Is the Leaf suitable for me ? Range anxiety.

[madbrain]

I just test drove the Leaf on Saturday. I am very interested in the car. I like it a lot better than the Chevy Volt which I also test drove the week before.
This is my first post and I have lots of questions. Most of them are around range anxiety.

I'm especially wondering if it is suitable for me or not given my driving patterns.
I'm especially interested in hearing from Leaf owners who have switched t the Leaf as their only car.

Currently, I drive a 2007 Prius. My partner drives a 2011 Prius. There are only 2 of us, won't ever be more than that. We live on a hill so we are car-dependent. The closest bus stop is 1.5 mile away, and one third of that is steep downhill. Public transportation is not a viable option for any trip.

1) My regular commute is short, 12 miles each way, and there are 4 chargers in front of each building at my office. For that regular commute, I could just recharge at work only all the time.

2) About once a week, I drive a little more for work, to another office which is 30 miles from home, and doesn't have EV chargers unfortunately. 26 of those 30 miles are freeway. I tend to drive pretty fast at highway speeds. Usually I don't cross 80, but I may average 70 to 75. Could I rely on consistently having enough range with a full charge for 52 miles of driving 75mph and 8 miles of city streets ? This is assuming climate control on 72 summer/68 winter with Bay area climate.

3) I also make lots of other short trips with the Prius which the Leaf would be completely suitable for.

4) We spend about $2400 a year in gas (figure is per Quicken!) to drive about 28000 miles between the two of us - this is about 45mpg on both Prius, and roughly $4/gallon.
If the Leaf was charged at work all the time for free, about half of that gasoline cost could be eliminated.

5) If I charged the Leaf at home on the other hand, it would cost slightly more in electricity as using gasoline with the Prius, as I would be pushed into higher tiers with PG&E . Adding 4500 kWh/year to my current usage would cost about $1100 in additional electricity charges from the grid, ie. about 26 cents per kWh. This is because I have solar PV right now and am strictly in baseline tiers, but I would jump into tier 4 and tier 5 territory by adding the EV . Using E-9 schedule would not reduce that by much as it is less favorable than my current E-6 TOU rate for my solar PV.
I'm in the process of adding some extra PV capacity which to cover some of remaining energy charges, and prevent the jump into higher tiers if I get the EV..I want to do that PV expansion regardless.

6) Adding the Leaf and keeping both our 2007 and 2011 Prius would cost an extra $500 per year in insurance, and about $300 per year in CA DMV fees.
Even if adding the vehicle itself was free, these extra costs would negate a good chunk of the $1200 annual savings from reduced gasoline consumption from driving my Prius 2007 less.
Besides that, it is not very green to have 3 cars when there are only two drivers.
Our garage has 3 spots, but only has 2 doors, the third spot is in the back, and not really accessible unless the spot in front of it is empty. And we use that spot for storage.

So, the idea if I get the Leaf would be to replace the 2007 Prius (which I currently drive). And we could still use my partner's 2011 Prius for the long range trips we take together on weekends.
Once in a while, I do take trips of about 100 miles without my partner on weekends, to Santa Cruz or accross the bay, and it's clear the Leaf would not cut it for those trips . This means we would have to use my partner's Prius for those times, and he could use the Leaf.

7) Occasionally, I take unplanned long-range trips without my partner, and his Prius may not be available.
I am wondering if anyone owns a Leaf only and uses some car service to rent another car occasionally for long trips. Either through a car rental agency or other like Zipcar.

On the hill where I live, it's all residential there are no Zipcars and don't expect there ever will be. I could drive the Leaf to a Zipcar location about 5 miles away however, if there was a spot to park the Leaf. I think Enterprise will deliver a rental car, but it's probably much more expensive. If anyone is using those, I want to hear from you. How inconvenient have you found this to be ?
I anticipate having to do this 6-12 times a year.

8) Lease or buy ?

I have never done a lease before, only straight purchase.

a) One local dealer is offering me a 3 year lease with $0 down and $270/month + sales tax for a new 2012 SL. With the $2500 CA rebate it is only $8000 total cost for this lease. This seems dirt cheap. However, the residual value is based on MSRP, so if I buy it at the end of the lease, it's not as good of a deal. Residual value is estimated at about $19k + tax. Dealer says the residual value is set by NMAC and not negotiable. Is that true ?

b) there is one 2011 SL, about 16 months old, advertised locally in my choice of color with under 20k miles and about $22k.
I know the battery warranty is only 8 years/100000 miles. With my current mileage of about 12000/year, I would reach the mileage limit in about 6.5 years with this used one, vs the full 8 years on a new one.

My first car was a 2001 Prius, which back then had the same battery warranty. The battery failed at 8 years, 3 months and 94000 miles. Toyota was gracious enough to cover half the cost of the battery replacement ($3400 part and labor total) as it was so close to the warranty expiration.

Obviously the battery technology is improving, but also the battery on the Leaf is probably a much bigger portion of the price of the Leaf than it was on the 2001 Prius.

If I find the Leaf to be suitable, do you think option a) or b) is the better choice ?

 

[cwerdna]

Where are you located? Can you update your location field w/a rough location?

I see mention of PGE and Bay Area... but what part? That could influence lease vs. buy.

If you're considered about costs, can you cut your electricity use? I'm below my baseline amount almost every month on PG&E. It's rare I get even into tier 2 and I have no PV. Looks like my highest bill was for 404 kwh in a bill that spanned mid-December '11 to mid January '12.

 

[DaveEV]

I highly doubt you'll get 60 miles/charge out of the LEAF if 52 of them are done at 75 mph after even 3 years (assuming one doesn't want to run it too far past the first low-battery-warning).

Unless you can charge at your destination, or are willing to slow (significantly) down, the LEAF is simply not going to work long term under that usage pattern. A 3-year lease will probably be OK - but I would recommend borrowing or renting a LEAF and testing it on your 60 mi trip first if possible to see how much buffer you have.

Other options - get a plug-in hybrid if you want to reduce your gasoline consumption, or simply keep your Prius. For the occasional long trip when you can't use your partner's Prius - renting a car is the best option.

 

[yorkhung]

For your normal usage it will definitely be enough in most case. I think what you are worry about is the one or two time special visit you have to make.
When I got my Leaf, I made sure I have my second ICE (Accord) ready just in case I need to go beyond 70 miles.
However, since I got my car, I have never be in the situation where I need to go back and drive my Accord again.
I took few 100+ miles trip already, and all I need to do is to stop by some charging station to charge the car up.
It's especially nice if you have a quick charge station on your way, it's just great!
The number of charging station is actually a lot more than I expected when I bought my car.

 

[madbrain]

Where are you located? Can you update your location field w/a rough location?

I see mention of PGE and Bay Area... but what part? That could influence lease vs. buy.

Just updated it, I'm in San Jose.

If you're considered about costs, can you cut your electricity use? I'm below my baseline amount almost every month on PG&E. It's rare I get even into tier 2 and I have no PV. Looks like my highest bill was for 404 kwh in a bill that spanned mid-December '11 to mid January '12.

Can't really be reduced.
It's a very large house, 4700 sq ft. Everything I have is energy star efficient. All 236 lightbulbs are CFLs. There are 97 vacancy sensors that turn off the lights automatically after 30 mins of no motion.
The two ACs are brand new highest efficiency SEER. There is a total of 10 HVAC zones with individual thermostats so we don't cool/heat the whole place. The 2 furnaces are gas. The 2 water heaters are gas. The dryer is gas. Cooktop is induction, double oven is electric. The only thing I could really reduce is turn off the outdoor spa which is about 1/3 of the usage.
Total usage for the house averages to 47 kWh per day annually. Without the PV the PG&E electric-only cost would be about $4500 a year. Natural gas usage is only about $500/year.
The PV (put in 2 years ago) produces about 30 kWh per day average and cuts down the bill to about $800/year.
The PV are 28 x 235W with micro inverters. I'm looking to add another 12 x 235 W. Even without the EV, this expansion won't cover 100% of the usage for the house, but it will reduce the energy charges to zero thanks to E-6 TOU rate.
However the PV expansion makes much more sense if I add the EV .

 

[madbrain]

I highly doubt you'll get 60 miles/charge out of the LEAF if 52 of them are done at 75 mph after even 3 years (assuming one doesn't want to run it too far past the first low-battery-warning).

Unless you can charge at your destination, or are willing to slow (significantly) down, the LEAF is simply not going to work long term under that usage pattern. A 3-year lease will probably be OK - but I would recommend borrowing or renting a LEAF and testing it on your 60 mi trip first if possible to see how much buffer you have.

Unfortunately that particular destination has no chargers, so charging at destination is not possible.

Other options - get a plug-in hybrid if you want to reduce your gasoline consumption, or simply keep your Prius. For the occasional long trip when you can't use your partner's Prius - renting a car is the best option.

It's obvious keeping my 2007 Prius as my only car is the cheapest option.
I am interested in the new technology, but don't want it to cost an arm and a leg.

I have looked at the Volt. I could live with it, but I'm not in love with it. It's a 4 seater vs 5 seater for the Prius. Lower MPG when battery is exhausted also.
The loaded model with nav however is quite pricey at about $45k MSRP.

Best I was able to negotiate is about $42k. With tax and license it's $46k. Less $9k of incentives. Then the dealer would only pay $10k for my loaded Prius as a trade in. So $27k to switch to the Volt. Or I might be able to sell my Prius private party for up to $14k, best case. It still has 2 years of extended warranty. That would still be $23k to switch to the Volt.

The cost to add the used 2011 Leaf is less at $22k, and I would have two cars. This would both provide the best gas fuel efficiency, and the best EV range.
New Leaf is about $36k + t/l which is $39k out the door. Less $10k of incentives. That's $29k. Still close to the cost of trading in the Prius for the Volt.
Except that the extra $800/year cost of registration and insurance on 2 cars would negate most benefits, and I would have to park the Prius outside.

Lease scenarios get more complicated. If I can do a 3 year lease of the Leaf for $8k and sell my Prius for $14k then I'm $6k ahead to begin with. But at the end of the lease, I don't own a car. However I will have pocketed the $6k and 3 years worth of gas savings or about $9500 total. Insurance will still go up from 2007 Prius to Nissan Leaf, I don't know exactly how much, probably about $200/year. Also have to deduct any costs I would incur renting cars. With no renting, I would still be up $9000 in 3 years.

If I just keep the 2007 Prius, its value in 3 years might be little more than $9k. Battery warranty on the 2007 model is 10 years/150k and I will only be at 8 years/90k.

 

[cwerdna]

Wow! That's big house for SJ (where I live too).

I'm in a ~2500 sq ft. house by myself (another story) that was built in 1979 so there are no occupancy/vacancy sensors. We have no AC, no pool, no spa, no PV and there are a few incandescents still. Water heater is natural gas. Dryer is electric only.

I've done things like use 40 watts of CFL torchiere lighting in the kitchen instead of the 320+ watts of overhead T12 fluorescent lights (yeah yeah, T12 is old and outdated), when I don't need that much light.

BTW, CFL is not necessarily the highest luminous efficacy (lumens per watt, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy#Lighting_efficiency" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but I can't speak to the accuracy of the table). T8 fluorescent tubes can be better. I'd taken an energy efficiency class geared mostly towards commercial buildings earlier this year.

If you don't have one yet, get a http://www.p3international.com/products/special/p4400/p4400-ce.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or a fancier model to find energy vampires. Kill-A-Watt was one of the best cheap gadgets I've bought in awhile.

Someone on Priuschat looked into a PiP and asked about electricity at http://priuschat.com/threads/which-san-diego-gas-electric-rate-plan-is-cheaper.107958/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They later replied:

Thank you for this incredibly helpful information. I've been focusing my attention on getting an EV-capable vehicle to save money when I should have been focusing my attention on identifying and eliminating electricity waste around my home. If I had not gotten my car, I would have continued to live in blissful ignorance.

That reason why I asked about location is if you were in say Palm Springs (not a PG&E area though) or Sacramento (dunno who their electric provider is), I'd say don't buy, esp. Palm Springs, due to the battery capacity loss issues (apparently due to heat) that some (many?) AZ and TX owners are facing.

 

[planet4ever]

About once a week, I drive a little more for work, to another office which is 30 miles from home, and doesn't have EV chargers unfortunately. 26 of those 30 miles are freeway. I tend to drive pretty fast at highway speeds. Usually I don't cross 80, but I may average 70 to 75. Could I rely on consistently having enough range with a full charge for 52 miles of driving 75mph and 8 miles of city streets ? This is assuming climate control on 72 summer/68 winter with Bay area climate.

My straight answer: No way. You cannot count on driving 52 miles at 75mph without recharging. Not both summer and winter and not after several years. You would have to slow down. What that means depends on which freeways your route involves and how limited you are on time of day. You can make it with many miles to spare if you stay with the trucks in the right lane, but that means 60mph in San Jose, or much less than that in traffic jams. You can probably make it in carpool lanes at 65-70, but cars would be pushing you unless the traffic was very heavy. For carpool lanes in relatively light traffic you'd want to pop out of the lane occasionally to let people pass you.

Incidentally, the AC is very efficient and will keep you cool even if you set it at 76, and will draw little current in San Jose weather.

If I charged the Leaf at home on the other hand, it would cost slightly more in electricity as using gasoline with the Prius, as I would be pushed into higher tiers with PG&E . Adding 4500 kWh/year to my current usage would cost about $1100 in additional electricity charges from the grid, ie. about 26 cents per kWh. This is because I have solar PV right now and am strictly in baseline tiers, but I would jump into tier 4 and tier 5 territory by adding the EV . Using E-9 schedule would not reduce that by much as it is less favorable than my current E-6 TOU rate for my solar PV.
I'm in the process of adding some extra PV capacity which to cover some of remaining energy charges, and prevent the jump into higher tiers if I get the EV..I want to do that PV expansion regardless.

It looks like you've dug into this pretty thoroughly, but I do wonder about two things:

1. From your numbers I get 12.3 extra kWh/day, so wouldn't virtually all of your additional usage will be tier 2 and 3? Yes, you might edge into tier 4 a few times each year.
2. You can limit your EV charging to mostly off-peak, and this is going to shift the ratio of peak to part-peak to off-peak usage. Your part-peak and off-peak rates remain low until you hit the 130% point each month. Since you say you are currently under 100%, doesn't that mean you really won't end up paying anywhere close to 26 cents for the first 1/3 or so of the additional energy you use?

Once in a while, I do take trips of about 100 miles without my partner on weekends, to Santa Cruz or across the bay, and it's clear the Leaf would not cut it for those trips . This means we would have to use my partner's Prius for those times, and he could use the Leaf.

A number of people have gone to Santa Cruz from various parts of San Jose, and I've gone there from Morgan Hill. I used a half-hour boost at a free charging station to do it, but there are lots of ways to spend half an hour -- or even a couple of hours -- away from the car in Santa Cruz. It turns out the Hwy 17 "hill" doesn't hurt you all that much.

Lease or buy? I have never done a lease before, only straight purchase.

I've never done a lease before, either, but I'm glad I did this time. You definitely want a 3 year lease in California, as anything less as anything less will cost you a $2500 rebate. Three years from now the batteries will be much better than they are right now, and you will have many choices in EVs. Don't even think of buying the car at the end of the lease.

Ray

 

[RegGuheert]

I would recommend that you sit tight for a few months and see what Nissan announces for the 2013. It's possible that the battery will get enough of a boost to make it work for you.

 

[thankyouOB]

you can do the 30-mile commute, but you will have to learn how to drive an EV for range and that means staying around 60 mph.
otherwise, you are good as gold.
one caveat is weather, that is wet weather driving and the need for heat in winter; they are big battery consumers.
as others have said, you have not provided location and weather characteristics.

(cant get into your other choices question or PV panel issues or whether the lease fits your economics. that is all very personal about how you spend and what you truly care about beyond the bank; and also if you have bank, which it seems you do.)
I would wait till the 2013s are out and see what changes the calcs.

 

[gaswalla]

The plug-in Prius (PIP) is your ideal car: you may never need to buy gas for your commuting since you have a short commute and can charge at work.. When it goes into hybrid mode, you get way more than 50MPG -- the PIP isn't the ideal car for many, but it is for you.. you should be able to haggle to get one under 30k, and there are 4k in incentives on top of that.

do not buy a LEAF... if you end up getting a LEAF despite reading about Nissan's handling of all the problems, be sure to lease it

 

[MrIanB]

Couple of questions:

Are you able to use your partner's car on days that you have a long drive?

How long will his drive be on days that you drive his?

If not feasible to swap or charge on those long drives, I suggest the Prius plug in, the Volt or wait for the 2013 model specs to see if range has increased sufficient to make it work for you.

If you get the Leaf, definitely lease it and sell your Prius and save the extra money saved from no gas.

Either way, good luck and hope the Leaf comes through for you. You will love it and save a LOT of gas $$.

Ian B

 

[ztanos]

you can do the 30-mile commute, but you will have to learn how to drive an EV for range and that means staying around 60 mph.
otherwise, you are good as gold.
one caveat is weather, that is wet weather driving and the need for heat in winter; they are big battery consumers.
as others have said, you have not provided location and weather characteristics.

(cant get into your other choices question or PV panel issues or whether the lease fits your economics. that is all very personal about how you spend and what you truly care about beyond the bank; and also if you have bank, which it seems you do.)
I would wait till the 2013s are out and see what changes the calcs.

He mentioned in this thread that he is from San Jose and the Bay area.

 

[tcherniaev]

My commute is 28 miles each way (26 on the freeway). I've been able to do it no problem at 70 mph most of the time. The only days when I have to slow down to stretch the range is when it is really cold. Couple of times last winter I had to plug it in at work (120V outlet) to make it home, but we talking 20 F outside with the heater at the toasty 70 F. Most days I also drive few miles for lunch.

After a while you figure out how many bars you need to get home, and you can always slow down to 60 mph to bump the range. For example, I drove home from the airport last night (30 miles) on 5 power bars with the cruise control set at 72 and arrived home shortly after LBW sounded. But I was not worried because by the time I dropped to 2 power bars I passed the point on the freeway where I knew 2 bars would get me home.

Also consider that 5 minutes on QC or 30 minutes on L2 will give you a range boost you may need to make the trip. I have an L2 along my route where I can stop for lunch/dinner to add a few miles of range. The place has Subway next door, and I eat there couple of times per month now. Not my favorite choice of dining, but it works in a pinch.

I guess my point is that it may require some planning on your part, but it should be doable. Most days it's not going to be an issue at all and you will not even think about it. When you stretch the range first couple of times you will be worried, but you will get used to it as time goes on. Talk with your partner and make sure you can trade cars on the days when you need to travel longer distances to make sure he is OK with driving Leaf on those days. I found that my wife just does not want to drive Leaf period, even if it is just 5 mile trip. We do have 3rd car that we keep around for it's 7 passenger capacity, so I just drive it when I have to (does not happen very often).

 

[RegGuheert]

My commute is 28 miles each way (26 on the freeway). I've been able to do it no problem at 70 mph most of the time. The only days when I have to slow down to stretch the range is when it is really cold. Couple of times last winter I had to plug it in at work (120V outlet) to make it home, but we talking 20 F outside with the heater at the toasty 70 F. Most days I also drive few miles for lunch.

Your car is still pretty new, so this is not surprising. However, as the battery ages, the range will be reduced. I hope that doesn't pose a problem for you in the future!

For the OP, since the 2013s should be just around the corner, any improvements Nissan provides in the battery and heating systems should help to reduce anxiety for their application.

 

[HairyCairy]

I commute daily about sixty miles round trip. I have no problems summer or winter with having to plug in half way. How ever I do go from one thousand feet to sea level, my average speed is 66 miles per hour. The first thirty miles I glide most of the way, and usually use two bars to get the first thirty miles. The second half is the up hill climb, sea level to one thousand feet. It usually takes me about seven bars to do that.
I have an ice back up for the long trips, where you can't afford the time to stop and there are no level 3 stations on my route.
I was a initial 2011 buyer, and after a year of use I would not take my vehicle past sixty miles with out a charge. Highway driving you only get about sixty miles per charge, from experience so far. With each year of use that number is going to drop a little.
For your situation I would recommend converting your current Prius to a plug in. If you are happy with the car you could add a 8KW cell and have the Prius meet all your needs. Then in your current Prius you would see 40miles EV then 80 miles blended. I am sure if you crunched the numbers it would be worth it in the end to pay a company like Pacific EV to install this system for you. You could then use your savings to down the road purchase a superior vehicle like the Tesla Model S, which has it own charging infrastructure, supercharged, and a 85 KW cell.
In closing my interest in the EV was to eliminate gas from the equation. The country I love so much is quite addicted to oil, and I don't want to support that addiction any more. The 2011 Leaf has provided a cost effective out to my addiction to oil. Is the leaf perfect, absolutely not, but who is? You could make a leaf work but it would require you changing some driving habits.

 

[srl99]

There are plenty of posts about PG&Es usurious electric rates (some of them mine ;-) ). Typical residential rate plan E-1, you get to 34c/kWH pretty quickly. TOU doesn't help much if you have central AC or something else which uses electricity durng the day in a significant way (electric cooking?).

Lobby CPUC to allow choice of electricity providers ... for instance SMUD ... who charges 17c for "extra" kWH (over 700!) on their typical residential rate plan (R-1). PG&E doesn't have to compete and the CPUC isn't doing a good job of regulating them and keeping prices "reasonable".

A lot of PG&E customers who own homes and have something which uses significant electricity install solar, because it makes economic sense to not buy the expensive kWH from PG&E.

While it's reasonable to incent energy conservation, the current scheme doesn't work - and is being manipulated by PG&E to foist some of the highest electric rates in the country onto the backs of their captives (customers). I believe PG&E says the average kWH price for E-1 is 20.3c/kWH - which is also excessive. PG&E claims their cost to acquire a kWH is 3.7c kWH.

 

[Rat]

I think some of the posters here are too pessimistic. I agree it may be prudent to wait for the 2013, but my 2011 model has always been able to get 70 miles range even with freeway speeds. I tend to stay at 65, but I have driven it 70 to 75 MPH on occasion and still gotten over 60 miles. I've never run it down to empty so I'm not sure what the max is. I've had my Leaf 17 months now and have seen no battery degradation. I still get 12 bars on a full charge, 10 when using 80%, which is what I normally do. I live in the same area as the OP. I am retired so I don't have a regular commute and only put on about 6000 miles my first year. My electricity costs have been an added $20 month on average (with 98% of my charging at home), though it varies by month. I'm on E9A rate. It's really hard to tell what the electricity costs will be for someone else because there are so many variables, but if you can get half your charging free at work, there should be substantial savings from your gas bill. You can't count on the quick chargers being available, so you really do need a second car for longer trips. I've never rented one since we have an ICE car, but there have been a couple of times the ICE wasn't available, or I just wanted to experiment and I made some longer trips (one 130+ miles) just using Level 2 charging, but I had to plan the charging where I could spend the time there. I also took both cars, including a fully-loaded Leaf, over the hill to La Selva Beach (~47 miles each way) on a family vacation and we made a trip from there to Monterey and back (60+ miles without charging) with a full car at highway speeds. I only had Level I charging available at the beach house and it was never a problem since we had the other car too. That said, if you are ever in a situation where the Prius is not available, e.g. in repair, etc., you may have to rent another car. If I were the OP, I would seriously consider the Leaf. My range anxiety disappeared around month 2.

 

[madbrain]

Wow! That's big house for SJ (where I live too).

Yes, we were lucky enough to be able to buy this foreclosed mansion 2 years ago near the market low, otherwise we could never afforded it.
Now that the market is better, I just sold my former 1150 sq ft townhome in Santa Clara last month for over half what the new place cost. Of course different neighborhood.
I sold it for about double what it cost in 1997, and put the net sales proceed towards the mortgage on the new place, and just did a refi - my new mortgage is now conforming $417k at 3.375% 30yr fixed. The mortgage is only $1843/month for this huge place, but property taxes + insurance are $1200. Still not easy on one salary given my partner is not working.

I'm in a ~2500 sq ft. house by myself (another story) that was built in 1979 so there are no occupancy/vacancy sensors. We have no AC, no pool, no spa, no PV and there are a few incandescents still. Water heater is natural gas. Dryer is electric only.

All the vacancy sensors, new AC, PV are things I put in after I bought the place. I spent close to 6 figures on the improvements, over half of that amount was energy related.

BTW, CFL is not necessarily the highest luminous efficacy (lumens per watt, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy#Lighting_efficiency" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but I can't speak to the accuracy of the table). T8 fluorescent tubes can be better. I'd taken an energy efficiency class geared mostly towards commercial buildings earlier this year.

We have T8 tubes in the kitchen undercounter. But there are 200+ recessed cans in the house . T8 tubes won't fit in that. 200+ LEDs would cost way too much, and they still wouldn't put enough lumens per can. When I bought the house there were 200+ halogens ... So CFLs were the best replacements.
I had to replace 97 dimmers with 97 vacancy sensors. The dimmers didn't work with CFLs . Not even with so called dimmable CFLs.

If you don't have one yet, get a http://www.p3international.com/products/special/p4400/p4400-ce.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or a fancier model to find energy vampires. Kill-A-Watt was one of the best cheap gadgets I've bought in awhile.

I do have one, actually two of them. I have a big spreadsheet of the vampire consumption for everything in the house.
I actually already turn off many things that have standby consumption for no reason like AV amps, using X10 remotes..
I have really tried all I could in the consumption reduction area, I don't feel like there is much else I could do.

 

[madbrain]

planet4ever,

My straight answer: No way. You cannot count on driving 52 miles at 75mph without recharging. Not both summer and winter and not after several years. You would have to slow down. What that means depends on which freeways your route involves and how limited you are on time of day. You can make it with many miles to spare if you stay with the trucks in the right lane, but that means 60mph in San Jose, or much less than that in traffic jams. You can probably make it in carpool lanes at 65-70, but cars would be pushing you unless the traffic was very heavy. For carpool lanes in relatively light traffic you'd want to pop out of the lane occasionally to let people pass you.

It's mainly 101 . One trip at off-peak hours where speed can be high. Second trip during peak hours. I could use the carpool lane, but then what's the point if I have to drive 65 ? As you say, I would be pushed out. I prefer not to switch lanes all the time for safety.

I could possibly make the return trip about 8 freeway miles shorter and 4 city miles shorter if I go from the office with no charger, to the one with charger, as opposed to going back home.
Then the total trip would be 44 miles at freeway speeds, and 5 city miles.

Incidentally, the AC is very efficient and will keep you cool even if you set it at 76, and will draw little current in San Jose weather.

Yes, I know the AC uses far less energy than heater, I see almost no impact from AC on MPG with the Prius, but quite a bit in winter from the heater.

[*]From your numbers I get 12.3 extra kWh/day, so wouldn't virtually all of your additional usage will be tier 2 and 3? Yes, you might edge into tier 4 a few times each year.

If I was in E-1 yes, that would be correct. But I am in E-6 . My current E-1 bill would be $1089/year. With E-6 it's $813. The TOU already helps even without EV. I wouldn't want to switch back to E-1.

With the TOU plans, there is a separate baseline calculation for each TOU period. The total baseline is split between each TOU period.
It is a very complicated calculation. See http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/solar/solareducation/calculating_baseline.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Basically, the amount of baseline in off-peak depends on the net generation that I have for the peak. I have put it all into a spreadsheet.
My spreadsheet with all the calcs goes to column AY, ie. almost 56 columns . This also compares E6 with E1, and with solar PV and no solar PV.

Because the baseline is split between the different TOU periods, by adding the EV, I would end up hitting tier 5 for the off-peak period.

A number of people have gone to Santa Cruz from various parts of San Jose, and I've gone there from Morgan Hill. I used a half-hour boost at a free charging station to do it, but there are lots of ways to spend half an hour -- or even a couple of hours -- away from the car in Santa Cruz. It turns out the Hwy 17 "hill" doesn't hurt you all that much.

Not sure, but google maps shows 39 miles from my home to downtown Santa Cruz, about 36 of that freeway, on 680/280/17. So roundtrip is already 78 miles, above the 73 EPA range of the Leaf. And when I go to Santa Cruz I don't necessarily stop downtown, sometimes I take highway 1 and go to the other coastal areas nearby and I drive an additional 5-50 miles each way on 1.
Total drive for that day would be 83 to 178 miles. Obviously there are no chargers at any of those beaches. Even driving at the 55mph speed limit on 1, this cannot this can work with the Leaf and don't expect it to. ICE is pretty much required for those trips, unless there is a quickcharger along the way somewhere in Santa Cruz. If there was one, I may even quickcharge two times that day for each of those trips. But from what I understand, it's not really all that quick, and losing 1 hr in charging that day seems like a major inconvenience when one wants to maximize sun time.

You definitely want a 3 year lease in California, as anything less as anything less will cost you a $2500 rebate. Three years from now the batteries will be much better than they are right now, and you will have many choices in EVs. Don't even think of buying the car at the end of the lease.

I have read some threads about battery issues, it definitely sounds like the lease is better for this case.
And I know the CA rebate requires 3 year lease.