E-evo

peposhi · 21-03-2015 10:54pm #1

Hi, everyone

Today was a day of mixed feelings.
My beloved ICE D-audi (I always give names to my cars) has left for good only to be replaced by the all electric E-evo, a mid spec Nissan Leaf.

I have wanted one for a good while and finally I got the option to go for it.

I have to say a massive thank you to Mad Lad off boards.ie and Paul Flynn from Barlo Kilkenny who were extremely helpful throughout the process of making a decision...

This is my blog. where I will share and discuss my experience and feelings about the whole new world of me driving an EV.

So here comes E-evo to meet you all

23-03-2015 1:04am

Nice one, well done in your decision !

I still love driving the leaf and I'm glad I finally made the move .

I love how it drives and I love the fact there isn't any toxic exhaust . Despite what the EV haters think, Petrol and diesel refining consumes vasts amounts of electricity, not to mention the energy consumed in it's extraction and transport !!!

My electricity is generated mainly from Gas and wind, yeah it does give me a lot of satisfaction driving with no exhaust fumes, I'm driving as efficiently and clean as I possibly can. My other mission is to eventually charge the car via wind and solar power.

peposhi · 23-03-2015 5:24am

I would have deffinitely gotten a solar panel system in my house if Ireland was in let say - Spain. Plenty of sunshine to make the system efficient.
I still have not convinced myself that it is worth spending 4K+ on it in Ireland...

Two days gone... have not driven E-evo muc. Only home-work-home. Still trying different modes, styles of driving, adjustin'... getting used to the range anxiety factor en all

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nice one, well done in your decision !

I still love driving the leaf and I'm glad I finally made the move .

I love how it drives and I love the fact there isn't any toxic exhaust . Despite what the EV haters think, Petrol and diesel refining consumes vasts amounts of electricity, not to mention the energy consumed in it's extraction and transport !!!

My electricity is generated mainly from Gas and wind, yeah it does give me a lot of satisfaction driving with no exhaust fumes, I'm driving as efficiently and clean as I possibly can. My other mission is to eventually charge the car via wind and solar power.

peposhi · 23-03-2015 5:32am

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/photo/110489658081874903802/6129283329279947490?cbp=1g6bppqvb042y&sview=20&cid=5&soc-app=115&soc-platform=1&pct=ab&pcv=6129282407335213505&spath=%2Fapp%2Fbasic%2Fphotos%2F110489658081874903802%2Falbum%2F6129282407335213505&sparm=banner%3Dpwa%26sort%3D1

peposhi · 23-03-2015 6:39am

Having a hard time posting a pic...

23-03-2015 7:17am

peposhi wrote: »

Having a hard time posting a pic...

That link doesn't work.

23-03-2015 7:27am

peposhi wrote: »

I would have deffinitely gotten a solar panel system in my house if Ireland was in let say - Spain. Plenty of sunshine to make the system efficient.
I still have not convinced myself that it is worth spending 4K+ on it in Ireland...

Solar definitely works in Ireland, not as good as Spain, of course, but it does work.

Find one of the solar calculators and the proper ones should allow you input the Kwp of your solar system, enter the country and it should calculate the (average) Kwh you'd expect to generate over the year, I was very surprised.

What you will loose in winter you'll make up for in winter. And exporting to the grid means it becomes your gigantic mega cheap storage battery, you buy the leccy back at night.

I estimated that 7KwP would be enough for my needs for a year inc the house + car. I wouldn't have the roof space in a Mid Terrace though but hopefully if we ever move.

In Ireland you will only get a grant for a crappy solar hot water system, these imo are a waste of money unless you use tonnes of hot water, I mean what the hell would I do storing so much hot water ? If I have solar PV I can at least export it to the grid and get money or buy back what I need at night.

I can use leccy to heat the damn water, charge the car, cook, etc etc. What can I use a tonne of hot water for ? And besides most people have oil, gas, solid fuel to heat water in winter and the solar PV is useless unless it's integrated into the heating system which none afaik are ?

The problem is the ESB will only allow 5Kw on single phase in Ireland, afaik.

Some day I would love to be off grid and depend on 0 energy from any utility.

Soarer · 23-03-2015 7:35am

Many would say you've been off the grid for a while now Mad Lad!

googled eyes · 23-03-2015 9:56am

Sorry lads but the ESB is no longer paying people to export to the grid. This country is ****ing backwards when it comes to renewables.

http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/news/esb-ends-scheme-for-homeowners-who-want-to-sell-power-30706655.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/power-to-the-people-why-does-ireland-make-community-energy-generation-so-difficult-1.2126185

Check out the solar forum here. People are installing a diverter from there PV system to their immersion switch to heat their water when they have surplus electricity.

In Germany GlenDimplex ( an Irish company) is involved with installing a system which uses solar PV to power storage heaters. In Ireland the government and esb are trying to dump renewables

http://m.independent.ie/business/glen-dimplex-in-100m-german-electricity-play-30746279.html

When I eventually get my EV i'd love to be able to afford solar panels aswell. I think it would be a great move.

peposhi · 24-03-2015 6:28am

What would be your recommendation for car seat covers. I have never been fond of leather, so fabric is y thing. I searched online for it and got some prices from American sites.
Did anyone bought a set in Ireland?

air · 24-03-2015 10:26am

Mad Lad, out of interest can your 6kW charger be throtted back to lower power in software somehow?
You would need at least 20kW of PV to maintain 6kW of output on an average Irish day.
It would be sweet if the Leaf charger could adapt to solar input like an immersion diverter.

24-03-2015 4:56pm

air wrote: »

Mad Lad, out of interest can your 6kW charger be throtted back to lower power in software somehow?
You would need at least 20kW of PV to maintain 6kW of output on an average Irish day.
It would be sweet if the Leaf charger could adapt to solar input like an immersion diverter.

I'm sure you could do this in software but you'd have to find out how to hack into the Charger controller and I don't know if anyone has done this.

If you use the home charge point installed by the ESb then it will charge the car at 3.5 Kw Or you could use the Portable EVSE (aka the "Granny cable" ) which charges at about 1.8 Kw.

The ideal way to use renewable energy to charge an EV in Ireland is to export to the grid when you're not home and buy it back at night, the ESB would be your storage battery.

The ESB have cancelled this program so Micro domestic energy in Ireland has just been Killed and will stop for all existing micro generators next year.

So until there is an Irish Government who insists on some kind of micro generation Scheme to make it worth while to install Solar PV and Wind then it simply is not viable in Ireland. This means giving something back to the tax payer which this Government will Never do.

The Irish Government are useless ignorant backward fools and have no "green" thinking what so ever and can only increase taxes. There could be a good economy and a lot of jobs created by a good micro generation program.

There will be a lot of anger for those who have invested in wind and solar PV installations because they will be exporting their excess energy for "free" to the ESB. And without being tied to the grid the system can not work without a storage battery of some kind which is also not a viable alternative doe to the cost of batteries.

The Government will make sure our tax money goes instead to commercial Wind energy companies and importing fossil fuels. What a backward little Island we live on !!!

nokia69 · 25-03-2015 5:55am

Deleted User wrote: »

There will be a lot of anger for those who have invested in wind and solar PV installations because they will be exporting their excess energy for "free" to the ESB. And without being tied to the grid the system can not work without a storage battery of some kind which is also not a viable alternative doe to the cost of batteries.

better cheaper home storage batteries are on the way, Teslamotors will be selling them in the US latter this year, will take a while to reach Ireland but its coming

25-03-2015 12:06pm

nokia69 wrote: »

better cheaper home storage batteries are on the way, Teslamotors will be selling them in the US latter this year, will take a while to reach Ireland but its coming

But as usual it will cost probably twice what it does in the USA once it comes to Ireland.

Add import duty and VAT is applied it could make it out of reach for us.

I can't wait for the day I can get away from the Utilities, driving for free or almost would be just amazing.

Unfortunately for those living in places like apartments will continue to be forced to bend over for energy companies. People in housing estates will have a bit more freedom but are limited via the amount of roof space for solar and can't install turbines.

nokia69 · 25-03-2015 12:43pm

Deleted User wrote: »

But as usual it will cost probably twice what it does in the USA once it comes to Ireland.

Add import duty and VAT is applied it could make it out of reach for us.

I can't wait for the day I can get away from the Utilities, driving for free or almost would be just amazing.

Unfortunately for those living in places like apartments will continue to be forced to bend over for energy companies. People in housing estates will have a bit more freedom but are limited via the amount of roof space for solar and can't install turbines.

true we won't get as good a deal on price, we never do

but I think the falling price of PV and batteries will kill the big utilities in the next ten years, they are a bit like land lines just before mobile phones came along

also I don't think you will be driving for free, the PV system will still need to be paid for, TANSTAAFL, well so far

air · 25-03-2015 1:08pm

Micro CHP has an even bigger potential to displace the utilities than huge battery banks IMHO.
If the majority of houses had 4-5kW of PV installed and those on the natural gas lines had gas micro CHP units to keep things going in the dark / winter, it would be a serious combination and great for energy efficiency.
As ever reducing demand is where it's at though. I have 4kW of PV (soon to be more) installed & I hope to get my average consumption down to 3kWh per day this year.

nokia69 · 25-03-2015 2:19pm

air wrote: »

Micro CHP has an even bigger potential to displace the utilities than huge battery banks IMHO.
If the majority of houses had 4-5kW of PV installed and those on the natural gas lines had gas micro CHP units to keep things going in the dark / winter, it would be a serious combination and great for energy efficiency.
As ever reducing demand is where it's at though. I have 4kW of PV (soon to be more) installed & I hope to get my average consumption down to 3kWh per day this year.

I think PV is better because its maintenance free, its not hard to buy a generator and produce electricty but its a hassle

but PV is different it just sits on the roof producing power everyday for decades

air · 25-03-2015 3:10pm

nokia69 wrote: »

I think PV is better because its maintenance free, its not hard to buy a generator and produce electricty but its a hassle

but PV is different it just sits on the roof producing power everyday for decades

I'm not sure you're understanding me fully. I'm all for PV but on it's own it's never going to be viable without massive amounts of storage.
Micro CHP is a good partner for it because people demand heat for their homes on winter mornings and evenings when it is dark and PV produces nothing.
A small CHP with 5kW electrical output would output approx 10kW of heat and provide electricity to around 10 other homes apart from the one it's in.
It would be close to twice as efficient as the best CCGT plants in overall efficiency as almost all the energy in the gas would be used.
Anyway totally OT.

peposhi · 26-03-2015 7:48am

After the PV discussion here I spoke to 2 separate PV installers. Both have said that unless I can sell the e to the grid and buy it back in the nigh it is not good to me. And with the latest changes ESB have made this option is gone. A reason for me to install PV would be if I have a serious demand during the day. Again this won't happen as I am at home only evenings, car would be charged during the night and etc...

air · 26-03-2015 7:53am

This is true however there are strong rumours of a new feed in tariff being announced in 2016 & several large scale commercial installations being planned as a result.

peposhi · 26-03-2015 7:55am

I am getting my HCP installed tomorrow. Up until now I was charging at work and at the SCP in the town. No issues.

I went on the motorway the other day heading to Naas. I can clearly say E-evo was not really happy. I also had my worries so on the way back I chose an alternative way, much calmer and suitable to the ecar. Arrived back home with 33% so I guess I could have easily gone back via motorway.

I took a friend of mine, mechanic, for a spin... Haha, his face... I should have had a camera... When I floored it... Priceless reaction haha

26-03-2015 11:25am

peposhi wrote: »

I am getting my HCP installed tomorrow. Up until now I was charging at work and at the SCP in the town. No issues.

I went on the motorway the other day heading to Naas. I can clearly say E-evo was not really happy. I also had my worries so on the way back I chose an alternative way, much calmer and suitable to the ecar. Arrived back home with 33% so I guess I could have easily gone back via motorway.

I took a friend of mine, mechanic, for a spin... Haha, his face... I should have had a camera... When I floored it... Priceless reaction haha

Long range you'll have to restrict yourself, I don't think if doing 100-110 is too much of a restriction on the motorway. If I get the work charge point I can go 120 all the way if I wanted to.

I do 85 miles a day @100-120 Kph, requiring a 15 min qc at Naas, could probably get away with 5-8 mins but I don't want to get home with under 20% in the battery. Not every day anyway.

26-03-2015 8:30pm

"The ESB has ended a pilot scheme which allowed householders to receive 9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of power produced, prompting complaints that consumers would lose out on cheap power."

"The move comes as the company announced it has secured a €100m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund upgrades of the electricity network in the south east to allow more renewables on to the system."

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news...-30706655.html

Why then are they cancelling the feed-in-tariff for existing customers ?

The "upgrade" will probably take 10 years to complete !

air · 27-03-2015 8:46am

The FIT is only guaranteed until year end for existing customers.
They had been extending it annually for the past few years.

peposhi · 28-03-2015 11:01am

Got my HCP installed yesterday. I was not able to wait for the installer to come up, so I had to leave him in my wife's hands. When they rang me about the days and availability I asked for a tethered cable. Most likely this is not an usual request, so when I confirmed the time of install yesterday morning, the guy asked me if I was the one who was looking for a tethered unit. So he did keep and install one for me. It was not as close to the car's normal parking position as I wished, but still with the 3 metres cable it is OK.
The CP is not yet operational as he has to come back and do some extra work on it. He said that the builders have left the wires in the e-meter box in a disgraceful state and will get me an ESB letter to push them to comeback and get it sorted.

Not sure what he meant, as I was not there, but it will be seen soon.

28-03-2015 11:13am

peposhi wrote: »

Got my HCP installed yesterday. I was not able to wait for the installer to come up, so I had to leave him in my wife's hands. When they rang me about the days and availability I asked for a tethered cable. Most likely this is not an usual request, so when I confirmed the time of install yesterday morning, the guy asked me if I was the one who was looking for a tethered unit. So he did keep and install one for me. It was not as close to the car's normal parking position as I wished, but still with the 3 metres cable it is OK.
The CP is not yet operational as he has to come back and do some extra work on it. He said that the builders have left the wires in the e-meter box in a disgraceful state and will get me an ESB letter to push them to comeback and get it sorted.

Not sure what he meant, as I was not there, but it will be seen soon.

Nice one getting the tethered charge point, they wouldn't even entertain the idea when I asked, all I heard was "no not possible"

Did the so called poor cabling in the meter box stop the completion of the installation ? He shouldn't need to even go near the meter box to do the installation.

peposhi · 29-03-2015 1:02pm

Not sure what stopped him from completing the install. He said to me,wife he will comeback on other day for 20 min

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Nice one getting the tethered charge point, they wouldn't even entertain the idea when I asked, all I heard was "no not possible"

Did the so called poor cabling in the meter box stop the completion of the installation ? He shouldn't need to even go near the meter box to do the installation.

peposhi · 29-03-2015 7:07pm

Update: I got an email from the installer saying that all photos and report was sent to Patrick Foley, an ESB ecars dept. Only with his approval I may get the unit powered up and working. I have to get a call tomorrow fromn Patrick to clear up the situation...

29-03-2015 9:47pm

peposhi wrote: »

Update: I got an email from the installer saying that all photos and report was sent to Patrick Foley, an ESB ecars dept. Only with his approval I may get the unit powered up and working. I have to get a call tomorrow fromn Patrick to clear up the situation...

Is it your meter box or consumer unit that's the problem ?

peposhi · 29-03-2015 10:36pm

From what I understood the wiring in the meter box is done in an unacceptable way and it has to be sorted. The installer's exact words were - dangerous, sloppy builders work.
Nothing to do with the cp unit

30-03-2015 11:50am

peposhi wrote: »

From what I understood the wiring in the meter box is done in an unacceptable way and it has to be sorted. The installer's exact words were - dangerous, sloppy builders work.
Nothing to do with the cp unit

Take a few pics and post them here.

E-evo

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