It’s been a while
Life with the Leaf becomes the norm pretty quickly and you do just take it for granted. Since we bought the Leaf in Jan 2014, I cannot imagine using an internal combustion engine for my daily commute. In fact, my beautiful motorbike is failing to rack up miles as a result.
A rhythm is established on when you charge, when you take it easy and when you enjoy the smoothness and the power available just as in any other car with an electric motor.
You get used to having the information at your fingertips about how you are driving and how you are making the most of the cheap fuel powering your car. You get very used to not having the judder and delay from an internal combustion engine.
You get used to the economy, which is predictably yours.
Sounds ideal…?
To the most part it is. If I don’t want the hassle of taking a risk in my normal weekly commute, I charge the car when I get home during the summer. The beauty of this is the sun is providing the electrons being stored in the battery. It makes the most of what we’re not using.
Over the summer, I have been reliably achieving 4.50 miles/kWh this month (in fact, more than 4miles/kWh since March). This is pretty impressive compared to the winter and makes my journey to work (and back of course), at a price of 12.21p per kWh, means I have a journey of 15miles (to the nearest whole mile), costing 40p to the nearest whole penny.
The costs for 2016 so far are £68.83 to cover 2,293 miles. Which is 33p a mile.
The cost, if I buy the electricity from my energy provider rather than use what is being generated by the PV cells, per week of travelling the 74 miles (not rounded) is £2.01 (to the nearest penny).
The journeys I have made to London for work, cost a little more than that, although you could argue that I do charge the car overnight at 12.12p per unit to the tune of 20 kWh or £2.42 at least once.
We’ve been through this before!
We have. Things, they are a changing. On the 1st July (I know that is twenty days ago, I have been a little busy with one thing and another), Ecotricity is changing how their Electric Highway works as per https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-the-road.
Instead of being free, the price for a 30 minute charge is going to be £6 :o.
Unless you are an Ecotricity customer. In which case it will be free.
Where’s that web page again?
Posted: July 21st, 2016 under Driving off the grid.