, for-pay commercial and free public EVSEs are somewhat sparsely distributed, even here in Southern California.<br />
<br />
The most significant function of public charging stations is that they provide the only practical way to travel to destinations beyond the range of your EV's battery. But because public charging infrastructure is rather thinly distributed, one must be careful to plan alternate charging locations in case EVSEs at proposed stops are either occupied or non-functioning. We've made several trips beyond single-charge range in our first months of EV ownership, and we've had to make use of contingency plans a number of times when public charging stations turned out to be broken or already engaged with another EV.<br />
<br />
For more, see my post, <a href="http://goingev.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-public-ev-charging-stations-might.html">Why public EV charging stations might not be as useful as you think</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
ROUGHING IT</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the days before automobile manufacturers began producing EVs, hobbyists charged their home-built electrics from household circuits, including not only typical 15A, 120V services, but the higher-powered service sometimes installed in homes to supply power to appliances like electric clothes dryers and ovens. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So can these circuits - which sometimes have the 240 volt, 30+ amp service required for Level 2 charging - be used for fast charging an EV? Can you take your L2 EVSE along with you and plug it into the dryer outlet in your grandma's house? Maybe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While modern EVs typically come with a Level 1 EVSE which can plug into any household outlet, it's almost never going to be convenient to charge for the 20+ hours it might take to recharge your fully-depleted battery pack after 75 miles of driving (<i>in the case of the largest battery pack in a Tesla Model S, you could spend 90+ hours after driving 300+ miles</i>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's possible to plug a Level 2 EVSE into some of these existing outlets, but it's a non-trivial pursuit. There are many standards of outlets and plugs, some having bearing subtle differences which both identify them and prevent inappropriate connections between devices and electrical service. If you happen to be the adventurous sort who has a reason to periodically travel well beyond the range of your battery and know that a home or business owner somewhere along the route won't mind you using their electricity (<i>and possibly unplugging their oven, and parking on their grass so the cable will reach through the kitchen window</i>), it's possible to take along your L2 EVSE (<i>provided it has a plug for 240 volt power - some are designed to be wired permanently</i>) and the appropriate adapters (<i>no home or business is likely to have the outlet type which is physically compatible with your EVSE's plug</i>), and charge fast enough that you don't have spend the night (<i>or more</i>) before returning home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Me, I'm enough of a geek that I've been scheming about making trips requiring <i>several</i> full charges. This involves almost 80 per cent of the trip time spent charging, and 20 per cent in motion. So traveling 300 miles could take more than 20 hours - IF you make it to the charging stations, AND they are available and operational. If we do this, one of the options for fast charging is plugging our L2 EVSE into a 50 amp, 240 volt service in a campground. So that's one of the adapters I'll have in our kit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">CONCLUSIONS</span></h3>
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Most owners of EVs with 80 miles of range probably rarely use charging infrastructure away from home. Indeed, the point is that most automobile owners drive far less than 80 miles per day. If you fit in this profile, you may not need to concern yourself with charging away from home.<br />
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If you're lucky enough to have a charging stations at your destination, you might be one of the very few who can travel nearly the full range of your EV's battery in both directions. <b>But</b> if you drive more than half of your range, the charging system at your destination <b>must</b> be available and functional, or you'll either be stranded or looking for a public charging station that's within whatever remaining range your EV's battery has.<br />
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If you live in a region with public charging stations, that provides some flexibility to the kinds of travel you might undertake. But the availability and operational status of public stations is unpredictable at this point in time, so you must be prepared with contingency charging locations which are within range, and the effect that this will have on your schedule.<br />
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Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6930370442260926323.post-22073566386953610042013-10-12T19:59:00.000-07:002014-01-14T15:38:56.807-08:00Our (Unexpected) Decision to Go ElectricThough we had been interested in electric vehicles for years, a couple of things had prevented us from considering them as candidates for purchase. We have a couple of mid-80s vehicles bearing the name of automotive legend Carroll Shelby in our garage, and while they're not particularly valuable, we bought both of them new and haven't wanted to part with them to open up a parking space. We'd assumed that if we purchased a plug-in electric (PEV) or plug-in hybrid vehicle, we'd have to provide garage space for them while they charged.<br />
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So as our daily driver has increasingly been showing signs of age, the range of vehicles we considered did not include vehicles that were fueled with electricity from our home.<br />
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Friends of ours had been leasing a Nissan Leaf for a year. On a whim in September 2013, I searched craigslist for used Leafs. I found a few, and in the process of ruminating over the ramifications of owning an EV, I had a revelation: if we purchased a <i>used</i> EV, we wouldn't have to worry about maintaining its pristine condition: we could park it in our driveway. Further EV research eventually led to the realization that we were in a "sweet spot" for Federal and California state incentives ($7,500 and $2,500, respectively), as well as some incentives from our local power utility. The Federal incentive also benefited lessees (dealerships get the Federal incentive and pass along the savings by reducing the "lease amount" of the qualifying EV), and the state and even local utility company provided incentives to anyone leasing a plug-in EV or hybrid for at least 36 months.<br />
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I'd never seen the value of leasing a car, but the constantly-moving target of battery technology made an a 3-year lease - especially what looked increasingly like an inexpensive lease - an attractive solution for trying out the current state-of-the-art of EVs without being responsible for a frighteningly expensive battery pack. <i>And</i> we could park (and charge) it in our driveway.<br />
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Though we live within the massive sprawl of Los Angeles, much of our day-to-day driving is limited to our immediate neighborhood. The 20 to 30 mile ranges of most of the plug-in hybrid offerings could accommodate 80 to 90 per cent of our driving needs.<br />
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My wife's co-worker was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the time when American Honda Motor Company, trying to offset poor sales of their Honda Fit EV, dropped the lease from $389/month to $259 in May 2013. In addition to the greatly reduced lease rate, Honda provided a free Level 2 EVSE (a charging station worth about $1,000) and included collision insurance in the lease rate. We learned about this when she took delivery, and attempted to acquire one ourselves. But it was too late. When her point of contact, a fleet manager with the country's biggest Honda dealership, called me back to tell me there was no point in putting me on their waiting list, I knew it was a lost cause. That dealership had 50 to 60 names on the list and were getting <i>one</i> Fit EV per month, so he said we might get one in <i>four or five years</i>. When a <b>car salesman</b> doesn't try to sell you a car, you know there's no hope. And in four or five years, We all hope the current EV offerings will have improved somewhat.<br />
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By this time, I'd built up a spreadsheet comparing the current PEV (plug-in electric vehicle) and plug-in hybrid offerings. My being who I am, I welcome any narrowing of the range of choices in something like the vast consumer automobile market, and this got us down to less than a dozen possibilities.<br />
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During this time, we attended the 2013 gatherings of <a href="http://www.altcarexpo.com/">AltCar Expo</a> and <a href="http://www.pluginamerica.org/">Plug in America's</a> National Plug In Day. At these events, we drove as many of the current offerings as possible.<br />
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I researched. I compared. I did the math and realized that we drove our daily driver - a Dodge minivan - only about 5,000 miles the previous 12 months. Because we'd purchased a small motorhome, even short day trips often involve the RV, so annual mileage needs from our daily vehicle are very modest. This confirmed my assumption that the limited range of full EVs wouldn't have a problem accommodating our daily needs. Along the way, we realized that except for the pain of parking (we live on a street with competitive curb parking, which matters when you've filled your garage and driveway with vehicles), we'd wouldn't get rid of our minivan, so it would still serve - albeit a little less tautly as it once did - for large-capacity and longer-distance tasks.<br />
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I never intended this blog to be about our specific vehicle choice, so I won't go into detail about why we ended up with a 2013 Ford Focus Electric, or why we excluded all of the other candidates. A few highlights are in order, though:<br />
<ul>
<li>Chevrolet Volt - If the Volt had not had a motion sickness-inducing gun-port windshield, the base of which is at nearly mid-shoulder height and four feet from the front seats (just put your motion sick-prone relative in the front seat of a Volt and ask them to look at a map while you go around the block); and the widest A-pillars (the vertical frame of the windshield) imaginable, which along with a 2"+ opaque border at the margins of the glass and the extreme rake of the windshield, conspire to obscure a full-sized vehicle from the driver across an intersection - we'd be driving one now. In retrospect, we're having more fun with a full electric. But we liked the "cake and eat it" idea of a <i>serial hybrid</i>, and the comely appearance of the Volt, and 2013 models were leasing and very attractive rates at the end of the 2013.</li>
<li>Chevrolet Spark EV - If the Spark wasn't so bargain-basement cheap in its execution and slightly homely, we might have given it more consideration. Its positive attributes included an inexpensive lease; 400 foot-pounds of torque (I'm a long-time automotive performance enthusiast); and being one of only a few (along with the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV) vehicles which supports DC Fast Charging - which can charge a fully depleted battery pack "to 80% in 30 minutes" - <i>if</i> you can find a DC Fast Charging station (there aren't many). </li>
<li>Nissan Leaf - This was tempting . . . but not. It's got a HUGE community. Over 35,000 in the United States, and over 60,000 worldwide. It's a purpose-made EV, rather than a conversion of an existing internal-combustion (IC) car. But - and I'm embarrassed to say I care - it's kind of <i>funny looking</i>. On the one hand, it's not confused for any other kind of car. And while we're not the activistic sort of EV owners, we welcome recognition of doing something different. But maybe not <i>that</i> different. Pricing of outgoing-year models (including some somewhat confusing options about charging) was appealing. But the car just wasn't. </li>
<li>Smart Electric - After several years of importing other Smart models to the U.S., a full EV finally arrives. And the lease is shockingly affordable - $135/month as of October 2013. I'd calculated that we'd save $110 to $120 in fuel costs over our minivan with any EV, even at 5K miles/year, so except for insurance, this would almost be FREE. However, the only cargo space in a Smart is a space between the back of the front (and only) seats, and the rear hatch. and you <i>might</i> be able to stack up six grocery bags back there. But I doubt it.</li>
</ul>
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I recorded additional comments and photos from attending the AltCar Expo 2013 in Santa Monica, California on September 20, 2013 in <a href="http://usefulbulk.com/altcar2013/altcar_expo_2013.pdf">this PDF file</a>.</div>
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In the end, we were in a Ford dealership, and waffling about either a C-MAX Energi - a plug-in hybrid capable of 21 miles of EV-only operation but capable of 650+ miles of range when operated as a gasoline and plug-in hybrid; or the Focus Electric, with 80 miles of EV-only range. After tormenting ourselves (and the salesman) for days about it, I said to my wife, "If we buy the C-MAX Energi, it's just a car. We just drive it. If we buy the Focus Electric, we'll learn something." We still spent some time on the final decision, but the dealer clearly wanted to move the car, and we really liked it. The final negotiated lease payment included another $6,000+ in "lease cash" - a further discount by the dealership, and our lease payments are very reasonable.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJrhyh7DEbbSZ77rXpo4PX5tkG2SejQBh1R8KRq934UDxNTIDYxmKscw3e1GMFtsLExlaZVFQ8I-mZA_QIukDCcQClKn9TN4GTdeK3RtDCIJO3s5Yr_yRkjL2eOCzdNxRRs7X0EwJe9c/s1600/FFE-LA-Zoo-for-Blog-BKGD_%2528300k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJrhyh7DEbbSZ77rXpo4PX5tkG2SejQBh1R8KRq934UDxNTIDYxmKscw3e1GMFtsLExlaZVFQ8I-mZA_QIukDCcQClKn9TN4GTdeK3RtDCIJO3s5Yr_yRkjL2eOCzdNxRRs7X0EwJe9c/s400/FFE-LA-Zoo-for-Blog-BKGD_%2528300k.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 2013 Ford Focus Electric</td></tr>
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Ellsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17981756111823859676noreply@blogger.com0