We have been in our new house now for about 5 months ( well, I suppose I should stop calling it new!) and during that time I have had only limited power to the garage from the house. This has meant that it wasn’t possible to install a 32A electric car charger until I upgraded … Continue reading Power to the Garage
We had our solar panels installed nearly 4 years ago. We have had an electric car for a similar period. During that time I have been able to monitor our house electricity use, our solar generation and to charge the car. This has worked quite well but it is not really an integrated system. Moreover, … Continue reading Open Energy Monitor – Control and Monitor our Electricity Use
I have been having some very interesting conversations over the past couple of days on Twitter with a few people who are suggesting that I am over negative regarding the reliability of the Highway. While I respect their opinions I feel that I am not over negative and here’s why… Their argument is that the … Continue reading Ecotricity Electric Highway – Is it as reliable as people make out?
Ever since Vospers of Plymouth had their rapid charger installed it has been like most Nissan dealers… available only during office hours. In fact, again like many other dealers, they have kept the charger locked out of hours and the barrier down preventing access. Also, they have set up the charger to need a RFID … Continue reading Great News! Nissan Charger in Plymouth now 24/7
Having had our new Leaf just a few days I wasn’t expecting to be rapid charging quite this soon but I had to drive to Exeter today and so a rapid charge was needed. Basically the charge was about the same as with charging the old Leaf but there were a few small differences. Firstly, … Continue reading Rapid charging the Mk2 Leaf
On my trip to Edinburgh a couple of weeks a go I had to use a few of the rapid chargers that are operated by Charge Your Car. This required me to buy a Lifetime RFID card from CYC at a cost of £10. This card then gives me access to all of the CYC … Continue reading A Comparison of DBT vs SGTE Rapid Chargers
Yesterday was just awesome! It started the night before when I saw a tweet from Ecotricity… they asked if any EV drivers would be willing to be interviewed at Cheiveley by the BBC. Well, I am not exactly near Chieveley with it being in Berkshire and me in Cornwall! Nevertheless, I am always up for … Continue reading 445 miles in one day in my Nissan Leaf!
If you have been following me on this blog, or following my experience in my Nissan Leaf at all over the past 2 and 1/2 years, you will hopefully know that I am not one to shy away from a challenge. I was one of the first to get a Nissan Leaf in the UK … Continue reading Are Electric Vehicles Ready for Long Trips Yet?
In a way Ecotricity has been one of the biggest supporters of electric cars in the UK. They committed to installing an “Electric Highway”, a network of rapid chargers sited mainly at motorway service areas and without their network driving electric cars for long trips in the UK would be difficult or near on impossible! … Continue reading Should Rapid Chargers be Installed at Shopping Locations?
Today I needed to go from my home in Saltash to Brixham. This is a round trip of 73 miles and right on the edge of the range of my Nissan Leaf so I might have chosen to use my Vauxhall Ampera. Instead, I decided to see if I could do it easily in the … Continue reading Saltash to Brixham – POLAR Charging Post Failed
