Randy
Well-known member
Lots of great conversations at the SD Leaf event; good food and an open bar...SDBonez and Groundloop were there, and several other forum members....Thanks for inviting us, Nissan. We had a great time, and can't wait until our own LEAFs are delivered.
I thought it would make for an interesting post to gather together all the things I heard that folks might be interested in...
* Intro speaker from Nissan: He said the design center has 14 projects in process right now, and 5 of them are electric. More good stuff to come....
* Dan from ECOtality talked with us. I forget his title, but I can't find him on the ECOtality website. He said that the first 42 San Diego EVSE installs would use the Clipper Creek equipment, and then it would be swapped out in about a month with the blink. The blink has passed all the UL tests and production is ramping up. They will be made in Livonia, Michigan.
* Bill Blindell from San Diego ECOtality was there. Bill is great to work with, and we'll be seeing him at homes with the crews getting the EVSEs installed before the first wave of cars. Bill knows the EVSE install process inside-out. He talked about a relatively streamlined permit process in San Diego, but in Oceanside they wanted full drawings with existing customer equipment shown (such as PV systems). He seemed to be taking it in stride, and I'm sure he'll do the best for us that he can...They're doing approximately 2 EVSE installs per day. The first install in La Jolla was a difficult install, with a run of over 100 feet from the panel to the EVSE, through concrete, etc. They got it done quickly, and successfully inspected and approved in a couple of days. After that first one, they've done a few more and are ramping up the installation schedule now.
* Mark Perry from Nissan was there. Malcolm, SDBonez, and I had a great conversation with Mark...I asked about maximizing battery life and would certain instructions be in the manual. Mark said "yes", and proceeded to tell us that for longest life we should charge the battery to 80% consistently. Of course, if you don't, the penalty over the course of several years in degradation is pretty small. I think he characterized it as between 5-10%. We talked about how the car would perform when running low on energy. He said there is mileage left on the pack when it says zero, and pretty much grinned and nodded yes when I asked if the pack was larger than 24kwh...Mark also said that the onboard charger would be able to be upgraded to 6.6kW in "2-3 years" (although he didn't mention the price). He said they have sourced a 6.6kW charger that is "smaller and cheaper" and it would be able to moved from the trunk "Hump" area to somewhere else...
Mark lives in TN and has a gazillion frequent flier miles. His wife is hoping he'll slow down his schedule some by January, but he thinks it won't slow down until June or July...
* They had two LEAFs on display, one blue and one red...No manuals in either one...
All in all, it was a great event and we had a good time. SDBonez, did I forget anything? We talked about so much with everyone...Lot of LEAFers in the room...
Randy
I thought it would make for an interesting post to gather together all the things I heard that folks might be interested in...
* Intro speaker from Nissan: He said the design center has 14 projects in process right now, and 5 of them are electric. More good stuff to come....
* Dan from ECOtality talked with us. I forget his title, but I can't find him on the ECOtality website. He said that the first 42 San Diego EVSE installs would use the Clipper Creek equipment, and then it would be swapped out in about a month with the blink. The blink has passed all the UL tests and production is ramping up. They will be made in Livonia, Michigan.
* Bill Blindell from San Diego ECOtality was there. Bill is great to work with, and we'll be seeing him at homes with the crews getting the EVSEs installed before the first wave of cars. Bill knows the EVSE install process inside-out. He talked about a relatively streamlined permit process in San Diego, but in Oceanside they wanted full drawings with existing customer equipment shown (such as PV systems). He seemed to be taking it in stride, and I'm sure he'll do the best for us that he can...They're doing approximately 2 EVSE installs per day. The first install in La Jolla was a difficult install, with a run of over 100 feet from the panel to the EVSE, through concrete, etc. They got it done quickly, and successfully inspected and approved in a couple of days. After that first one, they've done a few more and are ramping up the installation schedule now.
* Mark Perry from Nissan was there. Malcolm, SDBonez, and I had a great conversation with Mark...I asked about maximizing battery life and would certain instructions be in the manual. Mark said "yes", and proceeded to tell us that for longest life we should charge the battery to 80% consistently. Of course, if you don't, the penalty over the course of several years in degradation is pretty small. I think he characterized it as between 5-10%. We talked about how the car would perform when running low on energy. He said there is mileage left on the pack when it says zero, and pretty much grinned and nodded yes when I asked if the pack was larger than 24kwh...Mark also said that the onboard charger would be able to be upgraded to 6.6kW in "2-3 years" (although he didn't mention the price). He said they have sourced a 6.6kW charger that is "smaller and cheaper" and it would be able to moved from the trunk "Hump" area to somewhere else...
Mark lives in TN and has a gazillion frequent flier miles. His wife is hoping he'll slow down his schedule some by January, but he thinks it won't slow down until June or July...
* They had two LEAFs on display, one blue and one red...No manuals in either one...
All in all, it was a great event and we had a good time. SDBonez, did I forget anything? We talked about so much with everyone...Lot of LEAFers in the room...
Randy
