I have no problem with helpful advice, and it is helpful. I am sure there can always be improvements. But, for me without any further consideration of my electrics it is down to my appetite for risk (again).Originally Posted by Tooks
Not read anything about any serious issues of granny charging, and there will be tens of millions of hours of that going on, including many houses without the latest RCD consumer units.
I believe my risk to be very, very low given the modern RCD consumer unit I have, and it pre-requisite to fail safe. That is preventative. My very loud smoke alarms dotted around the house could be considered as reactive.
solar should add up, payback on most systems now looks to be 4-6 years (obviously usage dependant but having an EV increases your usage)
watches dont make financial sense either yet here we all are,
no need to leave, but also no need to be contrary for the sake of it.
We have just had a quote for solar as part of a local council scheme to mass buy across the borough, and hence save on purchase/installation costs.
When I can buy leccy for a few pennies per kW/h overnight to charge the EV run the dishwasher/washing machine/dryer, the installation of solar panels made little financial sense. They would make a lot more sense if the cheap overnight leccy deals were not available.
They would have to have a really strong payback before I consider ugly black panels on the roof of the house. 10 year++ payback in my case was not the least bit attractive.
Its a trial but its likely to be taken up worldwide due to the potential income to Tesla
The thread is just about whether EVs are viable or not, I think that it's generally been pretty civil. It's demonstrated that they really do add up for many, and it's a growing number as vehicle prices drop, ranges increase and more charging infrastructure comes online. You clearly believe that one would not work for you and you have shared your reasoning, although you do seem to have a preoccupation with highlighting any downsides and appear resentful towards those who are enjoying their move to electric driving.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Interesting that so many people think only in terms of payback against their electricity bills. The panels don't suddenly become worthless when you install them and should be an added attraction to a potential buyer.
I work in the O&G industry and have looked at countless energy saving options over decades of working on projects.
Simple payback, or simple capex vs opex trade-off has always been the screening tool. I just follow the same methodology.
Not convinced if our house was to be sold in the future solar panels would add value, and depending on the orientation, the ugliness of black panels littered on a period property roof will probably detract.
My experience is that energy saving projects rarely pass the investment hurdle and have to have a ring fenced budget accepting lower returns to be successful.
Interesting, I work in commercial real estate and my experience is quite the contrary. Solar panels and their energy savings have been shown to attract tenants, drive rents and make assets more liquid. We take into account capex, opex and valuations of course.
Obviously not going to work in every scenario.
Last edited by gunner; 31st August 2023 at 14:32.
Definitely with tenants. They won’t be interested in the aesthetics.
Home owners of a modern house where solar panels are almost part of the house design; I agree the would be a plus point too.
Not sure about period properties though, and as mentioned some of these overnight tariffs are so low that by the time you have charged your EV, washed and dried your clothes and used the dishwasher, you don’t have huge daytime consumption when the leccy price is high.
As also mentioned if I didnt have 9.5p/kWh for 7 hours per night, solar panels would be much more attractive, especially if you had to pay the 30p/kWh capped price for the whole 24 hours.
60-70% of my leccy consumption is now between 12am-7am. More, if I start driving further and charging the car more frequently.
When I was paying standard 30p/kWh, only 20% of my leccy was used during the night.
This is what the Government wants. There has to be some demand for the leccy from the windmills in the North Sea when everyone is asleep.
Last edited by noTAGlove; 31st August 2023 at 15:08.
Apologies then if that’s how I come across. I’m not remotely resentful, the truth is I was hoping to be blown away by the electric car thing, having read various posts and opinions - and friends and neighbours raving about them. I was left cold tbh, can’t really get excited about them and I’m not really bothered about fuel cost savings etc as we don’t drive many miles. I don’t even like automatic gearboxes ffs! I’ve not been on a plane for 20 years so I’m fairly happy with my carbon footprint too! I can see they are the future, we need cleaner air but I can wait a few more years, as currently they would make very little difference to me personally , which obviously isn’t the case for everyone.
Admittedly, the cheap tariffs do change the maths (particularly with a payback only approach) but I also enjoy the added benefits of being self sufficient during a power cut and not having to only charge the car or cook a roast dinner at night.
My house was built in around 1870 so it can defintiely work for period properties too.
Last edited by gunner; 31st August 2023 at 15:17.
But unless you have a home battery system (they are effing expensive as we had a 3.4 kWh option as part of our quote), aren't you just doing the same, but in the daytime when the sun is shining? Feed in tariffs appear generally rubbish, and that was another reason to kybosh solar.Admittedly, the cheap tariffs do change the maths (particularly with a payback only approach) but I also enjoy the added benefits of being self sufficient during a power cut and not having to only charge the car or cook a roast dinner at night.
My house was built in around 1870 so it can defintiely work for period properties too.
It's generally easier to do things during the day though isn't it? The cooking a roast dinner comment was me being facetious but the point does stand, not everything can be transferred to after midnight. As you said, even after you adjusted everything to match your new tariff you're still using 30-40% during the day.
We actually do also have a battery. That's what gives the off-grid ability and allows us to use cheap electricity whenever we want, not just at night.
It's not for everyone but I like it.
Last edited by gunner; 31st August 2023 at 15:44.
We have dual gas ovens :-)
But, I get what you mean. General preference is to do stuff in the day.
Had the luxury of borrowing a friends Taycan Turbo S the last couple of days as they wanted someone to look after their dogs & I wasn’t needed to be in the office.
Yes it’s quick, but eerily lacking the noise I enjoy when driving my Cayman. Fast charging was impressive though, cannot sent that. Can certainly feel the weight in the corners, it’s not a light thing when changing direction.
I think I prefer their FF RR PHEV as still get the benefits of both with it & at least you know it’s a heavy beast! That said, preferred charging the Taycan on their electricity bill BA filling the RR up at the pump on my card lol.
Next generation Boxster & Cayman will be interesting as a platform. So far it all seems to be middle of the road family cars in the main. Look forward to seeing what a 2 seater can deliver - seems an age since the original Tesla was launched.
For now, I will enjoy the 6cyl noise until I’m no longer allowed & work on my exit ICE car plan before petrol stations are less common than charging stations & we all adapt.
Last edited by Mj2k; 31st August 2023 at 20:29.
my neighbour has a RR PHEV, he isnt happy with it, massively troublesome apparently....
I also looked at an iPace for similar reasons. However you have to remember when new, it's an expensive Jag and since when have they been great on the depreciation front ? In addition it's expensive to insure - group 50. My initial research is putting me off but it may work for you. I believe one of the reasons is the number coming off lease - apparently they were available at a good price for NHS employees
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Apparently they also have to have an expensive gearbox service at six and ten years too.
They certainly look tempting right now though.
Last edited by Dave+63; 1st September 2023 at 09:42.
50-50 out of a sample of 2 lol, as he has had no issues with his; I only had it for a fortnight, and didn't break down once :D.
It’s a Land Rover product - of course it’s unreliable
New Model 3 from Tesla announced. 421 mile range.
https://insideevs.com/news/684589/up...4GK8YNmZtipypY
I'm convinced that through life in general that I'm cursed but I'm sure this will drive the value of my Tesla even further down. I bought mine just before they started to announce price cuts and offers on current model - although the M3 is the best car I've owned, it's also the car I've lost the most on, depreciation-wise!
The new one does look fab though - a nice iterative improvement on current model. New wheels, headlights, taillights and and refreshed interior. With a longer range too.
gear box service on an I Pace?
It doesn’t have any gears 🤷🏻*♂️
Apparently so. My guess is that it has a reduction gear box as opposed to a conventional multi speed gearbox.
Whatever, it apparently needs to be serviced periodically which, being a Jaguar, isn’t cheap.
The I-Pace obviously doesn't have traditional transmission as we know it in the ICE world - it does have a 'gearbox'...
It came up when I was researching the I-Pace, a common fault being that the car displays "Gearbox Fault Detected"
Here's the service bulletin:
https://www.i-paceforum.com/attachme...01-1-pdf.5470/
Don't know if all EVs have a reduction gearbox, but some do - I cancelled my MG4 order because (amongst other things) a significant number of the early cars were leaking oil from the reduction gearbox breather. Thread here for those that are interested: https://www.mgevs.com/threads/mg4-re...oil-leak.7641/
The Taycan can feel a little wallowy in corners if you don't set the suspension correctly. Also the sound generator is essential to give a sense of the insane speed you are travelling at.
My Wife has a new shape RRS PHEV and that is a seriously large and lumbering car after getting out of my Taycan Turbo.
thanks i didnt know that! every day is a school day.
Don’t get me wrong, if I wanted to salary sacrifice to have one, I’d happily do it. Nothing from driving it has made me want to give up the CGTS yet.
Not a fan of sound generator, but do want to try the E500 fiat as that sounds a bit fun.
I’m hoping the magic men at Stuttgart can do something amazing with the smaller car chassis. Wife has a Boxster, I’ve got a cayman. Currently nothing is floating our boats for EV but hope it changes.
Even the new Smart EV doesn’t tick our boxes as we want a 2 seater 453 with better range, not a 4 seater car that we don’t need. And the Ami range and speed make it too slow, but a lovely city solution.
Have you seen/considered these - from Flat Power ?
Just popped up on my LinkedIn feed.
https://flatpower.tech/
z
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Tested one of these today in AMG Line Premium spec. Really lovely drive and good performance. Very comfortable. My only worry is charging speeds. How do you find that? I could only order an AMG Line and not a Premium (takes me TWO WHOLE pounds above my limit) which is gutting due to the extras but the AMG Line is specc'd well enough.
Can't decide what to do at all. Know I could live with a Tesla but fancy something different but every car I fancy on my scheme has a drawback (can't upgrade alloys, can't get long range i4 etc).
You need to consider how much you are really likely to charge. If you are doing frequent journeys over 200 miles, perhaps it’s not the car for you. Most of the time you will want to keep it between 5 and 80%, so a typical max charge cycle of 75% (60kWh). With a home charger that is 8 hours - so an overnight will be OK. Max charge rate is 110kW. On a DC charger that is about 30 minutes. That is not a massive inconvenience if public charging infrequently (YMMV).
The only issue with the AMG line is that Apple CarPlay or Google Auto is a £300 one-off payment. That’s robbery, particularly for wired(!) CarPlay.
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Last edited by RichS; 4th September 2023 at 21:27.
For context, my C40 has averaged 2.6 (38kW/100miles), dragged down a lot by cold weather use and a bit more by a heavy right foot. This morning's station run was the equivalent of 6.4.
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I'm maybe late to the party but i've just moved to intelligent octopus and it seems a bit of a no brainer. All the discounted overnight tarrifs i looked at upped the day rate to compensate and, as we don't do huge miles, it wasn't always worth it for us.
Intelligent octopus doesn't do that, it's the standard day rate and then 7.5p overnight. It also communicates with your car and decided when it's going to charge based on grid load etc etc etc. I assumed it would need a smart charger but it's working on our 3 pin to our i3s.
Very very clever and worth a look
https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-octopus/
If you don’t have a compatible EV charger, the Octopus smarter tariffs don’t work with a lot of cars, mine included.
Octopus can’t communicate with Google Automotive platform (or maybe Google doesn’t let them), so I can use it on my 2023 C40.
Although the earlier 2021 C40 on the Senesus platform communicates fine. Go figure.
You have to wonder how the world is going to be decarbonised when a simple Computer Say No means you can’t use some charging tariffs.
I am using E.ON Next Drive tariff at the moment. A very long 7 hours (12am-7am) and relatively cheap (9.5p/kWh) unit rate works for me.
As I charge on a granny cable, I value length of the cheap overnight rate, rather than saving extra pennies on the unit rate.
I work in technology and I'm stunned that it works on any cars at all tbh. The lack of universal standards must make it a total nightmare to get anything to work.
Really fascinated to see how things change, there is a real opportunity coming up to use all EVs as a storage system when the demand on the grid is low and then take it back when the load is higher.
My BMW iX is possessed.
It’s a complete PITA.
Imagine you have 280miles of range displayed on the dashboard, drive 6miles, how many miles range would you reasonably expect to have given I’ve not had the air conditioning on, or been playfully projected a galloping cowboy onto an adjacent building?
So tempted to just go buy a Ferrari California and drive without thinking about recharging the SinclairZX wannabe.
There’s always an upfront hit when you get going on a journey with an EV, some cars warm the battery up, and any kind of cabin heat will also pinch a bit of energy.
Once the cabin is up to temp though, most newer EVs use a couple of kWs per hour keeping the cabin warm. Some EVs allow pre-heating of the cabin whilst plugged in, so you’re not taking that initial hit.
In the grand scheme of things though, heating/air con is a small drain compared to the energy required to move the car, especially if you like using your right foot.
Over a longer journey than 6 miles, the range estimate will be calculated on the fly and you’ll find that the consumption slows.
If you think about how your EV only contains the equivalent energy of less than 2 gallons of petrol, then you can see why relatively small external factors move the predicted range quite so noticeably. It happens with ICE cars as well, it’s just nowhere near as noticeable, as the fuel tank holds at least the equivalent of a 450kWh battery.
I think that BMW range on the i vehicles adjusts itself based upon your driving style / usage. My car often shows a range of 280 miles but in reality will easily beat that by 40 or more miles. It was a shock at first as my range indicator suddenly dropped by about 20% for no reason. I checked with BMW and they said that a software upgrade at the time had introduced the new feature!
GeneNostics in Luton do it for £150, don’t even need to go they will do it remotely.
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Someone on my car forum paid £13 got sent a file, dragged onto usb & uploaded to car (i3) now has full screen car play .
Available on a USB on eBay for £10-£12.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Pirate copies then!
I know it’s a joke paying through the nose for a bit of software but is it any worse than paying through the nose for a Rolex when fakes are available for peanuts?
A little off topic, but i was behind a learner this morning in a new Hyundai electric of some kind (actually looked very nice) and got me thinking.
I assume that electric cars are classed as automatics and if you do your test in one you will have an auto only license.
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
hmmm good point...
I understood they were phasing out manual/automatic tests and that you could take a test in either. I can immediately find the evidence to back that up, but I'm sure I read it.
In the article it said that auto outsold manual annually now, with most manufacturers having more autos than manuals due to strict emission regulations.
Personally I've not owned a manual car for 10+ years.
Our eldest passed in a manual earlier this year, but several of her peers learned and passed their tests in an automatic and do not have a licence to drive manual gearbox cars. She's starting a combined degree/diploma course that needs her to be able to drive manuals so it was important for her, but the others couldn't see the need.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Auto's the norm in the US, been thus for a long time.
New Tesla Model 3 coming out next month, stop faffing about with BMWs and the like, this will be the class leading car again with the best network, best standard equipment (rear seat video entertainment is standard!). Elon is a cretin but his cars are still best in class.
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