Managing Home Maintenance Costs

Unfortunately there are not any affordable electric cars just yet even with all of the government subsidies. Case in point is the Ford Focus. Which comes in at $39,995 compared to the gasoline model that is priced at $16,995. Even with government subsidies of say $7000. The price for an electric vehicle of this type is nowhere close to the comparable gasoline model. Even if you get past the purchase price and expect to make it up on gasoline savings, experts have indicated that the price of gas has to go up to at least $6 per gallon which is a very hefty price from recent prices such as $3.50 per gallon in the US.

Affordable Electric Cars – Cost of Gasoline

In other countries, where gas is a lot more expensive, the push to electric vehicles may be moving faster, but not in the US or Canada. The car companies are trying to position themselves to be in a position to mass produce electric cars when the big conversion comes, but right now they are still focused on producing cars that are very affordable for the average consumer.

In addition there is a lot of pressure on car companies to make their gas guzzling cars more fuel efficient which makes it even tougher for the electric vehicles to compete. It is going to take either a significant increase in the cost of gas to move this forward or the car companies to mass produce their electric cars to really get the conversion of the public going towards electric cars.

The number of cars sold that either use a hybrid technique or all electric is growing. Between January and May of this year, 32,705 cars have been sold. This can be compared to only 14,226 last year for the same time period. If gas prices surge, this will increase the trend. It will also help the needed installation of infrastructure to charge these cars that depend on batteries only.

This is a push pull kind of situation. Gas must go up to drive electric vehicles. The sales of electric vehicles must go up to drive down prices which in turn will make them more attractive. In addition the construction of charging stations and the general availability of locations to charge these vehicles will increase. They will figure out the business case once there is more demand for charging of electric vehicles.

Affordable Electric Cars – Timing

It will be a few more years before we really see a general increase, but make no mistake it is coming. California is leading the way. This will be the first state to really prepare and drive the manufacture of electric cars into the consumer marketplace. For me right now, the Toyota hybrid is the way to go. You really have the best of both worlds. There is no need to be concerned about charging stations! Even these cars will be interim technology solutions. Once the auto makers solve the battery issue of longevity and charging, electric vehicles will take off in sales. Demand for them will increase dramatically.

It is going to be a few years yet before this happens.

California is setting aside parking spots that are reserved for electric vehicles in much the same way that spots are reserved for handicap spots and pregnant women. Unfortunately people with regular cars are not respecting these parking spot. They are using them to park in with regular gasoline powered cars. This can be a huge problem if you are driving an electric car. Especially if you need to recharge it before continuing your trip. Imagine, your battery is almost dead. Someone is parked in an electric car charging spot and is not charging his or her car!  All you want is to recharge and get going.

Monitor electric car charging spots

Ticket Drivers

More and more people are urging city counsels to pass laws that ticket non electric car drivers when they park in these spots. They feel that enough time has passed and that the grace period is over. Ticket these cars in the same way that a car parked in a handicap zone would be ticked. The meter maids and the people who enforce bylaws can implement these parking rules.

More Spots Available

Make more electric car parking spots available. They should also be made available in states that are pushing for electric cars to help deal with pollution.  This is going to cause more conflict with regular car drivers. Since in cities were parking is already at a premium, they will be reserving spots for charging electric cars.

Pass Bylaws

City counsels who are in  favor of promoting green energy approaches are going to have to pass parking by laws. They need to support these kinds of initiatives. This will take some time before laws will be passed. Since there are just not enough electric vehicles on the road. Eventually there will be. But this may take a few years. in the mean time they will just have to deal with the frustration of few spots to charge their cars being available and people parking in them when they should not be.

Charge Drivers

Most electric car drivers want police to charge drivers who park in these electric car charging spots. We anticipate that there will even be arguments and some form of road rage about this before it settles down and people accept the changing approach to cars. We are about to enter a significant change in driving and parking habits. As with all major changes in our society, some people embrace the changes and some  fight change. Which kind are you?

Treat these spots in the same manner as handicap spots in terms of policing, bylaws and ticketing. This is the only way that some people will get the message and stop using the spots for non electric vehicle parking.

BMW unveils i3 electric car
The BMW I3 Electric Vehicle is planned to go on sale next year. It is the first electric car to go into full-scale production from an established luxury automaker. Some people will be interested in this car because being green is the right thing to do. They want to drive an expensive car that is good on gasoline. They want to be  part of the overall image of driving expensive cars that do not burn a lot of gas.

However you are spending a lot of money on a car which you would be if you were buying a BMW. The last thing you should really worry about is the amount of gas that you are using. This is for image improvement only.

Sure it is annoying that it costs a lot when you fill up at the pump. But so what you drive a really expensive car. Focus on an electric car for the masses instead of one for people who can afford expensive cars.

Specifications for the BMW I3 Electric Vehicle

At a price of 25,680 pounds th eBMW I3 develops 170 horsepower and 250 pounds of torque. It can reach from 0 to 62  miles per hour ins 7.2 seconds and has a top speed of 93 miles per hour. the range of this car is between 80 and 100 miles depending on how it is driven, hills etc. The BMW I3 comes with a fast charging wall box that can recharge the batteries up to 80 % in 3 hours.

As with all electric vehicles that only have electric power, they still take a long time to recharge. Charging using a regular wall socket can take up to 10 hours which is a very long time.

A range extender engine can be added which is a gasoline engine that runs a generator to charge up the batteries while on the go. You can extend the range up to 180 miles by using the range extender. Better, but still not great when compared to traditional gasoline powered engines.

We will add more about this new car as more information becomes available and we get some reaction from readers. For more posts about electric vehicles, click here.

The Electric Bike The Elf: an ovoid, semi-enclosed, solar-chargeable, plug-in, bike-lane-legal, electric pedal car.  What a mouthful, but that is how they describe this new bike that is available for commuters in cities. With a 1-hp (750-watt) electric motor in the rear wheel hub and a lithium battery pack, or two, snuggled into the center frame rail aft of the front wheels—and a plastic canopy to keep the weather off drivers—the Elf proposes a solution for urban commuters!

Imagine riding to work in this modern vehicle. It is a show stopper and could actually cause accidents when car drivers are too busy looking at the bike and not where they are going. Never the less this could be the answer to many commuters’ problems of dealing with the elements and whether they should ride, walk or drive to work.

You can see from the picture that the rider/driver is sitting in much the same position they would if they were in a car. It appears to be much more comfortable than someone on a regular bike and they also have some protection from the elements.

Electric Bike The Elf – What About Parking

We wonder if this vehicle will have to pay for parking. Although technically a bike, they do take up more space than an ordinary bike and may have to pay for a parking space that would normally be occupied by a car. Before you purchase one of these, we suggest you determine f you will need to pay for that parking spot and whether it is worth it or not.

Paying for an expensive parking spot changes the entire economics of riding a bike to work. If your main objective is just not to use your car, then it is a nonissue. On the other hand, if your plan is to save money, you may not be saving as much as you had hoped.

You just cannot pull up to a regular bike stand, lock this vehicle to the stand and walk away. There is simply not enough room for very many of these without preventing many other bike riders from using the traditional bike stand.

Anytime one of these bikes takes a regular parking spot, whether it is in a parking garage or a parking spot on the street, the owners of the garage or the city meter readers are going to demand a parking fee!  Parking is definitely something that needs to be taken into account and planned for if this particular bike is seriously considered.

For more posts about issues associated with electric vehicles, click here.

The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell: The world’s first production hydrogen fuel cell car is actually here in limited quantities. This is a test vehicle for the company. We will not see this car on the roads or in dealerships for some time. Too bad!

Only 1000 cars in the next year and ramping to 15,000 in 2015 are being considered. This car runs on hydrogen and needs to be refueled every 350 miles or so with hydrogen. As with pure electric vehicles there are not many places at this time to refuel them.  Although they plan to build 15,000 by 2015, the major obstacle for these cars will be refueling stations. You must plan your trip very carefully to avoid any problems with running out of fuel. At least with electric cars you can plug them into a 110 volt outlet, preferably 220 volt to recharge them. There will be no such solution for the average urban fuel cell driver for a very long time. As a result they may not be seen in dealerships for many years.

Fleet Operators May Take Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

Initially they will be sold to fleet operators who will be able to provide refueling facilities as well. They need a program of refueling each evening. Also a refueling station located on the premises of the fleet operator. In this situation they may be interesting to the operator to use. Hyundai will need to provide a number of incentives to the operator to persuade then to take on a brand new car with a brand new power source.

The incentive will have to include pricing for the cars comparable to other gas of diesel powered cars and operating costs that will be lower than the traditional powered cars. Whether this is subsidized by Hyundai or actually lower , the operator must be convinced that they will end up with the same or lower costs. For Hyundai, this initial set of cars will be a giant laboratory which they can use to perfect the electronics, the fuel cells, the fuel distribution system and the power train.

We will keep an eye on this experiment and write further posts about hydrogen fuel cells as more information becomes available. For more posts about issues associated with electric vehicles, click here.

We will not see driver less vehicles in mass production for a few years, maybe not for twenty years, but we will see them soon and this is because Google’s driver less car now has 300,000 miles on it with no one driving the car. Sure there has been a human behind the wheel ready to take over if needed. In that 300,000 it is rumored that they only took over once and that action actually caused an accident. Otherwise the car would have a perfect record! It was just a small parking lot fender bender, nothing serious. This is the future of cars

Using a Toyota Prius with GPS, radar and a 3D mapping camera to read signals, road lanes and pedestrians, this car has successfully navigated over 300,000 miles with no accidents.  Even three states have made self driving cars legal on their roads. These states are California, Nevada and Florida. They still want a human to sit in the driver’s seat to take over the controls if needed. Personally I think the driver is going to get bored. They will either fall asleep or spend time reading a book. Which is not going to help in a situation that needs urgent intervention on the part of the driver. Unless there is some sort of alarm to grab his or her attention.

Will Driver Less Cars Reduce Accidents and Save Gas

The answer is believed to be yes in both cases. In fact so much so in the case of accidents that the automotive repair business will undergo a major shift in business once these cars become standard. There will still be accidents from time to time, but apparently many less than what occurs today.

They should use less gasoline as well. Since the cars will adhere to the speed limits and plan routes more carefully. Using a car like the Prius will automatically reduce gas consumption as well.

Productivity May Go Up

During commutes today, drivers need to focus on the road. While in a driver less car, they are freed of this responsibility leaving them time to focus on work. They can make phone calls and even finish their makeup and preparations for work. The expectation is that they will have a lot more time for work or other related activities. However this begs the question of how confident will we be of the auto pilot in the car. How good a job will it do. Does the driver really have to pay attention and monitor the car’s driving. Or will it issue an alarm of some kind when it needs help?

Can you depend on the driver less car to get you home after an office party were you have had too much to drink? Will the police still charge you if you have drank too much and if you are in the driver’s seat of a driver less car. In theory you are supposed to be sober enough to drive should the car need help and if you are too drunk, will they charge you when stopped?

Driverless Cars – What Happens to Our Insurance Claims

In situations were there is an accident, who is going to pay for the damages? First of all most people think there will be a lot less accidents so our insurance cost should decrease. Secondly there will be a battle between several companies as to who should be responsible. Is it the owners insurance who should pay since he should have been in control of the car, should it be the equipment manufacturer that should pay if it was a malfunction of the equipment or should the software developer pay since their software did not react quickly enough to avoid the accident. The first dozen cases will be difficult and will set the precedent for many law suits and claims for the future. They will be complex and argued in court to make sure that the right party pays for the damages, especially if someone is hurt.

This will be an exciting time as more and more innovations are placed in our cars. Think of it, if an airplane can be set on auto pilot to take off and fly across the country to land at another airport, why can’t you get into a car and do the same thing from your driveway to your vacation spot halfway across the continent or a few miles to the cottage!

Would you ride around on a Yike Bike? The picture on the left an electric bike. It does not look really that comfortable to sit on. Never the less it could be useful for traveling around the city. When you are finished using it or get to where you want to go, it folds into a small space easy for carrying and storing.

In our research we did not come across the weight of the Yike Bike. So we do not know just how heavy this is to carry around. You certainly would not want to have to carry it very far if you are out shopping or going to work. I think they should find something that is more comfortable to ride on as well. We have listed the specs below for the Yike Bike. In addition comments we found from several people to give you a perspective on what people think about the bike. These are people who have actually tried it. If you have comments on the Yike Bike from personal experience, we would love to hear about it. Let us know if you think this will be something that will catch on!

The Technical Specs for the Yike Bike

The specs for this bike at the time of writing this post were as follows:

• 10 km range for the battery, extra batteries can take you further
• Battery recharge in 50 minutes with optional fast charger
• Top speed is 23 km/hour
• Electric brushless DC motor
• Brakes are electric, anti skid and regenerative
• Power is 450 watts
• Wheel size is 20 inch font and 8 inch back
• Hi visibility built in LED
• Folds to a compact 43 liters in size
• Fold time can be done in 15 to 20 seconds

We actually saw this bike on a program called storage wars where one of the buyers found a Yike bike in a storage locker that he bought. When he had it evaluated, the value was estimated to be approximately $4000, which seemed pretty high. A quick search on the web found prices to range from $2500 to $3500 depending on the bike and the accessories that were purchased with it.

Feedback from Users

On the company’s web site there were glowing reports from users who absolutely love their bikes and find them easy to use and to be perfect for getting around town including folding them down and going on public transit systems. Regular bikes are pretty difficult to use and  travel on public transit systems. Other reviews mentioned that there is no kick stand so you have to basically lay the machine down when it is not being used or lean it against something when not in use. Also there was no mention of how easy or difficult it is to clock this bike to something. They would be easy to walk away with and you really need to make sure that you lock them up adequately.

Learning to ride is a bit difficult since you are essentially sitting on a seat that is located on the handlebars. Balancing takes a bit of getting used to. Users report that it might take 30 minutes to get used to the idea of riding on a yike bike. The maximum speed one user was able to get to was 13.5 km’s and not the full speed of 15 km’s.

Not That Comfortable

Like a regular bike there is no cushioning when you go over bumps etc. In fact with smaller wheels you may even feel the bumps even more so. You will need to carry the charger with you or purchase a second one to keep at another location if you use it for commuting.

All in all it is a neat piece of technology and will appeal to a specific set of people and application. We are not sure that it will catch on as a means of transportation. Perhaps more in Europe where bikes in general are more accepted particularly as a commuter vehicle but not so much in North America where the car is still king. If you have one let us know what you think.

For many more posts about electric vehicles including home charging stations, click here.

Our last post discussed Recharging Electric Vehicles in Condo Buildings. This post is looking at the subject from a broader perspective. We are asking what will the infrastructure look like for electric cars in the future. It will take time, but this is definitely the way that the future is going. Electric cars will become more and more popular.

Almost all manufacturers have introduced hybrid cars into their lineups in order to maximize gas mileage. A few have introduced electric only vehicles. A Tesla roadster for example will go 245 miles on a charge. However it needs a 24o volt charging station to charge it. You can also use 120 Volt, however it just takes longer at this lower voltage to charge it.

The trend to electric vehicles is simply a matter of time, consumers ability to figure out how and when to use them and an infrastructure to recharge them. Hybrid cars do not need to plug into the electrical grid to recharge their batteries. Cars that do not have any kind of gas engine, require available sources of electricity and need to be plugged in to recharge their batteries.

It Takes Planning

Right now if you buy an electric only vehicle, you have to plan when and were you are going to recharge your vehicle. Plugging into just any outlet is akin to stealing power and people are not going to like that.  Even if you offer to pay for a recharge, there will still be some suspicion, since they will relate recharging to filling the tank with gas and wondering why you are not handing over $40 or $50 dollars instead of the $5 that you are offering which is all that it really cost! Someone really needs to figure out a solution that is economically acceptable to society and demonstrate to business how they can make a profit. All of us also need to be educated as well.

Building Electric Auto Infrastructure

There are many potential solutions, however today as we write this post, none are commercially available in any significant numbers that we are aware of. Some may not even be on the drawing board for all we know. But one way or another we need to be building an electric auto infrastructure to recharge our electric automobiles. The trigger of course will be high gas prices and by that I mean at least plus $5 per gallon. California has the highest prices in the nation, so a solution will probably appear here in California first.

Electric Meters on Our Cars

One way to deal with the cost of recharging and not just ripping people off, is to install a unit on the car which measures just how much electricity you used when recharging and the corresponding cost. You can then show whoever owns the outlet the amount used and pay them accordingly.

Solar Panels

While this is not the complete answer, I still do not understand why the auto manufacturers have not built solar panels into the roof of the car. At least this would provide some power and help to recharge the battery. We are well aware that you cannot depend on solar panels alone for electrical power. Races across the California desert in electric solar powered vehicles have proved that. But a vehicle that gets maybe 75 miles on one battery charge might get an extra 10 or 20% power with a solar panel. If your car is parked a lot it might even amount to more than 20%.

Electrical Outlets at Work, at the Shopping Center etc

In some northern Canadian cities were it gets down to -40F in the winter, they already provide outlets at parking spots to plug in your engine warmer on these really cold days. Why not have more of these electrical plugs at work locations, shopping centers and other public places for those people who like to drive electric vehicles. This could be perceived as a benefit to employees and a competitive advantage for shopping centers!

Negotiate with Your Employer

This is one that could be interesting. Would the union negotiate with an employer to arrange for outlets at work locations as a benefit. It would be a win win for everyone! Everyone is seen to be saving energy and the employee benefits as well by getting free power at work for his or her car.

There are probably many other ideas for electric infrastructure for electric cars. We would love to hear from you about our ideas and any new ideas for electrical auto infrastructure solutions. Leave your comments and we will be happy to post them!

The debate is only beginning regarding recharging electric vehicles in condo buildings. On the one side is the condo board and the owners. They do not want to subsidize individual owners who want to charge their electric vehicles nightly. Even though they live in the building and they are willing to pay for their usage.

Then there are the various government agencies who are promoting clean vehicles and electric vehicles. Of course there are also the auto companies who want to sell more of these vehicles. For example any obstacle is a potential deterrent to increased sales. They are very concerned about resolving these issues. Some cities are just beginning to add charging stations for electric only vehicles.

Recharging Electric Vehicles

A recent article in a local newspaper reported on this particular issue. In our opinion was skewed on one side of the discussion. Hence this is what really prompted us to add our comments to the argument or discussion about who pays for the electricity in a condo. Or for that matter in an apartment building were the electrical costs are shared by all of the owners.

Recharging Electric Vehicles – What are the Issues?

Perception is that all owners would be subsidizing the few electric vehicle owners in the building who use electricity to charge their cars. For example this is easily countered by the car owner paying for the electricity based on a measured or calculated value.

People do not understand how electricity is priced and used and how much it actually costs. This is also easily demonstrated by an expert who can demonstrate what the real costs are.

Governments not addressing recharging issues. We have gas stations all over the place. We have electric systems all over the place. What we do not have is a way to deliver electricity to electric vehicles. It is very difficult to address this issue. Could we put a meter on the car that calculates how much electricity is really used?

Electrical Infrastructure

An issue that the newspaper article ignored all together was the electrical infrastructure. In the example in the newspaper, the condo building is 40 years old. It has one outlet in the garage. Which one of the owners was using to plug in his electric vehicle. What do you do when there are 2 or 3 more vehicles? One outlet on one circuit will not support more than two cars and may not support more than one car depending on the amperage rating of that circuit. Who will pay for the upgrade to the condo’s electric wiring system? This can become a very expensive issue. It should be shared or paid for the owners of the electric vehicles?

A condo built 40 years ago will have an electrical distribution system suitable for that time. This was before flat screen TV’s in every room, computers for each resident. As well as various other electronics, a variety of appliances that did not exist at the time etc. As a result the electrical load now may be taxing the system to the point were you have to spend major money. For example upgrading the electrical panel, the distribution system in the building. Perhaps even the entry cables into the building.

Fear Mongering

Some people might say that we are just fear mongering and against electric vehicles. This is not the case at all. In fact we would like to purchase an electric car in the future when the prices are a bit more reasonable. The condo board would actually be remiss in its duties if they just allowed this owner to connect his car to the electric grid.

We think that the condo board should place a temporary band on the connection and recharging of electric cars. They should arrange for an assessment of what is needed. In addition also what the impact would be of connecting one car up to perhaps a maximum of 10 cars to the system in the condo. This would include upgrade costs as well as electricity usage costs. Armed with this information, they would then be in a position to decide on the best course of action for all owners.

Send your thoughts and opinions

Your opinions and thoughts on this subject would be useful to our readers. We are willing to even approve links to your own web site in return for a well written comment. Hence it should contribute to this issue and hopefully long term resolution of what to do about connecting electric vehicles to a common electric grid for recharging.

What do you do if you need recharging electric vehicles in the  apartment  building you live in. If the superintendent finds out and tells you that you are not allowed to use this electrical outlet, what do you do? This is a huge impediment to sales for electric vehicles that need to be recharged every night.

It is just one of the many problems that the fledgling  electric vehicle industry is facing. In our last post we talked about how to provide an electric recharging stations. Also how the infrastructure needs to be upgraded. In another post we discuss the same issue in condo buildings. Were owners of the condo would not allow one car owner to recharge his vehicle.

Recharging Electric Vehicles – Issue

People do not want to be bothered by these kinds of issues. The supply of power is going to be the single issue that will prevent many customers from getting on the electric vehicle bandwagon. The car industry needs to solve this issue. They need to try to resolve much of the negative words in the press. These are real problems that need to be solved and unless they are solved, the electric vehicle is not going to sell well.

Apartment buildings are even worse in some ways because owners do not want to incur any more cost that will impact their overall profit. Upgrading the electrical system to handle the increase power draw and adding outlets in the parking garage, not to mention the electrical usage are big negatives for the owners. They are unlikely to spend money until there is some perceived advantage for them such as competition or profit.

Profitable Recharging Stations in Apartment Buildings

The apartment building owner is motivated by profit. If we are to solve the recharging station issue for electric vehicles, the entire industry will need to figure this out. However we are focused on apartment buildings in this post, so we will stick to that subject.

The owner will need to spend some money to install electrical outlets at a number of parking spots in his parking garage. He will need to make sure that the electrical system can handle the increased electrical load. They may even need to upgrade some the circuits to handle this increase load. Load can be determined by the number of cars that would be charging at the same time. the cost of these upgrades must be amortized over some period so that he can recover his cost plus a profit. There is also the cost of electricity that is actually consumed.

With these two numbers the apartment building manager now knows what the cost will be to provide electric charging stations for electric vehicles.  He may or may not want to add an additional amount to this number so factor in his profit.  Sounds easy doesn’t it, but there is one more problem and it is very difficult to solve.

Not Enough Demand for Electric car Charging Stations

No apartment building owner is going to spend any money at this point. Especially for one or two vehicle owners that may want to charge their cars in his buildings. Right now he needs to recover his cost in a a reasonable time. He cannot charge all of the upgrade cost to one or two owners.

We think that this situation will gradually resolve itself over time as demand increases. Especially as availability of stations becomes a competitive issue. Governments can also help as well by offering incentives to provide these stations.  It may take 10 years to reach the tipping point. However we are very confident that we will get to a heavy concentration of electric vehicles. This will drive solutions that are cost effective for drivers as well as apartment building owners and condo’s as well. It will become common place to offer recharging stations in apartment building parking garages.

The auto industry has to get in on this and start doing some of the things needed to help the industry along. They need many locations to charge your vehicle were you pay for the power at reasonable rates.