The “Transportation Triumvirate” That Will Change Our World.

Meet the three forces that will forever change our world…  and not just transportation.
Electric Cars,  Solar PV, and Computational Power.  

As a BMW ActiveE driver,  Mini-E driver and as the owner of a paid in full 7.5KW  Solar PV power plant,  I’ve clocked over 50,000 miles in electric cars powered by electricity generated from solar energy.   I’ve seen first hand as a practitioner, the amazing advances and decreasing prices of both technologies over the past five years. 

Looking forward to the next five years,  I predict cost parity for the electric vehicle compared to the price of a gasoline car,  I see an average range of 125-150 miles and when needed for longer drives, 20 minute charges. Lastly I see a cost of a lifetime power  source for an electric car (Solar PV) of less than the cost of buying gasoline for two years. Solar PV will continue to get cheaper.  Gasoline will continue to get more expensive.  Bet on it.

Just as sure as we transitioned from horse to car,  from steam to internal combustion, and from telegraphs to land lines to cell phones with a half a million apps,  We will transition our motive power to electricity.  To believe otherwise is to ignore mankind’s impressive history of innovation and scientific advancement.

Why will we transition?  Because it’s better for the individual, better for nations, cheaper, safer, and healthier for all concerned. Driving an electric car like the BMW ActiveE is a far more enjoyable driving experience compared to its gasoline sibling, with little noise or vibration and tons of torque, horsepower and one pedal driving.

For the first time in the history of motorized transportation, the average driver can make their own “fuel” on the roof of their garage for their own car.  We can do so at a cost that is 1/10^th the cost of gasoline.  Tens of thousands are already doing just that, Thousands of average folk in the San Diego area alone. 

Jumping from the “Average Folk” to the average city transportation engineer,  it’s not hard to conceive of municipal fleets, which rarely leave the city boundaries, that are powered by a Solar PV system installed over the municipal fleet parking lot.  You need about 8 solar panels (pictured below) per car to create the electricity to drive 12,000 miles.  That's smaller in size and cheaper in price, than the space required to park the car.  The average cost for a 2kw system is $8,000 and each car needs one system. The average price to create a parking space is $15,000 and the typical car requires four spaces.

Imagine the transportation planner that can now power a tram or a bus with Solar PV.   Again, the bus yard covered in Solar PV with fast DC charging to keep the buses on the route.   Dream with me one step further as we begin exploring the world of sensors and autonomous driving made possible by computational power.   As we begin to role out this technology, bus routes that are predictable with defined pick up points will be among the first to deploy the game changing technology of autonomous or semi autonomous transportation. If that seams a bit scary and far fetched to you, know that airline travel is already autonomous or semi autonomous transportation.

Mass transit will be far cheaper per rider thus far more available to more riders and routes than ever.  Electric car sharing, bike sharing  and garage sharing will also be new forms of transit augmenting traditional rail and bus transit.  

The combined total of all this will be cleaner cities, more equity and usability in transportation choices for all incomes,  wealthier individuals and cities as transportation and fuel cost are reduced and conveyance systems are shortened. We will stop polluting the air we all share with every breath. We will stop exporting our wealth off shore as we lesson the burden of being tethered to oil. Oil in the hands of a few,  with the USA at great cost in life and money, guaranteeing and protecting it’s lengthy supply chain to our local gas station.  

Look for auto makers like BMW to make strategic partnerships with Solar PV companies. That’s a real good idea and look for it soon.   As EV drivers know, 90% of charging is done at home. You'll walk into a BMW dealership and buy your BMW i3 and the Solar PV system to provide the electricity for life. Both purchased together financed for 4 to 6 years. The combination will be far less of a monthly payment than buying a similar gas car and gasoline.


Look for cities to innovate with trial schemes involving electric cars, car sharing and solar PV such as the successful electric Car2Go program in San Diego linked by computational power, sensors and GPS.  Look for transit companies and car companies to increase the use and types of sensors, computational power and personal digital devices to make transit safer, easier and less expensive.

From the day man got off his two feet and climbed aboard a horse, transportation has always driven land use development patterns.  Every change in transportation type and utilization such as the interstate transportation system,  have resulted in drastic alterations of our cities and our world. 

We are fast approaching that point in history where we once again change our transportation world.   That change is made possible by the “Transportation Triumvirate”  and it will bring changes that are of far greater consequence to our world with far less reliance on one solution (the car) than any transportation planner or car maker can conceive of.  

I am today the most optimistic for a better future for the generations that follow than I have ever been in my life.

When you boil down your decision of what is the next transportation choice for you,  think about these concepts.  The decisions we make are far more important than just what is the cheapest car to buy.  

Cheers 
Peder
Spouse of an ActiveE driver 

Vons for Juice and Ice Cream

Caption: News Article! Getting Juice at Vons is as slow as a glacier! 

A first for me, a trip to Vons for juice.

After a long 90 mile trip this morning when I returned home I had plugged the car in for about 45 minutes, and then Julie and I were off for a 35 mile trip with 33% charge indicated.   It was an extremely windy day here in San Diego and that cut into our range.

We made our off ramp with zero miles left and about 1 mile from the home we entered turtle mode. We decided to turn around go down the hill and "borrow" a little juice from Vons.   We spied an outlet near the vending machines and asked the manager if we could borrow a little juice.

We plugged in for 30 minutes.  Just enough time to grab a Thrifty's ice creme inside the Rite-Aid at $1.68 a scoop (what happened to $0.05 a scoop?)  Made it home no problem.   I promised Julie  I would not cut it so close next time.

Funny, still no range anxiety, there are plugs everywhere and it sure beats a tow!

You can see the plug just over the trunk.

Cheers!

With egg on my face, Peder

The world is a changin'

OMG! Just had the most fabulous dinner at Coppola's winery in Sonoma. The Tavola dinner at Rustic! 


But the greatest part.. Wait for it... Was pulling into the parking lot and seeing not one, not two, but three electric car charging stations!! Just think, if you live in the bay area or Sacramento, you could drive to Sonoma, do a day of wine tasting and then conclude your day at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery for dinner and "fill 'er up" while you dine... Return to your car and have a full charge and be ready to head home! Wow!

Me thinks that Francis is an Electronaut....Notice the awesome painting in the winery... Franklin to Tesla!  Who da thunk? Do you think that Ben ever could have imagined that one day we would have carriages that were powered by electricity transporting us? Ahhh yes, the world is a changin' !


What an exciting time!


Julie Norby, Elecronaut!
4400 miles, BMW ActiveE.

BMW ActiveE… A Mile High Climb, 104 Mile Trip. The Ultimate Test

Dream with me a bit here…. 

Imagine a perfect sphere that weighed 4300 lbs. Imagine the energy and strength required to push the two ton+ sphere up an incline from sea level to 5400ft.  Now add the energy to push that sphere 104 miles down the road at freeway speeds. 

That is the energy that is contained and regenerated in the electric BMW ActiveE.  A most incredible and capable car.

What a great afternoon. As pioneers we test our cars to the limits. Why? Because we love cars, love to drive and love to explore where the outer edge is. Today was a picture perfect spring day,  I planned a 96 mile trip according to Google Maps that began at sea level, climbed to 5400 feet to the top of Mt. Palomar, and returned to sea level on a single charge.. 

First tip, don’t trust Google maps, trust the ActiveE!  The distance of the trip was actually 104 miles not 96 promised by Google.  Had I known that in the beginning I would have scratched the attempt as too far.

Leaving home I drove our ActiveE to Mt. Palomar.  The first 45 miles climb a total of 2000 feet.  The last 7 miles the climb is 3400 feet.  It was a spirited drive up the mountain.   

Arriving at the top here are the screen shots of the nav.  Even though 10 miles was indicated as the remaining range, I knew I had 23% battery charge and I would be regening all the way down the mountain so the range anxiety was kept in check.  I was very happy with the battery temp. A run up the mountain like this in the Mini-E would have had the batts up to 114+ so great job BMW engineers!

Not a good feeling to be 52 miles from home with 10 miles of range indicated.  What was funny was that  the dinger went off when the range climbed back above 11 and above 27 just as it does when you go below them :)

At the bottom of the Mountain, still 2000 feet above sea level and 45 miles to home I was back to 36% battery and very certain I would make it home with no need to pit stop.

Finally arriving home after 104 miles and a mile high mountain climb with 3% left in the battery here are the screen shots.

The above pic shows the efficiency of the total trip

The above pic shows the return trip efficiency, lets just say the trip up and down the hill confused the heck out of the consumption gauge.

Battery temps normal, 104 miles with a mile high climb...Incredible. I conclude that you recover 95%-98% of the energy you use going up the mountain, when you go down the mountain.

I am in awe of the capabilities of the BMW ActiveE.   Great job to all who have worked on this outstanding machine. What a fun day of sunshine and sunshine powered driving.

Cheers

Peder, 

Spouse of an ActiveE driver. 

Horse & Hay---Engine & Gasoline---Motor & Sunshine

It's a new day---It's a new way and I'm feeling...good!
We will evolve if we actively choose too. 

 
Horse and Hay


Engine and Gasoline


Motor and Sunshine

Cheers!
Peder, spouse of an ActiveE driver
45,000 solar powered miles.

Celebrating 5 years of EV + PV.

When Julie and I built our home in 2006, we made the smartest decision of our lives, to include a Solar PV system to power the home. In 2007, we purchased an electric Gem e4, three years ago we got into the BMW Mini-E program, and a few months ago transitioned into the BMW ActiveE.  Collectively we have 48,000 miles of solar powered EV driving. We've nick named our 7.5kw PV energy plant “Sunco Station"  

“Sunco Station” after five years of use is now completely paid for by offsetting our home utility cost and our gasoline cost.  Essentially the systems, and a LED lighting retrofit cost a little over 34k and we have been saving a little over 7k a year in home utility and gasoline cost.  

 In summary, it's about $3 a month in energy cost for our family, additionally and by relation, a  young couple, to live in our home and guest  home, and drive an electric car 18,000 miles a year.  That's the new school.  The old school was $430 a month of electricity, $275 a month for gasoline. From here on out, for the rest of our lives we live and drive on sunshine for essentially free. If you would like to see our actual annual bill from SDG&E you can click HERE.

So the dream of a net zero energy home and zero emission driving has been accomplished at a price that is far cheaper than our prior “old school” way of living.

So why isn’t  this happening on a broad scale? What’s holding us back from this more efficient future?  Here are my brief thoughts on that question.

1.            Collectively, we resist change.  

There is safety in the status quo and great risk in leaving the status quo and advocating for change.  Inertia, the gyroscopic force of the status quo is resistant to a change in any direction and that force, put bluntly and simply, is our biggest hurdle to overcome.   Humans are skeptical and we are fear based when lacking a coherent understanding of a topic.

The way out of fear is to replace fear with knowledge.  Throughout history with any technology this has been a multi stage process from theoretical, experimental, working prototype, small test sample, entry into the market, the bleeding edge, to the leading edge, to the early adopters,  to mass consumers.  We as humans don’t voluntarily change in mass.  With EV+PV we are now in the stage of transitioning  from the leading edge to the early adopters.  We are erasing the fear of the unknown and replacing that with real world experience.

2.            Price. 

For EV’s as we descend down the adoption curve,  production ramps up and prices decrease.  This will be dramatic in the next ten years.  Unfortunately there are no shortcuts.  So the wealthy purchase the new technology ($10,000 42” Plasma TV’s no HDTV) and eventually it makes its way to the broad consumer base and improves along the way ($1000 50” HDTV LED TV’s)

With Solar PV there is another big problem that we are trying to solve.  The irony is that our younger generations are the most supportive of Solar PV, and the older generations the most resistant.  The conundrum is that our older generations are our stable homeowners and the younger generation are moving around constantly, on the average, every four years.  Basically people move, buildings don’t.  

Utility prices vary greatly from region to region. 
If we as a nation are really going to tackle the issue of replacing our fossil fuel based energy sources, we have to treat our renewable energy sources in the same way.  Nobody expects a homeowner or renter to pay cash in advance for 25 years of energy, or take a personal loan out to pay for their coal or natural gas based electricity.  Solar needs to be financed on the buildings  (Pace Program) or via a grid (Virtual net metering) those never move, rather than the person that does often move.   That simple change will launch the industry and make Solar PV a wealth generator for individual families.   That is the battle line today between entrenched utilities and consumer advocates.

3.  Steps for all incomes that you can take to go EV + PV.

Think long term, not instant satisfaction. Every so often we make large scale purchases. Be they vacations, homes, cars, boats, RV’s, pools, room additions,  kitchen remodels, desert toys,  and others.  When that time comes consider Solar PV.  It’s 1/3 the cost of a pool and will save you $200 a month instead of adding $200 a month to your expenses. If you love pools by all means build a pool, the idea is to consider Solar PV as a viable option during these large purchase times.

Search out and move into a solar powered apartment or condo.  More and more developers are building solar powered projects and by choosing to live in those projects you will increase the number of new projects built with solar thus greater future options for all. 

Don’t just consider the monthy car payment when comparing cars. Be honest and assess how much maintenance and gas cost are involved in owning or leasing a car.  For example, our BMW ActiveE at $499 a month is similar in price or slightly higher than other comparable cars.  But when we save $300 a month on gasoline it then has a similar cost to a $199 a month car and that is a great bargain for this car.

Rent an EV don’t buy one.   Many attractive lease opportunities are available on cars like the Leaf, Volt, ActiveE.  Additionally, if you live in an urban Hub like San Diego, Car2Go has electric smart cars that you can share. San Francisco has electric scooters that you can share.  If there are no options in your area, move (just kidding) consider the used car market for EV's which is beginning to grow.

Start with an electric bike. Electric bikes greatly extend the radius of travel compare to traditional bikes.  If your inclined, an electric motorcycle extends it even farther.

Build your own. Small scale solar is now available through Lowe’s and Costco. If your handy, or you are good friends with an electrician,  a small scale solar installation is possible for the do it yourself types.  Same for electric bikes. Many manufactures make kits to transform your existing bike to an electric bike.

Get involved and support EV and PV efforts.  Every area has fun and important groups where you can be part of the solution and have a good time meeting like minded folks. It cost nothing to do so, Get involved!

Lastly, go for it. If you can and it works for your life situation, it will be the smartest decision you will ever make. 

Cheers
Peder
Spouse of an ActiveE Driver.

$35 Cost of Energy for a Year, Now and Forever.

I hate what high gas prices and high utility bills do to our family budgets, collectivly ruining our national economy.  Newt and others promise gasoline at $2.50 a gallon if you elect them.  OK sure....

I have an even better "real world concrete" example of how our families and country can prosper if you simply read on.

Loving the BMW ActiveE,  missing the BMW Mini-E. Between the two fantastic cars, 40,000 miles of sunshine powered driving has been logged.  No gasoline car allows me to make my own fuel at home.

When Julie and I built our home almost six years ago, we made the smartest decision of our lives, to include a Solar PV system to power the home. Three years ago we got into the Mini-E program and added a second smaller system which serves as our home fueling station. We've nick named it, The "Sunco Station"   Combined system size is 7.5kw.

Both systems after five years of use are now completely paid for by offsetting our home utility cost and our gasoline cost.  Essentially the systems cost a little over 32k and we have been saving a little over 7k a year in home utility and gasoline cost.  From here on out, for the rest of our lives we live and drive on sunshine for essentially free.

Our case is an early example and an extreme case with a very energy efficient home, an electric car in the garage and no cost of energy. We live in sunny California and have one of the highest electric rates and cost of gasoline in the nation. I acknowledge that this solution is not yet financially viable across the entire country.  In just a few short years, across much of the country this will become the norm as builders build more efficient homes powered by solar,  and homeowners discover that they can "Grow Your Own"  for their electric car or plug in hybrid.

My dream is to grab our great country by the shoulders and say wake up!  Especially the angry, swearing, talking heads of the right wing who spew anti American ideals from their mouths, never having experienced what they tear apart orally, reveling in the idea of enriching other countries and weakening ours. Putting their political party and their hatred for Obama, ahead of patriotism and our national interest. 

rant over

There is a lot of data below should you choose to get your geek/nerd mode on.  I've included it because I want to back up what I say with facts and invoices, not the empty rhetoric of inflated "gas-bags"  (I guess the rant is not quite over)

The first page of the bill contains two important pieces of information. Our monthly bill of $4.93 cents (we pay or collect only one time a year) and our annual payment for energy used from the grid in the prior year of $408.89. We pay this usage amount once a year and then recieve a credit for our  excess energy generated and not used by the home and car.

The second page contains our monthly usage for February, and you can see this is against a credit of 2,800 kilowatts.   The winter months we use energy, the summer months we generate excess.

The third page is our Net Energy Metering Summary where they apply the credit for generation.  In our case the credit was $375 of which we have $333.56 remaining.

We used $408, and we got a credit for $375.  for a total cost of energy for the year of $35, less than $3 per month.  This is lower than minimal monthly payment of  $4.93,  because we were an excess generator and SDG&E paid us $0.0375 for each excess kilowatt over and above what we used for the home and car.

In summary, it's about $3 a month in energy cost for our family to live in our home and drive an electric car 18,000 miles a year.  That's the new school.

The old school was $430 a month of electricity, $275 a month for gasoline.

Cheers!

Peder