Teslas and other electric vehicles

[jimsumner]

so, with gas up to $3.50 a gal (in triangle) my tesla purchase it looking pretty timely...

$3.50? I got gas [regular] today for $3.06 and didn't have to look all that hard for it. Nearest intersection, actually.

[LasVegas]

so, with gas up to $3.50 a gal (in triangle) my tesla purchase it looking pretty timely...

Not with Duke energy being able to jack up electricity rates now. Once we all go electric, you can almost guarantee these companies will get that cash back somehow. Electricity will be through the roof. Tax on miles driven as well. They will get us! At least the environment will be happier.

[PackMan97]

Not with Duke energy being able to jack up electricity rates now. Once we all go electric, you can almost guarantee these companies will get that cash back somehow. Electricity will be through the roof. Tax on miles driven as well. They will get us! At least the environment will be happier.

Time to go solar at home with battery backup.

Trying to talk the wife into it as an inflation hedge.

[LasVegas]

Time to go solar at home with battery backup.

Trying to talk the wife into it as an inflation hedge.

Yep, that probably will have to be the course of action for those that can afford it.

[Section 15]

Time to go solar at home with battery backup.

Trying to talk the wife into it as an inflation hedge.

Solar panels are not really cost effective, but are much less expensive than they were five years ago. Batteries will come down substantially in two or three years. I went through this a year ago and decided against batteries for now. Duke power in my location is very reliable, so batteries are not really needed (plus Duke does net metering, which is the same as using batteries at night). Right now, it doesn't make sense to have batteries unless you have frequent and prolonged power outages. In the future the equation will probably change and I will definitely consider retrofitting.

One word of caution: Don't count on breakeven on solar for at least 12 years and probably longer. Duke's solar rebates are a joke (they don't really exist), and while you can currently get a 26% federal tax credit, that's still a long way from getting you to breakeven. Still, I went solar so I can sleep better at night. Your mileage may vary.

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[PackMan97]

One word of caution: Don't count on breakeven on solar for at least 12 years and probably longer. Duke's solar rebates are a joke (they don't really exist), and while you can currently get a 26% federal tax credit, that's still a long way from getting you to breakeven. Still, I went solar so I can sleep better at night. Your mileage may vary.

That depends on a few things. If energy prices go up 20% in the next 2-3 years...what does the math look like? If it goes up 50% in the next 10 years, what does the math look like?

[moonpie23]

Not with Duke energy being able to jack up electricity rates now. Once we all go electric, you can almost guarantee these companies will get that cash back somehow. Electricity will be through the roof. Tax on miles driven as well. They will get us! At least the environment will be happier.

my mercedes had to have Premium fuel....

[acdevil]

Time to go solar at home with battery backup.

Trying to talk the wife into it as an inflation hedge.

Packman - do you know how much that costs? I have a note to call Generac about it, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I already have the solar panels so I’m only talkin g about the battery and the hookup to the house.

Re: solar - we did it 5 years ago when there were some really good rebates, but the payback was still 10-12 years. For us, it was as much about being green as economics (my wife is a scientist and I’m in finance so go figure).

[LasVegas]

Packman - do you know how much that costs? I have a note to call Generac about it, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I already have the solar panels so I’m only talkin g about the battery and the hookup to the house.

Re: solar - we did it 5 years ago when there were some really good rebates, but the payback was still 10-12 years. For us, it was as much about being green as economics (my wife is a scientist and I’m in finance so go figure).

If you go to the Tesla website and plug your address in, it may give you a price. In Vegas, my address gave me an exact price but my Raleigh one does not. I think the Vegas price was $20k after rebates. That included enough panels for an estimated 75% of my energy needs plus 1 battery backup that could last all day.

Edit: whoops. Just realized you are talking about battery only. Leaving this up though in case it helps anyone.

[Section 15]

That depends on a few things. If energy prices go up 20% in the next 2-3 years...what does the math look like? If it goes up 50% in the next 10 years, what does the math look like?

Obviously, I don't have crystal ball, but remember that Duke (energy, not the university!) like most state utilities other than apparently Texas, is regulated by a state commission. In other words it can't simply charge what it wants to as you are suggesting. If you want to predict what the next ten years will look like, then look at the rate increases over the last ten years. Electric utilities (and many other utilities) trade their monopoly status for regulation. Like it or not, the system has worked for many years and is unlikely to change any time soon.

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[Section 15]

Packman - do you know how much that costs? I have a note to call Generac about it, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I already have the solar panels so I’m only talkin g about the battery and the hookup to the house.

Re: solar - we did it 5 years ago when there were some really good rebates, but the payback was still 10-12 years. For us, it was as much about being green as economics (my wife is a scientist and I’m in finance so go figure).

I installed 14.5 kW of panels last year, and adding battery backup for that size installation would have been around $6k. As I wrote above, it didn't make sense at that time. Assuming that battery prices go down the same way that panels have over the last 5 years, I may want to revisit in a few years.

The one thing that is interesting about adding batteries is that it makes you independent of the grid should your power go out. You can keep generating and storing electricity, something that you can't do with just solar panels alone. To go back to the original topic of charging an EV if you lose power, this is the answer.

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[acdevil]

I installed 14.5 kW of panels last year, and adding battery backup for that size installation would have been around $6k. As I wrote above, it didn't make sense at that time. Assuming that battery prices go down the same way that panels have over the last 5 years, I may want to revisit in a few years.

The one thing that is interesting about adding batteries is that it makes you independent of the grid should your power go out. You can keep generating and storing electricity, something that you can't do with just solar panels alone. To go back to the original topic of charging an EV if you lose power, this is the answer.

Section 15

That’s the main reason we are looking at them - for when the power goes out. We have a portable generator now that is a bit of a pain, but can power the necessities (well pump, fridge, etc).

[Section 15]

That’s the main reason we are looking at them - for when the power goes out. We have a portable generator now that is a bit of a pain, but can power the necessities (well pump, fridge, etc).

You don't live in Texas do you?

Yours is exactly the reason I would consider batteries. When I lived in the Boston burbs, the power would reliably go out 6-8 times a year, usually for days and at least once for more than a week. The problem was overgrown trees and an antiquated grid. The residents of my town would scream bloody murder if the power company tried to trim the overhanging tree branches, and then scream even louder when they lost the power because a snow storm caused the branches to break the lines.

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[Indoor66]

You don't live in Texas do you?

Yours is exactly the reason I would consider batteries. When I lived in the Boston burbs, the power would reliably go out 6-8 times a year, usually for days and at least once for more than a week. The problem was overgrown trees and an antiquated grid. The residents of my town would scream bloody murder if the power company tried to trim the overhanging tree branches, and then scream even louder when they lost the power because a snow storm caused the branches to break the lines.

Section 15

Real hard to fix stupid.

[acdevil]

You don't live in Texas do you?

Yours is exactly the reason I would consider batteries. When I lived in the Boston burbs, the power would reliably go out 6-8 times a year, usually for days and at least once for more than a week. The problem was overgrown trees and an antiquated grid. The residents of my town would scream bloody murder if the power company tried to trim the overhanging tree branches, and then scream even louder when they lost the power because a snow storm caused the branches to break the lines.

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I thank my lucky stars that I do not live in TX.

[moonpie23]

all service appointments at Tesla are made via the phone app...hard to get someone on the phone....that said, i requested a service appt for a couple of items needed for my car. A small seat trim issue, and loose speaker in my door and an issue with the seat itself....


i selected a "mobile service"....monday the tech arrived on time, and fixed everything right in the studio parking lot, checked my tires for rotation and pressure. He also performed some sort of software check. He then took several minutes to answer a bunch of questions and was quite candid.

took about an hour, but that was some good customer service.

[Section 15]

In today's WaPo is an article titled: Tesla’s recent Full Self-Driving update made cars go haywire

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...ion-elon-musk/

For a few hours late last month, Tesla cars began behaving erratically after receiving an overnight software update. Cars suddenly started slamming on the brakes at highway speeds, owners reported, risking collisions. CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to acknowledge a problem with the software and vow that the update was being rolled back.

It's behind a paywall, so the gist for those who do not subscribe, is that Tesla is drawing the ire of the NHTSA for fixing problems with software updates and not issuing formal recall notices. There were multiple examples cited.The speculation is that this behavior may result in federal regulations requiring Tesla to report more transparently on incidents involving advanced driver-assistance systems, such as Autopilot.

Those of you who own Teslas, have these updates been an issue for you? Does Tesla inform you of them, or are they just done overnight without any advanced warning? Just curious. Thx for any replies.

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[tommy]

In today's WaPo is an article titled: Tesla’s recent Full Self-Driving update made cars go haywire

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...ion-elon-musk/



It's behind a paywall, so the gist for those who do not subscribe, is that Tesla is drawing the ire of the NHTSA for fixing problems with software updates and not issuing formal recall notices. There were multiple examples cited.The speculation is that this behavior may result in federal regulations requiring Tesla to report more transparently on incidents involving advanced driver-assistance systems, such as Autopilot.

Those of you who own Teslas, have these updates been an issue for you? Does Tesla inform you of them, or are they just done overnight without any advanced warning? Just curious. Thx for any replies.

Section 15

They are done overnight but with advanced warning. You get an alert that tells you an update is available, and you can either install/download it right then and there, or choose to have it done overnight while you're sleeping.

For me, none have resulted in the types of problems described above. Thankfully.

[Phredd3]

They are done overnight but with advanced warning. You get an alert that tells you an update is available, and you can either install/download it right then and there, or choose to have it done overnight while you're sleeping.

Can you decline an update altogether?

[tommy]

Can you decline an update altogether?

Not sure. I don't remember if they give you that as an option. I'll look next time there is an alert for an update.