Leafs Over Texas!

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This is a great program - called aircheck texas. My work implements this in the North Texas area. There are some strict criteria to get the money:

- There is an income requirement, 70k for a standard family of 4 or less. So if you are solid middle class/upper midd
- Must be in an air quality non-attainment area (major metro areas of Austin, DFW, Houston - its done by county)
- Current car must have failed an air quality inspection OR be 10 years or older
- Must trade older car in for destruction - cannot sell it

There are MANY cars on the list and most are just better than average MPG gas cars. LEAFs are on there though! Depending on the replacement car depends on the amount you receive (the newest cars with the best MPG get the most money).

If you qualify it is a great plan. The money only exist until it runs out - which usually happens in Septemberish as it is first come first serve. So do it sooner rather than later!
 
Hi folks,

I'm preparing an article about home charging in Texas for Plugincars.com and was wondering if there are any TXU Energy customers here? If so, I'd love to talk to you for a few minutes. Please message me if you're interested.

Thanks!
 
I know a friend of mine who is a Leaf owner and a TXU customer. He apparently has signed up for free night plans (long before he got his Leaf). He is not in the forums, but I can ask him any questions you may have and relay it back.

Jay
 
I would help but I am in a forced electricty provider area (aka a co-op) and have NO choice of electricity company and basicly get gouged on price every day. So sad...wish I could help. I never understood how co-ops were exempt from the power choice that all other commercial providers were required to do. I think the reasoning is because I am in a co-op that can vote on its members and shouldn't make a "profit" that its better and I don't need a choice - regardless if said co-op decides to charge more than any other electric provider, its better...right?
 
Pipcecil said:
I would help but I am in a forced electricty provider area (aka a co-op) and have NO choice of electricity company and basicly get gouged on price every day.

I think if I were in that situation, I'd be installing solar panels, wind turbine, etc..
 
ZachMcDonald said:
Hi folks,

I'm preparing an article about home charging in Texas for Plugincars.com and was wondering if there are any TXU Energy customers here? If so, I'd love to talk to you for a few minutes. Please message me if you're interested.

Thanks!

Sorry, no TXU here. We've got CoServ and it is my understanding that we can't switch to something else either.
 
ZachMcDonald said:
Hi folks,

I'm preparing an article about home charging in Texas for Plugincars.com and was wondering if there are any TXU Energy customers here? If so, I'd love to talk to you for a few minutes. Please message me if you're interested.

Thanks!

I have TXU, but I rarely charge at home. I use the trickle charge when I do. I have an eVgo subscription so I QC whenever I get low. Usually a couple times a week.
 
adric22 said:
I think if I were in that situation, I'd be installing solar panels, wind turbine, etc..

Wish it were that easy, well cheap really.

Wind turbine won't work because I live in a neighborhood - the wind vortexes that occur from houses being close together create a non-standard wind flow that changes direct too much and/or slows down the wind speed. For a turbine to work (even a rooftop one) you need, on average about 5 acres of clear space surrounding it.

Solar panels are just too expensive. My home is quite energy efficient and average less than 1300 kWh per month (thats with 2 plug-ins requiring one full volt charge per day and at least a 66% leaf charge per day). Rate of return for solar is ~18-20 years. Hard to justify that when I can do other home energy efficieny improvements that give me a faster rate of return (heat pump water heater, solar screens, high efficiency windows, storm doors, replacement HVAC unit, LED light conversions, etc). They need a serious drop in price for me to consider them.
 
New Leaf - 'S' owner here as of last Wednesday.
It came with the DC charger and we found a quick-charging station at a local walgreens:
http://instagram.com/p/fnj6XrPtVV/
They said we have a year of free evgo charging.

We really would like to take it on a trip next week from Fort Worth to Houston.
Is this possible? I haven't figured out how to locate all/any of the quick-charge stations in between DFW and Houston. We don't have access to Carwings so we downloaded some apps, but I'm not sure I trust them enough.
 
the best places to look for QC is through eVgo - they own all the current ones in Texas and their map is up-to-date:

https://www.evgonetwork.com/find-a-station/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both Blink (now owned by car charging) and ChargePoint do install DC chargers, but they have none in Texas (yet).

If you are trying to go from fort worth to Houston that will be hard - you will need to find some level 2's around in between (and it will most likely be dealerships). There are no QCs in between. On IH 45 there is really nothing between IH 20 in Dallas and Huntsville, if you went to Houston you would most likely need to go to waco and then SH 6 to College Station and then to Houston.

Recargo probably has the best overall station location guide - especially since they paired with plugshare:

http://www.recargo.com/search" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Plugshare is nice, but its mostly crowd sourced so sometimes it will have the wrong information:

http://www.plugshare.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, since it appers you are in the DFW area, I maintain a map of all the charging stations in the metroplex (plus a list of cost and how to access all the stations owned by different companies). I keep it updated and even add pictures and ground-truth some as well so the markers are in the correct places:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=211891722519472891922.0004a754eab81f5c0cf11&msa=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And congradulations on your leaf!
 
Wow, that map is really useful for us in the DFW area. Let us know if you need anymore pictures.
 
I always take more pictures if I don't have one for that charger! And if you do get a pic, send me a description or put on a google map where in the parking lot/compex the station is. I started doing that after searching over 30 minutes for a charger in a outdoor mall before I found it. It was highly annoying so now, if possible I try and locate the actual marker in the correct spot!
 
Is anyone in the College Station/Austin/Houston area that owns a leaf interested in participating at a study at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute? If you are please PM or email me and I will give you the details and see if you would like to participate.

Thanks
Jeremy D. Johnson
Research Specialist
Air Quality Program
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
 
adric22 said:
Pipcecil said:
I would help but I am in a forced electricty provider area (aka a co-op) and have NO choice of electricity company and basicly get gouged on price every day.

I think if I were in that situation, I'd be installing solar panels, wind turbine, etc..

I'm assuming the co-op is Tri County. Their rates are lower then everyone elses so settle down and you don't have to call up every 6 months and change plans.
 
RottenMutt said:
adric22 said:
Pipcecil said:
I would help but I am in a forced electricty provider area (aka a co-op) and have NO choice of electricity company and basicly get gouged on price every day.

I think if I were in that situation, I'd be installing solar panels, wind turbine, etc..

I'm assuming the co-op is Tri County. Their rates are lower then everyone elses so settle down and you don't have to call up every 6 months and change plans.

Nope, its HILCO Electric Co-op. Rates are 6.9 cents per kWh PLUS variable cost of fuel (and a few misc cost like security and lighting). This gives me an average rate of ~12.5-13 cents per kWh. I have NEVER gotten below 12 cents a kWh even when natural gas was cheap. Reliant, TXU, etc. ALL offer flat rates (no fuel or other cost) for 7-9 cents kWh. I know because my sister, brother-in-law, and in-laws all have those same plans as well as its advertised on the "power to choose" website.

In addition, because they are with TXU and/or oncor, they get great rebate programs - solar discounts, heat pump replacement programs, energy efficiency stuff, etc. HILCO? I do get a $75 rebate on HVAC inspection and $200 to replace a full Heat Pump/HVAC system (thats not much considering its $3k+), but thats it really. In addition, HILCO won't buy back solar or wind power if you over generate, that take it as a payment for allow you to have these installations. Wow, so benevolent.

So despite HILCO always touting they have the lowest rates around, its a false rate - they don't include the fuel or other cost in their calculations because it just makes them look better and to "prove" Co-ops are better than competing with other companies and we shouldn't worry about having to choose an electric provider, its just choosen for me because I am not smart enough to make decisions.

So you want to trade places?
 
Just wanted to give you Texans an update on my sheet for available plug ins. Its updated to be a simple reference doc with a very simplified table to help those interested in buying a plug-in to compare at a glance. Its only a general comparison over the important items - as always they can do more research.

The new link is in my signature now! Enjoy and spread around!
 
Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a 2015 Leaf in Colorado and within a month of owning it I've moved to the DFW area.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on electricians in the Grand Prairie area for installing the needed power in my garage for a L2 charger? I already received the free L2 charger.

My primary breaker box which is already in the garage is full, but I have a 2nd breaker box right below the main due to having a SolarCity solar panel installation. Does anyone know if it's likely that that breaker box could be used for the needed 240v 40amp circuit?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows the estimated costs to have this done and if there are any installation cost rebate program out there? I found one which reimburses 50% of the cost in Austin, but I'm not finding anything in the DFW area.

Thanks,
John
 
Hello everyone,

Hopefully I'll be the owner of a 2013 Nissan Leaf SV soon. I'm located just north of Austin TX, and the car is located in Houston TX. I was wondering if anyone in the Houston area could scan the car for me with SpyLeaf and tell me what is going on with the car? I'd be happy to pay you for the service and your advice.

Thank you so much,
Michael
512- nine six three - two four 61
 
Pipcecil said:
the best places to look for QC is through eVgo - they own all the current ones in Texas and their map is up-to-date:

https://www.evgonetwork.com/find-a-station/

Both Blink (now owned by car charging) and ChargePoint do install DC chargers, but they have none in Texas (yet).

Resurrecting this thread... The statement above was probably true in 2013 but not now.

  • Chargepoint DC station, downtown Austin (2nd Street aka "Electric Drive," just off Lamar Blvd) - free if you are on the Austin Energy Plug-In EVerywhere program, otherwise $2/hr, 1 hour minimum. Best charger in Austin, but very popular with the Teslas. If you ask nicely, they'll usually let a Leaf in for a quick top-up.
  • Greenlots DC station, Round Rock Kia (exit 254 off IH-35) - free (download free app to use)
  • Eaton DC station ALWAYS BROKEN, Town North Nissan, Austin (just off 183 and MoPac). I put this in the list just because I want to call them out. Fix it or replace it, you're an embarrassment!

The EVgo chargers are $10 a pop, which is a little rich for my blood ... at an effective 12¢ or more per mile, I might as well be buying gasoline. The only way I would consider spending that much for a DC charge would be if they had one in Brenham (halfway between Austin and Houston).
 
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