tbleakne said:
padamson1 said:
As long as everyone (BEVs, EREVs & PHEVs) follows the charging protocol, we should all be able to live with each other. Since a PiP takes a fraction of the time a BEV takes to charge, they should vacate the spot as soon as their done, and free it up for the next guy just like every one else should do. As long as they're charging, they're not 'blocking' the EVSE, and a PHEV doesn't charge for long.
I agree. Many of the plug-in Prius folks are going to be constantly searching for charge opportunities, and they have a right and need for public charge.
My understanding is that PiPs just went on sale last month, so their drivers are probably very new to the public charging scene.
How long do PiPs require for a full charge? Their battery is 4.4 kWh, but I assume they don't have full access to this capacity. They will often be "empty," and they will want to fill their little battery to 100%. Perhaps a little more than an hour?
They, like us, need to be responsible for moving their cars promptly when their charge is done. Do they have some kind of dashboard signal when their charge is done ? Hopefully unplugging them won't set off their alarms like the Volts. A 2012 Volt owner told me he can defeat his alarm via a menu option, but the 2011 model cannot.
With LEAF sales lagging, in 6 months there might be twice as many PiPs on the road as LEAFs, so if their owners are
not responsible, they could become annoying. Hopefully their numbers will encourage installation of more level 2 in useful locations for dining and extended shopping.
I can chime in here, as a person who had reserved a Leaf on 4/20/2010, completed the RAQ in 10/31/2011, and who's Leaf arrived at the local Nissan delaer and was orphaned on 1/31/2012, who at the same time, had a PiP on order, and decided to go with the PiP...
Let me start by just explaining, I loved the Leaf and the entire "all EV" concept, however, for myself, being a single unmarried person, I do not want to be paying for multiple insurance policys, and having multiple vehicles depreciate. I would really have loved to just go out and bought a Tesla Model S, 240 or 300 mile version, that would solve all of my range issues, however, the Tesla Model S is sold out until the end of 2013, and it's also very pricey as well.
I have been on MNL since the very early days, and do support full EV's, where they fit, but they are not a fit for everyone, in every situation, especially in the East coast/Northeast, where our weather is rainy, snowy, cold temperatures, and in general NOT an ideal "Californian 70 degree" environment.
For us, range extended or plug in hybrids are going to be more popular, its just what this environment supports best, really. I've driven by numerous Volts, very few Leafs, and a few PiPs as well, I just bought my PiP a little over 2 weeks ago (4/21/2012), my "EV/HV" ratio has been pretty good so far, the first 702 miles, I used 7.65 gallons of gas and 78KWH of electricty, my MPG was 91.7, and that was with a 90 mile roundtrip on an interstate (that BTW, a Leaf would not have been able to do, without at least some charging at the destination)
Checkout my Fuelly page, if you care to track how my PiP is performing in the future:
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/mitch672/prius-plugin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
first fillup: %43 EV (304 miles) / %57 HV (397 miles), 78KWH used, 7 gallons of gas (7.65 actually)
fuel saved by charging, approx 6.5 gallons
below is a picture of the "EV/HV" ratio, which shows how many miles where in pure EV, and how many where in HV (which is a blend of the engine and battery pack), my percentage was high, and will continue to be high, as the bulk of my 14.9 mile each way commute is in EV, especially if the traffic on I93 is stop and go inthe morning, which it usually is (1.5 hour commute to go 15 miles is typical)
I charge at home with a L2 Schnieder EVSE that was installed in October of last year, in preparation for the Leaf, takes 1.5 hours @ 240V, at work I charge with the Toyota supplied EVSE, takes 3 hours at 120V, I have used a public charger once, when I met my family at the "99" in Easton, the first time we went there, both EV spots, and the spots next to them, wehre totally "ICEd", and I could not charge, another weekend there, I was able to get a space and charge the car, when I came out from dinner, the PiP was fully charged, and I drove home 12 miles in all EV (low speed roads, 30-35mph)
I think PiP owners have enough common sense to at least try to use an EV spot that is not directly in front of the charger, so that a true EV could unplug them and still get a charge, that might be a suggestion to ellimnate conflicts, as we don't have to charge, but we like to charge as often as possible, to minimize gasoline usage, and you can see from my stats, the 12-15 mile EV range does a lot better than most of you would think possible.
at the ChargePoint dual head charger at the "99" in Easton MA
National Grid just sponsored installation of 30 of these in the greater Boston area, near major highways.
