jamieo said:
... I'll go from over $100 (depending on the price of gas) to less than $30 a month. Memphis has extremely low utility rates- averaging $0.07 per kWh. I do wish there were some CHAdeMO stations along I-40 from Memphis to Nashville & Clarksville. ...
Congratulations on the new LEAF
Wish there were more DCQC stations too.
But even when they were free for a while, the time involved in traveling doing that is extensive.
I only made the Chattanooga to Knoxville and back trip one time.
The overall speed on the trip from home to Knoxville meeting near UTK was 38 mph. And charge was pretty low at that point.
For the day my average speed was probably 30 mph.
Even slower than the speeds prior to the Interstates.
Plus they put the stations too far apart on the ones that were put in under the EV Project.
Even as Tesla S people have learned it is most efficient to be charging from 10% up to around 75%.
I did 80% charge at Athens and just barely made it to the one in West Knoxville, and that was cutting way back on speed and no heat on 45F day.
I would have done the trip more when they were free, but it took them nearly a year to get them somewhat reliable.
But with no redundancy on the stations I was pretty lucky that day that all three of them worked going both ways.
Now that they cost $5 a session, it is much cheaper to drive my 2009 Altima to Knoxville, plus a lot faster too.
That .07/kWh price in Memphis is really low. How did they keep their overhead that low?
Memphis and Chattanooga are both TVA power, but Chattanooga EPB power is around .10/kWh.
But even with that LEAF variable cost for me is around 3 1/2 cents per mile, versus around 13 cents per mile for the 2009 four cylinder Altima with the currently low gasoline prices.
Have fun with the LEAF
Mine still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, even after 45 months