Driving An Electric Car: Why Didn’t I Do It Sooner?

Dr. Valerie Irvine @_valerieiRON Talk on Nov. 2, 2016

Photo by Fabien Rochet // CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Personal Profile

• Sold a Toyota Siena minivan in 2013• Bought a used 2011 Nissan Leaf (first

gen)• Family profile:–One adult–Two tweens–Two small dogs

GARTNER’S HYPE CYCLE FOR EMERGING TECH

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ALONG THE HYPE CYCLE

…IN IMAGES and GIFS

TECHNOLOGY TRIGGER

PEAK OF INFLATED EXPECTATIONS

TROUGH OF DISILLUSIONMENT

TROUGH OF DISILLUSIONMENT… IN BED LATE AT NIGHT

SLOPE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

PLATEU OF PRODUCTIVITY… MORE LIKE EMERGING RESENTMENT FOR

USING FOSSIL FUELS UNNECESSARILY

The Other 5% Of The Time: Over 3 YearsPROBLEM

Random call to pick up someone from ferryForgot to plug in my car onceExternal plug shorted from rainTravelled to Vancouver four times

Travelled to Up Island: Duncan Level 3 charger was out of commissionTravel to Parksville with 5 of us and 2 dogs

WHAT HAPPENEDNot enough range. They took a cab

Don’t recall. Didn’t go out? Cab?Don’t recall. Didn’t go out? Cab?Took the car twice. Rented once. Borrowed once. Needed space thoWe took a later ferry. BC Ferries let us charge in their lot and on their ferry. My fault for not checkingAdded on 2 hours to the trip for charging

Why This Talk?• How do you like it?– Love it!

• How far can you go?–Depends…

• How long does it take to charge?–Depends…

My Charging Patterns

• Did not install an in-home level 2 charging station (the 4-hour one)• Use a high-gauge extension cord (for

safety) and charge mine on the street (level 1 charging which is about 15 hours)• Charge almost exclusively at home

Lessons Learned On Charging

• Some chargers require a card to access vs. credit card, but can still be used if you call the 1-800 number and have an account

• Use of apps to locate them and if check-in used, then able to determine if available

• Problem with districts like Oak Bay who make access to chargers difficult (e.g., parking their staff or district gas vehicles in there to block it)

• Access to charging stations is NOT a privilege

The Money MindsetThe car might be more expensive? – Often rebates are available– Gas & maintenance costs transferred to car

payments– The car becomes disposable. With the amount I

spent on gas, I end up with a free car after 10 years. It doesn’t matter if newer models come out making mine obsolete (e.g., new Leaf has 27% more range)

– Or consider savings (approx. $2500/year) toward car share membership to use a truck at times of need or to rent a car or cab if needed in a pinch

My Driving Habits

• Went from “Swirvine Irvine” who was an assertive accelerator to a smart accelerator

• Speeding reduced• Gamification option: novelty• I focus on the speed and “energy bar”• Highway driving at speed limit• Coasting to gain “range”

My costs over 3 years

• $7.50 for a light bulb• $150 for a regularly scheduled check-in

(might be a money grab, but I have to do it to preserve my bumper-to-bumper warranty)

My Storify on Driving an EV

Questions: virvine@gmail.com@_valeriei

Also, check out:

http://victoriaevclub.ca/where there are much more knowledgeable and involved people