A Tesla in the Garage + Home Solar Power = Energy Freedom

[RV_]

This is where we are headed except we have a Rivian R1T electric truck on order since last year. When it is built we wil sell the 2019 Subaru Forester and have the 2020 Tesla Model Y we already have been driving for two years and the Rivia to be be totally fossil fuel free. Even my lawnmower and other yard equipment are Battery electric. We are moving one more time to a state without drought, without wildfire smog filled skies in summer.

So we will buy a house with solar or put it in and also get a Tesla Powerwall.

 

This article shows one family doing it! The anti electric folks won't read it but other car enthusiasts who love the power and handling of our $50k Tesla Model Y AWD two motor, long range battery pack cars, and others like it, will like the article.

Excerpt:

"I’ve always been interested in the idea of using home solar to make my own “electric fuel”, and when someone posted on Twitter that he just sold his ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle and replaced it with a Tesla Model Y, thereby achieving an all-EV household, I found it intriguing.

The poster is Darrell, who lives in the Bay Area of California. He has a YouTube channel where he shares many videos about his vehicles and solar power. When we replace ICE vehicles with all-electric ones, we aren’t just getting another new car. We are opening up possibilities that ICE cars don’t have. One is installing a home solar power system that can be used to also charge an EV, or more than one.

Some EV owners charge entirely from electricity they generate themselves. Such people do not have to pay for ever expensive gasoline or diesel. They also don’t have to pay for it with dollars that are worth less in periods of high inflation, like right now. The future of electric vehicles is one in which EV owners have the ability to create their own electricity at home. It could be solar power, solar power + battery storage, solar power + small wind power, or solar power + small wind power + battery storage. Such configurations allow homeowners to enjoy energy freedom. This kind of energy freedom is not common today, but there are some early adopters who have embraced the technology, such as Darrell, who answered some questions about his home system for CleanTechnica."

Their Questions and Darrll's answers are in the full article below:

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/06/19/two-teslas-plus-home-solar-power-is-energy-freedom/

Edited June 23, 2022 by RV_

[sandsys]

Many years ago, our daughter and her first husband had solar+wind+batteries and they sold their excess power back to the local utility company. It can be done, people.

Linda Sand

[bigjim]

IMO as far a vehicles something is going to happen tax-wise to make up for loss of gas or diesel taxes that are used to build and maintain roadways. And it i only fair. I would say it needs to be sooner than later.

 

[travelinbob]

The roadway repair revenue will have to come from somewhere and the electric car market will certainly be involved.

 

[Kirk W]

Highway maintenance falling behind is at least partly due to the fact that fuel taxes compared to miles driven have been falling for years. As MPG increased the revenue from fuel taxes was impacted, even before there were hybrid or electric vehicles. The result has been things like the proliferation of toll roads and at least 26 states now have additional taxes to register an EV. Some means of collecting revenue based upon miles traveled is no doubt in our future, and would be the most fair way to pay for roads. 

[Chalkie]

4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Highway maintenance falling behind is at least partly due to the fact that fuel taxes compared to miles driven have been falling for years. As MPG increased the revenue from fuel taxes was impacted, even before there were hybrid or electric vehicles. The result has been things like the proliferation of toll roads and at least 26 states now have additional taxes to register an EV. Some means of collecting revenue based upon miles traveled is no doubt in our future, and would be the most fair way to pay for roads. 

We already have privacy issues with our cell phones. We have privacy issues with insurance companies wanting the "black box" data from our cars. I use a VPN to keep my computer from tracking me (this seems to work as it thinks I am always in Dallas). We can't get illegal weapons and drugs off the streets and we can't keep illegal aliens out of the country. 

With all that in mind, can we really expect people to report their mileage accurately? much less allow some device to be placed in our cars? I really think that we are going to have to come up with a formula that collects an equitable tax or fee that is collected at registration, if that is even possible. Oregon and Utah have pilot programs Vehicle Miles Driven and the federal government is looking at it as well, but it is all voluntary at this point. Oregon is looking to make it mandatory on all new vehicles with a fuel economy of 30 or better. Another consideration is the disparate impact on rural drivers as they tend to drive more miles and a whole lot of that is not on paved roads. 

I think we need to so something to increase the amount of funding available for our roads, but like our state and federal governments, I am just not sure what it really going to work.

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Chalkie

[bigjim]

Cars  are lighter which helps with less wear and tear but there are more heavy trucks by necessity and even though we don't pay directly for their fees every individual is affected even those that don't drive.

[RV_]

Wow, what a bunch of hooey! Guys I am halfway out of the grip of big oil. I love that! If you hate EVs or are a jealous type I can make it easy for you. Just say I hate EVs, or I can't afford one so I want to take yours away. See how much shorter that is? None of us EV owners own them to avoid taxes! Sheesh, when a friend gets something I am happy for him. So where in this thread do you see anything about avoiding anything. But I will respond just because these comments are silly sour grapes.😛

Kirk when the subject was dealing with fuel costs you jumped in and when you did not like the off topic comments you corrected it and as a weekend Mod I would think you would not jump in and do the opposite of what you preach in my posts. Getting free of big oil and these yoyo prices and price gouging by big oil is possible, and the article and my experience prove it can be done reasonably today. What a low tone clique here! 🤣🖖

If you want to increase highway funds as an honest broker please open your own thread, show how with facts and perhaps it could be done. If you hate EVs, start posting your own I hate EVs threads and stop hijacking my positive threads.

So please you want to fix the roads and increase funds for infrastructure, by all means vote for it and do your own threads showing how it can be done not why it can't. EV owners aren't your scapegoats. Be original and fish, cut bait, or get outta the way! 😱😎🖖 

I remember a lot of the same kind of outright ignorant comments about Starlink when I first broached Starlink here because Musk had said he was going to do a mobile version for trucks and RVs. I don't care if you read my links or facts or not. I do answer when you folks comment as if you read it and look silly because the facts were put in front of you, and you did not bother to read it. I do not force anyone to post ignorantly, they can do it all by themselves. Now you are worried it might be taken away by a competitor's skewed research in their favor.

I have said and will say again I have no issue with fair sharing of road costs. Besides I am one of the younger folks here and we will all be dead and gone before we see all cars electric i the next 20 years or so. So you don't have to fear EVs so much. Or envy them as they cast about the same as the average cost for a car today. ~$50k.

The Oil industry gets billions of taxpayer dollars annually in government taxpayer monies they do not need. Their windfall profits the first quarter of this year alone are obscene!

So keeping it to money for roads, we need to take the billions we use to subsidize oil and use it for roads and infrastructure. If indeed your agenda is honorable that solution could eliminate the taxes on our fossil fueled vehicles too for their waning years in production.

Now I know most full-time RVrs cannot buy an electric motorhome or longer range EV trucks for large trailers, as they are down the road a couple of years as of now. I limited myself to never driving more than 200 miles a day anyway so with my Rivian when it comes in I can do whatever I need - across the country or across the state. See RV parks have 50 amp service just like mine at home to charge with at the end of the day. And in 1995 they gave big oil free oil with no royalties collected when drilled in federal lands!

So please provide sources as I am doing:

Excerpt:

"Oil Subsidies

The oil industry subsidies have a long history in the United States. As early as World War I, the government stimulated oil and gas production in order to ensure a domestic supply.

In 1995, Congress established the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act. It allowed oil companies to drill on federal property without paying royalties."

Much more in the source here including farm subsidies etc.

https://www.thebalance.com/government-subsidies-definition-farm-oil-export-etc-3305788#:~:text= Government Subsidies (Farm%2C Oil%2C Export%2C Etc) ,at the wholesale company's gas pumps. More

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by RV_

[RV_]

So again, the dream of being energy self sufficient is affordable now for folks who can afford an average priced new car and have some discretionary funds available for solar. I remember how nice it was when a power outage occurred while full time RVing because we still had lights and if we had a genset we even had A/C and Internet.

DIY Types can do it even cheaper. I think it would be great to have solar powered RVs somehow in the future with hyper efficient A/C and refrigerators that can keep up in heat. And that will come if we ever get magnetic refrigeration back into R&D among other things. Who would have thought we would have phones with free long distance calls and Internet video calls on our computers and phones instantly anywhere in the world where there is broadband. That with Starlink soon to be anywhere.

For folks still believing EV owners are tree hugger greenies here are videos of Tesla cars racing the top supercars that cost sometimes ten times as much. This is why I love my EV, soon to be two EVs, one a truck that does tank turns, and can beat the Moab rock climbs stock with only a change of tires! The Rivian truck is spec'd to do 0-60 in three seconds!

Our Teslas have cameras all around them that record constantly to our personal USB flash drives we buy and plug into the cars. They record and can be played back in the car or on our computers and copied to our hard drives. The automatically record over unless there is an accident or I blow the horn in which case it saves it and the minute or so before and after. I can also put it in "Sentry Mode when parked and it reacts in cool ways to indicate that it is aware of the people too close and they record the vandals and crazy folks who road rage around EVs. The Teslacam series on Youtube shows the many accident scammers and accidents with liars at fault who were "Busted" by our Tesla Cams.

So here is the YouTube video showing a variety of Tesla racing McClarens, Lambos, Maseratis, and even wildcats etc. For ~$50k I can do most of this. If I want to beat all of the $250k past a million dollar cars that Tesla Model S plaid is only ~$139k. No jealousy there. If I wanted one I would have saved up and gotten one but I won't spend $100k on any car. Today for that performance none of have to go broke. Here are the videos - Enjoy! (If you can't, get over yourself, I choose fun)

 

[RV_]

Here is a review of the Tesla Plaid called "Tesla PLAID: Why It Pushes The Limits Of Physics" and the video shows how and why. It also tells how they came to name it the plaid from Spaceballs:

Tesla PLAID: Why It Pushes The Limits Of Physics

Awesome. I have been in one as a passenger because you really need to know it to not get in trouble doing insane demos. He asked if I wanted a violent demo or a soft one. I chose violent. He owned a Model Y too first and he knew we thought it could not be that much faster. Holy Moly IT IS! And no million dollar production car or any production car beat it. If you watched the TeslaCam races above those were not Tesla Plaids, just Model 3, S, X and even Model Ys.

Edited June 25, 2022 by RV_

[RV_]

4 hours ago, bigjim said:

Cars  are lighter which helps with less wear and tear but there are more heavy trucks by necessity and even though we don't pay directly for their fees every individual is affected even those that don't drive.

You mean like our RVs?

[bigjim]

I am thinking in regard to taxes and higher costs on truckers that are ulitmately passed on to us through higher cost. Even the extra wear and tear on the roadways and other infrastructure. True enough even our rv's play a part in the wear, etc but I figure it is insignificant beside trucks.  Hope I am being clear since of course clearer is better.

HMMM  I wonder how much railroads and maybe even ships pay in taxes on diesel or other fuels.

[RV_]

I grew up with Railroads as our primary means of commuting to New York as we in Stamford we were/are still a NY sleepover town. But since they were going above ground/underground in Grand Central Station and elsewhere along their trip they were 100% electric as are all trains that go through tunnels with passengers like subways worldwide. Any fossil fuel would poison them. An interesting company story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven_Line#:~:text=New Haven Line trains primarily use electric multiple,an "outer" zone from Stamford to New Haven.

So rail travel and subways for the last mile eliminate car ownership as a necessity in our big cities. Buses are rapidly going electric too. Just like some choose apartments over houses whether owned or rented, I prefer my own car and house. Not condos or too close. I like my music louder because of hearing issues. Soon we will be using our Bose QC 35 headphones so we each can have our own volume watching TV.

So let me be clear, back to the subject of the fact that energy independence is here today, not five years off. I posted earlier about the Tesla PUC proposals to Texas for distributed power several ways. But to be free of oil prices and all or most of electric bills is no longer five years off for middle class folks. And as with everything will come down as economies of scale kick in. Here they show the market share already with no advertising using that money for R&D:

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by RV_

[podwerkz]

Let's see: Open up a topic and then shut down opposing views. 

Rainbows and butterflies. Or not.

How much more of the earth's natural environment must we rape and pillage so that the EV Elites can remain boastful and blissful..

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E8SQde5rk

 

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by podwerkz

[bigjim]

4 hours ago, podwerkz said:

Let's see: Open up a topic and then shut down opposing views. 

 In reference to what?????

[RV_]

11 hours ago, podwerkz said:

 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by RV_

[bigjim]

13 hours ago, RV_ said:

good call  😉

[Chalkie]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:05 AM, podwerkz said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E8SQde5rk

I enjoyed this video. It reinforced my personal view that a hybrid makes more sense overall. 

My SIL has an EV and it is fun to drive and the interior is roomy and comfortable. However, if they are going to take a trip they take their Land Rover since the EV simply does not have the range to conveniently support a long trip. He used to have a Ford Fusion Hybrid which while comfortable enough was not the greatest for a long trip. However, he could make it from Austin to Colorado Springs with just one fill-up if he drove prudently. 

[RV_]

On 6/26/2022 at 10:52 AM, Chalkie said:

My SIL has an EV and it is fun to drive and the interior is roomy and comfortable. However, if they are going to take a trip they take their Land Rover since the EV simply does not have the range to conveniently support a long trip.

What brand EV does your SIL own? Must not be Tesla because Tesla navigation automatically routes us to Supercharger stations and in towns that have more than one will route us to the least busy one. It takes from 10 minutes to 30 mins from my normal empty (20%) to charge to my setting now (80%.) On a trip it would take an hour or less from ~ 10% to 100% charged.  It takes longer than that for us to use the restrooms, walk the dog, and get some lunch or snacks/cold drinks. And when we walk away there is no danger of a hose slipping out and spraying fuel all over the vehicle and ground unattended in Sentry mode.

https://www.hotcars.com/tesla-sentry-mode-everything-you-need-to-know/

Are you buying a hybrid? Several of our friends have hybrids, one the Ford  that they love! I just went to price the Escape Hybrid and saw this: "Due to high demand, the current model year is no longer available for retail order. Contact your dealer for more information." https://www.ford.com/suvs-crossovers/escape/models/escape-se-hybrid/

If not a Tesla I would hesitate too, unless Musk makes all Superchargers available to all brands. If they don't allow Rivian Trucks to charge at Tesla Superchargers when mine is flagged for delivery, I will get a refund or take it, play with it for a few weeks and resell it and wait for the Cybertruck. I agree, the Tesla Supercharger system that most don't see because many are behind Whataburgers in their lots and other places that want to attract travelers for food and tourism.

Being a military retiree with access to bases a little known fact is that all federal buildings especially DOD require chargers in their parking lots. An active duty friend says he charges free at work on his base! When we RV we stayed at bases more than half the time, and planned our longer stays at the Military FamCamps when possible.

Edited June 27, 2022 by RV_

[Chalkie]

15 hours ago, RV_ said:

 It takes from 10 minutes to 30 mins from empty to charge. It takes longer than that for us to use the restrooms, walk the dog and get some lunch or snacks/cold drinks. And when we walk away there is no danger of a hose slipping out and spraying fuel all over the vehicle and ground unattended in Sentry mode.

 

Being a military retiree with access to bases a little known fact is that all federal buildings especially DOD require chargers in their parking lots. An active duty friend says he charges free at work on his base! When we RV we stayed at bases more than half the time, and planned our longer stays at the Military FamCamps when possible.

You are stretching to make your point. A quick search on the internet and I found numbers all over the place but none in the 10-30 minute range. What I found is that if you use "pay at the pump" the average time spent filling up is 2.5-4 minutes depending on source. I found one article based on convenience store trade group numbers that placed the time filling, paying, getting snacks, etc. averaged 12 minutes or less. 

Th military base "free" charge is ludicrous. First if you were traveling i an RV I highly suspect it would not be with an EV unless possibly it was a towed on a trailer. Second, there is no such thing as free. It is a figment of ones imagination. Someone, somewhere is paying for it and in this case it sounds like the US taxpayer. According to the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) the solar panels on all bases combined generates 130 MW which is enough for 22,000 homes. There are over 300,000 housing units so there is certainly no spare there to be able to say it is "free". And last, but not least, I sure would not plan a trip, just traveling, around base locations as I could get in an out of a gas station faster than I could even get on a lot of bases; much less find, get to and use the gas station on base.

I'm glad you like having your personal impact with all the gas engines you have given up but it is not for everyone to the same degree. Without enormous changes on the backend in electrical generation and transmission it is going to take a long time before all electric living is a reality. 

[Vladimir]

I have noticed that the plug-in hybrids don't talk about battery range.  

I would buy a plug-in hybrid if it meets my test:

125 miles,  8000 feet of elevation gain at zero degrees and 4-wd capability for the price of a RAV4 or Honda Passport.

What I would like to see is a EV with a small gasoline or diesel engine.   The small fossil fuel engine would run the vehicle on speed in rural areas.  The batteries used for urban driving and accelerating.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Vladimir

[Chalkie]

52 minutes ago, Vladimir said:

I have noticed that the plug-in hybrids don't talk about battery range. 

They do but not right up front as the numbers are to me rather embarrassing. There was some folks in the park here with a eep plug-in hybrid as there toad. I did a little looking and found the range to be 49 miles on electric and 371 on standard engine. Made me wonder what the range would have been without all extra weight of the battery, electric motor and associated equipment to haul around.

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, Chalkie said:

A quick search on the internet and I found numbers all over the place but none in the 10-30 minute range.

How long to charge a Tesla?

As you may have guessed by now, Tesla’s Supercharger network is the way to go, especially in a pinch. However, due to their massive direct current, Superchargers are not recommended for daily charging.

They are, instead, in place to provide a quick charge for drivers on the go or for those on longer road trips. Tesla recommends Level 2 charging at home whenever possible.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Kirk W

[RV_]

5 hours ago, Chalkie said:

You are stretching to make your point. A quick search on the internet and I found numbers all over the place but none in the 10-30 minute range. What I found is that if you use "pay at the pump" the average time spent filling up is 2.5-4 minutes depending on source. I found one article based on convenience store trade group numbers that placed the time filling, paying, getting snacks, etc. averaged 12 minutes or less. 

Th military base "free" charge is ludicrous. First if you were traveling i an RV I highly suspect it would not be with an EV unless possibly it was a towed on a trailer. Second, there is no such thing as free. It is a figment of ones imagination. Someone, somewhere is paying for it and in this case it sounds like the US taxpayer. According to the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) the solar panels on all bases combined generates 130 MW which is enough for 22,000 homes. There are over 300,000 housing units so there is certainly no spare there to be able to say it is "free". And last, but not least, I sure would not plan a trip, just traveling, around base locations as I could get in an out of a gas station faster than I could even get on a lot of bases; much less find, get to and use the gas station on base.

I'm glad you like having your personal impact with all the gas engines you have given up but it is not for everyone to the same degree.

I asked only, Gary, what brand EV does your SIL have? What a reaction and no answer?

Hell if you and everyone else put in orders for EVs today my already 8 month wait for the Rivian I put a down payment on last year with a "hoped for" delivery of late this year to early 2023 would be backed up to 2024.

Oops! Said empty and mistyped. Thanks Gary, I goofed. I will correct that. It takes up to an hour to charge from actual empty. So? Mine is set for charge warning to be 20% Which I think of as the empty warning, and I currently charge to 90% but am about to change that to 80% as best practices because when not gong to Denver or on a trip I rarely drive more than 100 miles a week local. It is still fine to charge to 100% for trips and to use a Supercharger for trips, just not daily.

  I only talk about my actual first hand EV experience. Wait until you see the next generation of batteries and Supercharger charge times! WooHoo! Oh you can do a quick search on that too.

You keep saying I am ecologically motivated and that is my motive to own an EV??? Boy if you ever drive one are you in for a shock. I bought one for the thrill of the power and handling better than any of my muscle and sports cars and trucks I have owned ever could. And the Model Y costs about the average price paid for cars today. Oh they all went fast for ICE age vehicles. But none could come close to the Y's acceleration and handling.

YOLO.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by RV_

[RV_]

2 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

How long to charge a Tesla?

As you may have guessed by now, Tesla’s Supercharger network is the way to go, especially in a pinch. However, due to their massive direct current, Superchargers are not recommended for daily charging.

They are, instead, in place to provide a quick charge for drivers on the go or for those on longer road trips. Tesla recommends Level 2 charging at home whenever possible.

Exactly Kirk. Supercharging is really only for trips for me. My home charger does 30 miles range an hour on average, so if I were using 100% instead of 90% charging settings it would take ten hours from completely discharged. I charge mine before it gets below 20%, and charge it to no more than 90% when I charge it. I do charge to 100% for trips, and have heard of folks limping to a charger from doing maximum range experiments. But charging is not even like as phone. Like you gas vehicles I don't charge daily anymore than I fuel my Forester up after every 30 50 miles. We fill our gas and diesel vehicles when not traveling between 1/4 tank to 1/2 tank. Not after every 30 miles. I get terrible miles per charge because it is fun to goose it when safe and only up to the speed limit.

The free chargers I just heard about from an active duty friend yesterday stationed at Wright Patterson Ohio and are meant for workers users to use while at work, slower than supercharger like mine here in the garage, for use several hours to all day. Our phone apps alert us to when they are through charging so we can move them out of the way if needed. The are even putting chargers in front of the BX/Commissary/personnel center/library/clinics etc. when they are replaced with new facilities. I have not seen any on base yet but never thought to look. Many new ones around town and the state here.