Green

Environmentally friendly, green ways of living

There are 356 posts filed in Green (this is page 7 of 36).

Motorcycles and HOV lanes

While waiting for traffic to move on I-95 in Springfield, VA this week, I wondered why motorcycles are allowed in the HOV lane? This makes no sense to me.

  • Motorcycles are not high occupancy vehicles, instead they almost always carry a single person.
  • Motorcycles are not good for the environment. While they may burn less fuel, they generate far more pollution.
  • Motorcycles do not take up less space on the road than cars.

So, what exactly do governments gain by giving motorcyclists a free pass to the HOV lane? Whatever it is, I’m not seeing it.

Update: According to this page on the DOT.gov website, federal law allows motorcycles in HOV lanes:

Motorcycles are permitted by federal law to use HOV lanes, even with only one passenger. The rationale behind allowing motorcycles to use HOV lanes is that it is safer to keep two-wheeled vehicles moving than to have them travel in start-and-stop traffic conditions. States can choose to override this provision of federal law, if they determine that safety is at risk.

I don’t think this is reason enough, since it’s better for the safety of everyone to avoid start-and-stop traffic, but that’s just me.

Cheap Thoughts: variable-current EV charging

I’ve been mostly happy with our Siemens Level 2 EV charger. It’s simple to use with only two buttons, which I rarely need to press. Still, there is one feature the Siemens does not offer that I wish it had: the ability to adjust the current used based on my electricity rate plan’s Time of Use schedule.

Duke Energy offers a Time of Use – Demand (TOU-D) electric plan (which I’ve discussed in-depth before), meaning an electric customer gets socked with high fees based on how much electricity gets used at the same time.
Continue reading →

Flexing the muscle of my electric vehicle

Our Ford Focus Electric

Our Ford Focus Electric


There are many days when I’m driving my electric vehicle (EV) that I’m focused on economy. I will try hard to accelerate smoothly, drive at the speed limit (or sometimes more slowly), and brake as gradually as I can. The reward is high efficiency driving, saving as much money as I can.

Yesterday was not one of those days! Having many different events to attend, stretched from one end of the city to the other, I decided to flex my EV’s muscles. On our Time Of Use (TOU) plan, weekend electricity is super-cheap, so why not have a little fun?

As I drove down 401 yesterday, I sensed the guy behind me was becoming annoyed with my efficient driving. He shifted over a lane in an attempt to pass me. Not only are EVs cheap to drive, they also have a ton of torque just ready and waiting. I let the guy pass but caught up with him at the next light, where we both were lined up.

You think my EV is slow? I mentally challenged him. Watch this!
Continue reading →

Lessons learned from a month of EV ownership — Technology Musings — Medium

Good advice from a new EV driver.

I’ve lusted after a Tesla since they debuted, thought seriously about getting a Nissan Leaf too, but it was after I took a test ride in a BMW i3 that I found a perfect happy medium. I picked one up last month and learned plenty in the short time I’ve been driving it. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live with an electric vehicle (EV), here’s a list of things I’ve learned since taking the plunge.

via Lessons learned from a month of EV ownership — Technology Musings — Medium.

Silent running

I’ve driven an electric car for about 5 months now and discovered a curious effect: Electric cars are invisible to wildlife. Several times I’ve driven right up on a bird, car, or squirrel standing in the road and they only move when I’m within a split second of hitting them. You would think that just the sight of an approaching vehicle would be enough to send them scurrying but this does not appear to be the case. Critters apparently depend on the noise of vehicles for detection the same way many people do.
Continue reading →

My first long-distance EV trip

Too close for comfort!

Too close for comfort!

Over the past week I’ve made several trips to visit my seriously ill friend Scott Greenough out at UNC Hospital. I don’t always have the option of taking our Kia Sorento, so I often top off the juice in our Ford Focus Electric and hit the road.

Driving an EV longer distances requires one to do a little math, particularly if one is unsure a charging station can be found at the destination. I figured with my top range of about 75 miles, I would have more than enough to get there. The PlugShare app showed a ChargePoint charging station in the parking deck across from the hospital, so I figured I would be good to go.
Continue reading →

Daylight Saving Time for Electricity

Today (or maybe tomorrow? I’m still not sure) is the day that the hours change for those of us on Duke Energy Progress’s Time Of Use (TOU) electric billing plans. When you’re a grid-tied solar electricity provider like we are, Duke puts you on a TOU plan so that you are encouraged to use most of your electricity off-peak. The change in electric season is like Daylight Saving Time for our electric bills.

Peak hours in winter are from 6 AM to 1 PM and from 4 PM to 9 PM. Summer peak hours are from 10 AM to 9 PM. This means we can run our dryer or charge our electric car in the morning, rather than hold off until after 9 PM, which is a good thing.

I made a handy chart to help keep track of these schedules but haven’t shared it yet since I want to incorporate suggestions that Kelly made. Hopefully I’ll get it posted soon.

The magically-filling fuel tank

Earlier this week I got to experience a phenomenon very unique to electric vehicles.

I was driving out of the parking deck at work on a warm day that had started much cooler. Batteries are sensitive to temperature and don’t provide less power when it’s cooler. My electric car had dialed back its expected range on my cooler morning commute and kept it there as my car waited in the cool parking deck for me to get off of work.

As I drove out at the end of the day, the car’s thermometer rose briskly as it went from the cool parking deck to the warm afternoon air. I watched in amusement as my car’s range began increasing as I drove! It was like someone was adding fuel to my tank! I gained 20 miles of range on a six-mile drive.

Only in an electric car can one drive somewhere and actually get an increase in range!

Historic moment: Saudi Arabia sees End of Oil Age coming and opens valves on the carbon bubble – EnergyPost.eu

This is a fascinating read about the oil market that took me a while to really get, but it finally makes sense.

Tl;dr The Saudis are selling all the oil they can now because they’re worried that oil is quickly becoming obsolete. They’d rather sell at a drastic discount than be left with oceans of oil but no buyers.

Most analysts believe Saudi Arabia refuses to cut production because it wants to shake out its higher-cost competitors or because it wants to punish Iran and Russia. There may be some truth in those theories, writes Elias Hinckley, strategic advisor and head of the energy practice with international law firm Sullivan and Worcester, but they miss the deeper motivation of the Saudis. Saudi Arabia, he says, sees the end of the Oil Age on the horizon and understands that a great deal of global fossil fuel reserves will have to stay underground to avoid catastrophic global warming. “That’s why it has opened the valves on the carbon asset bubble.”

via Historic moment: Saudi Arabia sees End of Oil Age coming and opens valves on the carbon bubble – EnergyPost.eu.

Google Wants To Help You Buy Solar Panels For Your House. Seriously. | ThinkProgress

It’s a shame this type of innovation is blocked by North Carolina law.

If you to want to install solar panels on your roof but haven’t yet because it’s too expensive, Google really wants to help.

The search giant, valued at $370 billion, is once again boosting its investment in SolarCity’s residential solar power model by $300 million, both companies announced Thursday. Combined with a new financing structure from SolarCity, the companies say this will result in a new fund worth $750 million to help install distributed rooftop solar on homes across the country.

via Google Wants To Help You Buy Solar Panels For Your House. Seriously. | ThinkProgress.