This blog post is different from what I usually write about, but is something I spend a lot of time thinking about, and has been an adventure. That is climate change and my desire to do something about it in my life. Here is how I have done so.
2015 is a year of new beginnings. I finally got a solar system installed an operational on my roof. My building has a flat roof, which faces South, and is well positioned for solar. I looked into getting solar panels over the summer, but there were questions about the roof structure, it is unconventional and the engineer wasn’t sure the roof could support the panels and the ballast weight to keep them in place, about a ton and a half. Being in Hudson, my building is an old one, probably built in the 1890's or turn of the 20th Century, and was originally a three story building, but in 1955, the building next door burned down, thus the empty lot next to me which is now a municipal parking lot. When this neighbor burned, it took off the 3rd floor of my building and they put a new roof supported by struts on what was the floor of the 3rd floor. Further examination and review finally revealed that while unusual, the roof structure is adequate to supporting a solar system, so the installation proceeded in December, and National Grid finally installed a net meter December 31st. Perfect timing.
While I was considering the solar panel system for my building, I got interested in the idea of an electric plug in car, that could be charged from the solar system, truly low carbon. I had researched hybrid and plug in cars two years ago when I got my VW Jetta Hybrid. When I was car shopping then I also looked at the Ford Fusion and C-max, and got seriously interested in the Chevrolet Volt. However, all were much more money than the Jetta Hybrid, and I do love the way that VW’s drive, so I traded in my perfectly good Jetta TDI, for the Hybrid. It was a great car, had everything I wanted, navigation, heated and power seats, sun roof, etc. But while it drove beautifully, its mileage wasn’t so stellar. On long drives to the City I could do 40 to 45 mpg, around town, I was doing 30mpg plus. Over the lifetime of my ownership of the car, about 20,000. miles of driving, I got an average of 37mpg. Ok, but not really that great.
So during the fall of 2014, with the prospect of going solar, I did more research on plug in cars, and went and test drove a Tesla. This was partly inspired by the owner of Lotus Electric which did my solar system install, who drives a very sexy fire engine red Tesla, which he took me on a brief ride in. They are amazing cars, rocket-ships in comparison to normal cars. So I went to the Mt. Kisco Tesla showroom to test drive one and was struck by the responsiveness of electric motors. When driving a Tesla, you only need one pedal for most of your drive, the accelerator pedal when depressed engages instant torque from the motor, the moment pressure is lifted, the strong regenerative braking comes into play, slowing the car down immediately. You can come from full speed to a full stop in very little distance simply by lifting your foot off the pedal. Nothing like an internal combustion engine car. It does take getting used to, but I could see the potential. The acceleration of a Tesla is like nothing I’ve ever experienced as a driver before, it is more like a sports-car than a regular car. But at 100 grand for the model I’d want, it seems out of my range at this time in my life. An object of lust! And the range, while 200 plus miles on a charge, is still an issue, given how few super-charger stations there are along the highways. I like to take long trips, Montreal, New York City, Provincetown, Boston, etc, and it would be a challenge in a true electric car, but certainly possible in a Tesla with super-charger technology.
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| The solar panels installed on my roof, December 2014 |
I had pretty much resigned myself to keeping my perfectly good and enjoyable Jetta Hybrid for a while when in December, as my solar panels were being installed and finalized, I decided to look at used Chevrolet Volts. All of a sudden, it seemed very doable to get a plug in car. When I was looking two years ago, a new Volt was $43,000., and I found a 2013 Volt with just 12,000 miles on it, for $21,000. So I went to test drive it and of course, I loved it. While it didn’t have all the bells and whistles I wanted, no built in navigation, or heated seats, it offered a way to have an electric car relatively affordably.
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| My new Chevrolet Volt, taken January 1st, 2015 |
I traded in my VW Jetta, but as a comment on the skewed priorities of our market driven society was the fact that my Jetta Hybrid was worth less than I’d thought it should be, and it was explained to me by the dealer that gas is cheap, so gas efficient vehicles are worth less! It was the first time that I had a car whose trade in value was less than what I owed on it, and I’ve gone through quite a few cars in my short time of driving. Here we are, in the midst of what some term a climate crisis, and gas is cheaper in the US than ever, and high mpg cars are devalued, right when we need them the most to save ourselves. Another demonstration of how the market does not value things for the better of our species.
Regardless of the above, I did surrender my Jetta Hybrid, and got the Volt. It is great to come home, plug it in to recharge, as I do my cell phone, ipad, computer, and so many other devices in my life. At the moment I only have a 120 volt outlet, so it takes about 10 to 16 hours to fully recharge, but that is fine, I plug it in and overnight, it is ready go again. I am finding that the range is not the 40 miles per charge as advertised, but 30 miles. Perhaps that is due to the winter cold sapping the batteries efficiency, and affecting the mpg while driving. I did get winter tires, and had the air dam removed as it scrapped the ground too often, and coming into my garage. That no doubt will affect the efficiency and range. Even so, 30 miles is enough for me to do my daily errands, so I’m not complaining. And I expect the range to improve in warmer weather.
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