ESB Great Electric Drive

Guess who signed up ?

One of the questions is how far is your daily commute, so I bet my 130 km commute is too much for them rather than the car. They wouldn't want too many miles on the car.

Herself has a 20 km commute a day so that would be far more attractive to them I bet even though the biggest saving would be for me who drives far more!

Would be great though!

For those who don't have a clue what the OP is on about..

http://www.esb.ie/electric-cars/electric-car-driving/the-great-electric-drive.jsp

Would you like to join our team of ecar ambassadors and drive an electric car for up to a year? Well here's your chance...
ESB ecars has just launched The Great Electric Drive and is selecting members of the general public to take part in an electric car trial. We are looking for people with a range of different lifestyles to get plugged in and share their electric driving experience with us. So, if you're a car enthusiast, a technology whizz, a green-consumer, a business professional or think that your family would like to take part, just let us know why you are the ideal candidate. If you want the chance to join our team of ecar ambassadors and experience the thrill of electric driving, then this is the perfect opportunity for you!
The selected ambassadors will trial one of the following electric car models; Nissan LEAF, Mitsubishi iMiEV and a Renault Kangoo Z.E. commercial electric van. Twenty people in total will participate in the year-long trial, four of which will trial an ecar for a year and sixteen people will trial the ecars for a period of three months each.

Oh Yeah thanks for that, I suppose a link would have helped!

... I reckon 'twas the excitement of it all swept you away :pac:

TestTransmission

Free use of a car all the same, might sign up for the laugh.

RoverJames

RoverJames wrote: »

... I reckon 'twas the excitement of it all swept you away :pac:

TestTransmission

TestTransmission wrote: »

Free use of a car all the same, might sign up for the laugh.

You would burn it out just for the laugh and blame the battery!

TestTransmission

Deleted User wrote: »

You would burn it out just for the laugh and blame the battery!

I've no issues with EV at all, don't feel it's quite there at the moment but sure things progress.

TestTransmission

TestTransmission wrote: »

I've no issues with EV at all, don't feel it's quite there at the moment but sure things progress.

Well I'm not sure I could make the 130 km commute in the Leaf, but I'm sure I could persuade work to install a charger, the building consumes 14.5 Mega Watts so charging the leaf would be unnoticeable! If that was the case then happy days!

I have a 3 month contract that ends at the end of July. I long for a permanent contract but I got to take what I get, but if I get a permanent contract, I may consider the Leaf or Zoe! But until then it's the good old Prius, after the 3 months who know's what will happen!

Sure I might not be saving, but I'd rather spend more on the car than the fuel, the saving on the fuel would go a long way in paying the car!

Renaults soon to offer free battery rental for 2 years is an attractive offer, but I bet they have mileage restrictions, which is fair enough considering the loss they are taking on the batteries!

Alanstrainor

I'd love one just to see what they're actually like to live with. I agree with TT, I don't think they're there yet, but I'd be willing to give it a shot!

I don't usually drive to work, but I did today. The BMW is a lovely place to sit and listen to the radio, but I ended up driving all over Dublin today in work and it just bloody drinks petrol around town! No fun at all!

Alanstrainor

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I'd love one just to see what they're actually like to live with. I agree with TT, I don't think they're there yet, but I'd be willing to give it a shot!

I don't usually drive to work, but I did today. The BMW is a lovely place to sit and listen to the radio, but I ended up driving all over Dublin today in work and it just bloody drinks petrol around town! No fun at all!

Indeed if you have to pay for the petrol it's no fun. I think that is where a lot of people will warm to electric cars. After all 60-100 miles is a lot of driving for a lot of people.

If companies installed charge points more people would buy electric cars if they can be guaranteed they could make the trip if travelling from say Carlow to Dublin. If you go to Luas there are charge points there already. It really makes for a cheap way to get to work and back. For anyone living and working in Dublin who doesn't use public transport they are a no brainer.

I can't see companies or private car park owners installing them without some kind of Government intervention and god only knows what they might charge for the electricity!

paddy147

Have you seen the price for the new Nissan Leaf???:eek:

Duncan Stewart did a test with one a few months back on "EcoEye" on RTE1.

The car has a range of 160km and he drove it from Kerry to Dublin.


Kerry up to Dublin is alot more than 160km,so he would have to have stopped for a fair auld while to recharge it.

But "amazingly" Dunacan never mentions this important part in the programme.


Now go and work that one out.:pac::rolleyes:;




Duncan also "tested" the car around Mondello,and he was "amazed" by the Nissan Leafs handling and speed,especially through the corners.

Shame he was only doing around 30kph in the car.;):rolleyes:


I wonder how many 50 euro notes were in that envelope that Nissan Ireland may have given to him??.:pac:

Dublin to Kerry ? If there are a few fast chargers along the way there is no reason it can't be done!

As I keep saying, you buy a car that meets 90% of your driving not the 10% that it may or may not do!

I think I would be more than willing to fast charge a couple of times along the way. With the hugely reduced cost of driving on electricity I would be more than willing to make that small sacrifice. Nissan have stated clearly now that fast charging multiple times a day is no harm, and I've heard that on the American Leaf forum too, noting like releasing a car to the public for "proper" field testing!

meoklmrk91

Just applied there, have a daily commute of 130k so it would be handy alright and interesting to try. Thanks OP.

Tropheus

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Just applied there, have a daily commute of 130k so it would be handy alright and interesting to try. Thanks OP.

A daily commute of a 130k? Where do you work? The moon?

Bruthal

ksimpson wrote: »

A daily commute of a 130k? Where do you work? The moon?

It must be a new moon, if its at 130k.

meoklmrk91

robbie7730 wrote: »

It must be a new moon, if its at 130k.

Forgot the m lads, 130km

Bruthal

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Forgot the m lads, 130km

I knew that. ksimpson was pretending he didnt:pac:

meoklmrk91

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Just applied there, have a daily commute of 130k so it would be handy alright and interesting to try. Thanks OP.

That's around the same distance as me.

I worked it out that fuel would cost me €12,750 over 5 years in the Prius. Excluding all the non work related driving.

To calculate driving on electric the same distance over 5 years we need to do some calculations.

€1.60 on night tariff electricity would get you between 70-100 miles in the Leaf depending on weather, accessories used etc meaning I May or may not make the full trip of about 80 ish miles a day. There are no fast chargers on route, the closest from Grange Castle Business Park being Topaz at Bewley's, Newlands Cross. If you pass there, or Belgard Nissan and are willing to spend 10-15 mins on a charger and save, then go for it!

Anyone that drives to Luas Red Cow, happy days, there are 4 charge points there already! :-) So a trip from Carlow to Luas Red Cow is more than achievable+ you can set your heater to warm up the car on cold winter evenings and it's nice and cosy when you get there!

So Lets say I can make it. €1.60 per "full" charge per day =8 euro's a week compared to €51 or so in the Prius excluding the non work related driving we do. That is a substantial saving.

€8.00 a week over 5 years = €2,000. That's a saving of 10,750 over the 5 years!

If you need to charge at your destination it would cost around €3,000 euro's that figure is off the top of my head because the battery wouldn't be 100% drained and work places may or may not allow free charging or completely screw you for it not to mention the private car park owners.

The saving over fuel could go a long way towards paying for the car over the 5 years, you wouldn't be saving in reality if you had a 25,000 car such as the Leaf to pay for, but the saving on fuel would mean the car would really only cost 15,000 compared to a ICE car that costs 25,000 then you got to pay the over 12,750 as what it would cost me in the Prius, then that car would cost 25,000 + 12,750 for fuel = 37,750.

Those that drive 40-50 mpg cars would be paying much more over the 5 years for petrol or diesel thus saving far more!

If you get 45 mpg then to cover the same distance as me in the Prius would cost €15,869 - 2000 for electricity = 13,869, so that pays for half the leaf in a 45 mpg car!

45 mpg = 15.93 kms per litre divide by 160,000 kms = 1,93.4 litres x 1.58 for fuel = €15,869.

You always have the option of charging from renewable sources too, and the 3 grand a year that you would save on the electricity to charge the car would go towards paying off the solar or wind system!

"how do I charge using my renewable energy if I'm out during the day ?" I can hear you saying. That's very simple. You put it into the grid during the day and buy it back at night, the E.S.B being a very very very x 100000 cheap battery that doesn't need maintenance or die after 10 years!

In fact Nissan have in Japan a system where the Leaf will store energy for the grid, so instead of turning off wind turbines the Electric companies can dump that energy into electric car batteries and take it from them at peak times.

Sometimes I wish people would appreciate the effort I put into these posts!

Shane732

Hmmm.... Could you just park it up for the year and use it to p*ss in?

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

Hmmm.... Could you just park it up for the year and use it to p*ss in?

And you're a moderator ? WOW!

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

And you're a moderator ? WOW!

Let's just say I'm not a fan of the Nissan Leaf.

In time the technology may well advance and we'll have something that's actually worth purchasing. At present there isn't a chance I'd consider getting out of what I'm driving and buying one of those yokes.

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

Let's just say I'm not a fan of the Nissan Leaf.

In time the technology may well advance and we'll have something that's actually worth purchasing. At present there isn't a chance I'd consider getting out of what I'm driving and buying one of those yokes.

That's fine, but why didn't you say that in the beginning instead of running yourself down with derogatory remarks ? Seriously there isn't any need for those kind of comments!

You may be well willing to pay for petrol or diesel but many others are not and even the Nissan Leaf has more than enough range for most people!

Heroditas

I applied. I'd love to try it for a few months or else my wife can use it for pottering around the suburbs.
Free installation of a charge point will be no bad thing either.
Handy selling point for the house!

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

That's fine, but why didn't you say that in the beginning instead of running yourself down with derogatory remarks ? Seriously there isn't any need for those kind of comments!

You may be well willing to pay for petrol or diesel but many others are not and even the Nissan Leaf has more than enough range for most people!

I wasn't aware that I had run myself down. Oh well, I guess in time I'll recover from the trauma this has caused me.

Lighten up - I'm the tax mod, I'm meant to be the boring one.

The Leaf would have enough range for me on a normal day. My round trip on a normal day is in the region of 40 miles. However, what happens on the day I need to go to a meeting or something?

Also it's performance is rubbish.

Bruthal

Shane732 wrote: »

Hmmm.... Could you just park it up for the year and use it to p*ss in?

Or you could just use your toilet, no?

Shane732 wrote: »

Let's just say I'm not a fan of the Nissan Leaf.

In time the technology may well advance and we'll have something that's actually worth purchasing. At present there isn't a chance I'd consider getting out of what I'm driving and buying one of those yokes.

There wont be any advancement if people follow you`re suggestion.

Shane732

robbie7730 wrote: »

Or you could just use your toilet, no?

I could but if I ended up with a Nissan Leaf for a year what else would I do with it?

robbie7730 wrote: »

There wont be any advancement if people follow you`re suggestion.

Inevitably there will be as in time we'll get to a stage where it won't be a viable option to continue using fossil fuels. For some that time as already come.

Personally I'd like to see liquid nitrogen being used.

Lets try keep this on topic!

blindside88

ksimpson wrote: »

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Just applied there, have a daily commute of 130k so it would be handy alright and interesting to try. Thanks OP.

A daily commute of a 130k? Where do you work? The moon?

That's not out of the ordinary of a lot of people, my daily commute is 160km, was thinking of applying but I don't think they'd take to kindly to me driving the car to it's limit each day wouldn't want to chance a detour

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

I wasn't aware that I had run myself down. Oh well, I guess in time I'll recover from the trauma this has caused me.

Lighten up - I'm the tax mod, I'm meant to be the boring one.

The Leaf would have enough range for me on a normal day. My round trip on a normal day is in the region of 40 miles. However, what happens on the day I need to go to a meeting or something?

Also it's performance is rubbish.

Really ? then read your first post in this thread, it hardly is a worthy contribution to the discussion!

The Leaf isn't supposed to be a performance car, remember the limitation to performance long range electric cars is cost.

The Tesla model S is supposed to have 350 miles or more. But at a prohibitive cost to most people! The sport version doing 0-60 in 4.5 seconds!

Again what makes sense is you buy a car that meets 90% or more of your driving needs, not the 10% or less it may not. That does not make sense.

What if I want to go on a long trip in an ice car and it won't start after not driving it for a few months because I drive the Leaf 99% of the time ?

Bruthal

Shane732 wrote: »

I could but if I ended up with a Nissan Leaf for a year what else would I do with it?

You would`t piss into it, thats for sure. Not applying would be one way to avoid having one for a year though:pac:

Inevitably there will be as in time we'll get to a stage where it won't be a viable option to continue using fossil fuels. For some that time as already come.

Personally I'd like to see liquid nitrogen being used.

Advancement requires people with open minds probably.

dev100

I have a question about the cost to charge up theses cars. We pay an excessive amount in duties and taxes on normal fuel. If we all decided to go electric . Surely it makes no economic sense for government to allow this cheaper fuel source. They d lose massive amounts in revenue . How are they going to generate revenue if charging electrically is so cheap?

blindside88

blindside88 wrote: »

That's not out of the ordinary of a lot of people, my daily commute is 160km, was thinking of applying but I don't think they'd take to kindly to me driving the car to it's limit each day wouldn't want to chance a detour

That's more than achievable if you can charge at your destination ? this is the crucial thing. We need more chargers rather than a bigger more expensive battery, and faster chargers are there just not available to us yet. 10 min charging is being tested by Nissan. Who knows if it will be there for gen II leaf ?

dev100

dev100 wrote: »

I have a question about the cost to charge up theses cars. We pay an excessive amount in duties and taxes on normal fuel. If we all decided to go electric . Surely it makes no economic sense for government to allow this cheaper fuel source. They d lose massive amounts in revenue . How are they going to generate revenue if charging electrically is so cheap?

Electricity will never cost the same as petrol or diesel, if they do decide to raise taxes on ev's just remember ice cars will still cost much more!

Bruthal

Deleted User wrote: »

Electricity will never cost the same as petrol or diesel, if they do decide to raise taxes on ev's just remember ice cars will still cost much more!

That might be true while ice`s are still the majority. It would be interesting to see what they (government) would come up with, if ev`s were in the large majority due to oil being no longer viable. They would come up with some method to hammer them.

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

Really ? then read your first post in this thread, it hardly is a worthy contribution to the discussion!

The Leaf isn't supposed to be a performance car, remember the limitation to performance long range electric cars is cost.

The Tesla model S is supposed to have 350 miles or more. But at a prohibitive cost to most people! The sport version doing 0-60 in 4.5 seconds!

Again what makes sense is you buy a car that meets 90% or more of your driving needs, not the 10% or less it may not. That does not make sense.

What if I want to go on a long trip in an ice car and it won't start after not driving it for a few months because I drive the Leaf 99% of the time ?

I'm lost.

In this scenario you own an ice car and a Leaf? So you've incurred the capital cost of buying two cars, insuring two cars and taxing two cars?

The payback of the €25,000 cost of the Leaf would be a long time coming even before you take into account the additional costs.

Plus I would imagine that once further advancement in this area, be it electric cars or otherwise, are made the Leaf will become dated very quickly.

A Nissan Leaf would not meet 90% or more of my driving requirements.

Bruthal

Shane732 wrote: »

I'm lost.


The payback of the €25,000 cost of the Leaf would be a long time coming even before you take into account the additional costs.
.

Whats the payback time of you`re current car?

robbie7730

robbie7730 wrote: »

That might be true while ice`s are still the majority. It would be interesting to see what they (government) would come up with, if ev`s were in the large majority due to oil being no longer viable. They would come up with some method to hammer them.

maybe they will and maybe not, but the fact still remains, e.v's will always be far cheaper to run than an ice car!

remember the C02 tax and fuel tax will keep going up with each budget and the Government are so strapped for cash that they could very well introduce much more tolls regardless of what type of car is on the road.

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

Really ? then read your first post in this thread, it hardly is a worthy contribution to the discussion!

I read my first post before I submitted it, I fail to see your point.

Deleted User wrote: »

What if I want to go on a long trip in an ice car and it won't start after not driving it for a few months because I drive the Leaf 99% of the time ?

Just to cover this point off...

Why would your ice car not start? I assume you're saying the battery would have gone dead? You could use jump leads or alternatively start the car for 10 mins every now and again.

What if I needed to drive to Galway and back in the one day and I only had a Leaf?

Shane732

robbie7730 wrote: »

Whats the payback time of you`re current car?

You don't seem to be getting my point.

I'm saying the additional cost of €25,000 buying a second car versus buying fuel with the €25,000.

My own car puts a smile on my face every time I start it and every time I press the accelerator that's all the payback I want from it. That's wasn't my point though.

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

I'm lost.

In this scenario you own an ice car and a Leaf? So you've incurred the capital cost of buying two cars, insuring two cars and taxing two cars?

The payback of the €25,000 cost of the Leaf would be a long time coming even before you take into account the additional costs.

Plus I would imagine that once further advancement in this area, be it electric cars or otherwise, are made the Leaf will become dated very quickly.

A Nissan Leaf would not meet 90% or more of my driving requirements.

We have 2 ice cars, a 00 2.0L CRV and the Prius, both cars are fully paid for!

A Leaf would replace the CRV.

Pay 25k for a ice car or 25 k for an e.v, which is cheaper to run ? which pays back for itself much faster ?

Did you read my earlier post about the cost of running the Prius V a 45 mpg car V a Leaf ?

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

I read my first post before I submitted it, I fail to see your point.





Just to cover this point off...

Why would your ice car not start? I assume you're saying the battery would have gone dead? You could use jump leads or alternatively start the car for 10 mins every now and again.

What if I needed to drive to Galway and back in the one day and I only had a Leaf?

What if, what if, what if, we could do this all day.

what if get a break down ? water pump failure, head gasket failure, etc etc.

If I want to drive to Galway I'd charge in Athlone along the way!

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

You don't seem to be getting my point.

I'm saying the additional cost of €25,000 buying a second car versus buying fuel with the €25,000.

My own car puts a smile on my face every time I start it and every time I press the accelerator that's all the payback I want from it. That's wasn't my point though.

The cheapness of driving an ev would more than put a smile on my face and knowing most of my hard earned isn't going to German banks!

Bruthal

Shane732 wrote: »

You don't seem to be getting my point.

About pissing into electric powered cars? I got that one.

I'm saying the additional cost of €25,000 buying a second car versus buying fuel with the €25,000.

This thread was about being given an electric car for a year.

My own car puts a smile on my face every time I start it and every time I press the accelerator that's all the payback I want from it. That's wasn't my point though.

Nitrous oxide powered?

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

We have 2 ice cars, a 00 2.0L CRV and the Prius, both cars are fully paid for!

A Leaf would replace the CRV.

Pay 25k for a ice car or 25 k for an e.v, which is cheaper to run ? which pays back for itself much faster ?

Did you read my earlier post about the cost of running the Prius V a 45 mpg car V a Leaf ?

No I didn't read your earlier post.

I'm not arguing that in your personal situation a Leaf wouldn't suit you. You have access to an ice car and can use it when you need it. The key point being that you have an ice car.

Neither car will pay itself back in a realistic period of time. A car is ultimately a cost.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

The cheapness of driving an ev would more than put a smile on my face and knowing most of my hard earned isn't going to German banks!

If looking at at from a purely financial viewpoint why not buy an old ICE car that's light on fuel?

Shane732

robbie7730 wrote: »

About pissing into electric powered cars? I got that one.

Good. You seemed to miss the point I was referring to in my previous post though.

robbie7730 wrote: »

This thread was about being given an electric car for a year.

It was.

robbie7730 wrote: »

Nitrous oxide powered?

No it's a BMW 335i no nitrous oxide. Or perhaps you were referring to nitrous oxide with reference to it putting a smile on my face (i.e. laughing gas)?

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

No I didn't read your earlier post.

I'm not arguing that in your personal situation a Leaf wouldn't suit you. You have access to an ice car and can use it when you need it. The key point being that you have an ice car.

Neither car will pay itself back in a realistic period of time. A car is ultimately a cost.

Right then, so why pay 25 k for a ice if a 25 K e.v will save you much much more ?

Even if I didn't have 2 ice cars, I could rent a car for the one time a year an e.v may or may not meet my needs.

I could take my mothers car, auntie's car, and give them the Leaf.

Shane732

Deleted User wrote: »

The cheapness of driving an ev would more than put a smile on my face and knowing most of my hard earned isn't going to German banks!

Ahhh yes the German banks.

Fair enough but you currently have two cars paid off, so ignoring other incidentals your only cost is fuel.

Whereas if you buy a Leaf you have to spend €25k.

How long would it take you to rack up €25k of fuel costs?

Surely it'd be 7-9 before you had a smile on your face in the Leaf?

Shane732

RoverJames wrote: »

If looking at at from a purely financial viewpoint why not buy an old ICE car that's light on fuel?

Because the Leaf looks outstanding.

Shane732

Shane732 wrote: »

.........
Whereas if you buy a Leaf you have to spend €25k.

How long would it take you to rack up €25k of fuel costs?

Surely it'd be 7-9 before you had a smile on your face in the Leaf?

The EV lads, although they like blowing on about the perceived savings only like comparing buying a Leaf to buying a ICE for €25k too, therefore there is savings and your point about fuel costs becomes void.