picture upload sites

DugthePug in the back of my Mach E

So it's now a "Pug-In" Vehicle??? Yeah, I said it. I'll show myself out...

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

Not sure how being on Solar for power means no cost to operate an EV. One needs to figure out the cost per kWH for the solar system since it isn't free to buy. Once that is done, figure out the kWH used to keep the EV charged then the cost to charge the vehicle becomes apparent. EV Solar charging has a cost, but like poker chips in a casino, the real dollar value is hidden, since there isn't a monthly bill it's masked....

Now if the solar is leased for $400 a month, then you could easily calculate your kWH cost per mile looking at the total energy produced, total the EV uses divided into the monthly lease.

I’ve been at this since 2014. Nothing is new. Both driving an EV and having 35 panels on the house. Coming up on a full decade. Solar/EV combo has saved me about 30k over the last 10 years. That’s my kwh/gas savings in cost pre/post. There is a cost, to charging, but inconsequential and considering vs. full grid/gas, I’ll repeat it for you. No cost to operate the EV. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s actually saving me money. A lot of money. My solar lease is not even 1/4 of what you posted. What I pay, out of my pocket to charge that car on a monthly basis would be the equivalent to me being downtown Dallas, having two $1 bills in my pocket and giving it to a homeless person to get a hamburger. It’s nothing. You seem to view this from the outside looking in. I do not look at it that way at all. I calculate what this has saved me in dollars as I sure didn’t do the shit for green, climate, political, or anything else. Just straight dollars. Some of us know what we are doing. I actually just plugged in the car a few minutes ago to charge. Sun is out, peak kwh generation for my solar system currently. I’m not the one on some free nights kwh plan having to charge my shit at night off the grid. I charge it in the day when the sun is blasting. When, like this summer, I’m saving hundreds of dollars a month on kwh bills, I’m sorry but charging that car doesn’t cost me shit.

Then the EV gets ridiculous as in these past 10 years, the maintenance has consisted of new 12v battery every 3-4 years as it wears them out faster than a gas/diesel counterpart. Tires, like any vehicle. But due to the regenerative braking, I’m still on the original pads and rotors. At year 6 I did flush all the brake fluid out for new Motul. Wasn’t experiencing any decrease in stopping power but due to age thought it prudent as brake fluid breaks down and wears out over time. In cabin air filter replacements every 3 years or so. And no HVAC issues at all but I did have the Freon or whatever, filled back up as it was depleted a year or two ago. That’s it, in a full decade. No stoppages, no failures, etc. In a full decade. I own gas vehicles too, and in comparison the EV is almost maintenance nil. It’s ridiculous. I’m a gearhead and that golf cart is by no means my favorite drivers car I’ve ever owned. Give me a 6MT AWD turbo for all weather performance all day long. But it’s the best car I have ever owned in my life and one of the smartest decisions I ever made financially. From lease to own, every cent, that car cost me $19.7k. I got it new, and still have bumper to bumper warranty from the OEM until this February. If year 11 I have to spend $1k fixing something post warranty, and I’ve never had a warranty issue yet, then that’ll be the happiest $1k or whatever cost check I’ve ever written in my life.

The solar system, in 10 years, no stoppages, no issues whatsoever. In fact they saved half my roof from replacement. Bad hail storm a few years ago, which is common in TX, destroyed half my roof. But the half of the roof with panels, zero damage. Panels are fucking strong as shit and way stronger than shingles. I had them inspected after the hail, and the dude hops up there and started laughing. The hail broke these little plastic cover things that are on the ends of the solar rails. So I guess you could say cosmetic damage but they were these little pieces of plastic. They ordered some new ones, he came back a few weeks later and laughed as he replaced these little pieces of plastic. No functional damage whatsoever. Then I won’t go into what dirty shit the insurance company tried to pull on me with that claim, one of only I think two claims in 17 years. All I’ll say is I got them back and then some. They saved half of that roof replacement which in the end saved me thousands of dollars as I was able to reappropriate funds to replace my fence at zero out of pocket expense.

I’m just going to keep on saving thousands per year while the peanut gallery continually points the finger at this and that. I remember people at work heckling about the golf cart “How can you drive THAT”, then they got pissed when I got our facilities to put a L2 charger at work. I was the Lone Ranger on that bitch for years. Now there are like 8 or 9 of them and they are always bricked by Tesla owners who get to work at the crack and don’t move their vehicles and they are supposed to plug in for 4 hours and let someone else use them. Then we’ve had a run on gasoline several times over the last decade and one time gas couldn’t be had for about 4 days and they were wigging out. “You’re lucky you have that electric car” and I laughed and told them luck has nothing to do with it, at all. And I remember talking to my realtor 10 years ago and he was saying those panels who could be a barrier to selling my house if I ever chose to sell as the buyer would have to take over the solar lease. FF to today and he said those being up there will probably add a few stacks of high society to the value, 20k, 30k, he doesn’t know exactly until I list it. I don’t even own those panels and they are going to make me even more money at sale. Having bought land earlier this year I’m going ape on power because I’ve learned an awful lot over this past decade. I’m only going to connect to the grid to make money off it as I won’t need it. I hate to get rid of my golf cart but all I’m going to do is swap it out for a newer used one with triple the range.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
So it's now a "Pug-In" Vehicle??? Yeah, I said it. I'll show myself out...

That right there is Dad humor!