Zero E-Michigan

Part of  WKTV Journal  Grand Rapids, MI Community Programming Listen Here:  Plug-In West Michigan Podcast ... or find it on your favorite podcast feed like iTunes or  Spotify . Episode 5 Show Notes Introduction Host: Karl Bloss Blog:  www.muskegonevguy.com Instagram  @muskegonevguy West Michigan EV community:   www.facebook.com/groups/WestMichiganEV/ Guest: Tyler Burke Theme song composed by  Tyler Burke Main Topic:  Public Charging Why drive electric? Environmental benefits.  The grid keeps getting cleaner (see also EV news below) Cost: 1,000 miles at 35 MPG (Toyota Corolla) = 28.6 gallons @$2.70/gallon = $77.00 1,000 miles at 4 miles/kwh = 250 kWh @ $0.15/kWh = $37.50 Electricity is so cheap that you can often get free charging at hotels or restaurants.  I was just in Frankfort and Traverse City and there were plenty of free places to charge. Even without that and driving an efficient car,...

One of two ChargePoint DCQCs in Walker, MI The opening of a brand new ChargePoint DC Quick Charger ( PlugShare link ) in Walker, Michigan just on the eastern outskirts of Grand Rapids lent itself for a road trip test. On the previous day, I had taken a family member to the Grand Rapids (GRR) airport from Muskegon, which is a 50-some mile trip one way and thus over 100 miles round trip.  In my 240+ mile range Tesla, that's not even breaking a sweat, but in the Nissan LEAF I would have to charge. Rather than do a write up, I thought I would have some fun with this and record some video footage of the same trip in my LEAF, which I then edited together with some details into this 20-minute  YouTube Video .  The point is to show how a short-range EV like my 2016  LEAF (it's a 30 kWh but at 87% it's original capacity according to LEAF Spy, thus 90-ish miles of range) can behave on such a trip and whether charging infrastructure can now make this trip more pract...

Part of  WKTV Journal  Grand Rapids, MI Community Programming Listen Here:  Plug-In West Michigan Podcast ... or find it on your favorite podcast feed like iTunes or  Spotify . New!   WKTV now videotapes the recordings.   Here's the  Facebook video link to this show. Episode 4 Show Notes Introduction Host: Karl Bloss Blog:  www.muskegonevguy.com Instagram  @muskegonevguy West Michigan EV community:   www.facebook.com/groups/WestMichiganEV/ Guest: Paul Pancella, Professor and Chair of Physics Department, Western Michigan University Main Topic:  Used Electric Vehicles Main points for buying a used EV: How will the car be used? What range do you need for daily driving?  Don’t forget about winter range loss and eventual battery degradation. Do you expect to take it on road trips? Bottom line: does it meet your driving needs? What charging ports and parameters should you look for? Size of...

Part of  WKTV Journal  Grand Rapids, MI Community Programming Listen Here:  Plug-In West Michigan Podcast ... or find it on your favorite podcast feed like iTunes or  Spotify . Episode 3 Show Notes Introduction Host: Karl Bloss Blog:  www.muskegonevguy.com Instagram  @muskegonevguy West Michigan EV community:   www.facebook.com/groups/WestMichiganEV/ Guest: Amy Smith Main Topic:  Tesla Model 3 Tesla Model 3 Standard announcement:   https://www.tesla.com/blog/35000-tesla-model-3-available-now Tesla Model 3:   https://www.tesla.com/model3  Tesla Superchargers, Destination Chargers and Service Centers:   https://www.tesla.com/findus EV News Snippets Tesla Model Y:   https://www.tesla.com/modely Tesla Model Y - Electrek coverage:  https://electrek.co/guides/tesla-model-y/ Nissan LEAF ePlus -  https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf.html Nissan...

"Numerous power outages expected, likely prolonged."   ...reads the warning from the local  Google Crisis Map  warning for West Michigan as I compose this essay.  We still have power and internet at the moment, but it wasn't that way on February 7, 2019 when we lost power for nearly a full day.  The patchwork of power outages shown on the  Consumers Energy Outage Map  looked like a product of a quilting bee. With just about everything in your home needing power to operate , even the controls and ignition of my gas furnace were affected.  I noticed that the house was getting a bit chilly in the 15°F outdoor temperatures.  While our comfort and access to a hot shower was a concern to me, ironically it was the 40 lbs of Michigan blueberries in my freezer being in jeopardy of thawing out that first popped into my head. Note: if you prefer a quick video overview, I recorded this  YouTube video . Electric Vehicles to the Rescue ...

Part of  WKTV Journal  Grand Rapids, MI Community Programming Listen Here:  Plug-In West Michigan Podcast ... or find it on your favorite podcast feed like iTunes or Spotify . Episode 2 Show Notes Introduction Host: Karl Bloss Blog:  www.muskegonevguy.com Instagram  @muskegonevguy West Michigan EV community:   www.facebook.com/groups/WestMichiganEV/ Guest: Josh Bourdon Main Topic:  Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles US Department of Energy:   How Do Plug-In Hybrid Electric Cars Work? US Department of Energy:   How Do Hybrid Electric Cars Work? Inside EVs:   EV Purists Take Note: A Ton Of Plug-in Hybrids Are Coming 2019 Chevrolet Volt:   https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/volt-plug-in-hybrid Looking for a Volt:  Cars.com search for used Chevrolet Volts 75 miles from WKTV  (Note: there are many more places to search for used cars) EV News Snippets Audi Super Bowl commer...

EV Home Charging - Charging to 80% Maximum State of Charge If you have been around the EV community long enough, you have probably heard the advice to keep you battery's state-of-charge (SOC) below a certain level if you don't need the range for a road trip.  The number quoted is often 80%. Keeping the SOC of a lithium-ion battery above a certain point for long periods of time, particularly in the heat, has been shown to accelerate early degradation of the battery capacity.  There are scholarly articles to dive into the details such as this one from  BatteryUniversity.com .   I encountered the two-dimensional temperature - SOC plot on David Laur's  David Laur's blog  that focuses on life with a Nissan LEAF.  The purpose is to communicate the best combination of temperature and SOC to maximize battery longevity in the LEAF's passively-cooled battery pack.  In Dave's words:  "Now, we all know Nissan put the fear of God in...