idd15

Got told around eight months delivery for an eC4 at the fully charged show! idd

Ooooh Harsh! But yes the Leaf is getting a bit long in the tooth now relative to the competition. But still love it to bits compared to any Dino juice powered car I’ve had! 😍 See you at Fully Charged! idd

Possibly but EV database UK suggests there is not a lot of difference. Rapidgate was all a lot of forum and Youtube "froth" in my practical experience. Cheers idd

Your situation is not a lot different to mine and in 5 years of EV driving 30 and 40 kWhr Leafs I have come to the conclusion that what would work best for us is a working range of 200 miles but with much faster charging. So am leaning towards an eC4 or even perhaps a Renault Zoe. However battery size is not everything as the greater efficiencies of the Hyundai Kona and Ioniq in 40KWhr form could perhaps work for us, though I think the fastest they can charge is similar to the Leaf. For your situation perhaps a plug in hybrid would work best, and keep it in electric mode for the short journeys. The trick with EV's as Fenman has discovered is not to buy too big a battery. I also say to people to consider range as out and back, do you really want to charge on a day trip? I would also have a play with Zap Map to have a look at those long journeys and see what charging options are open to you. But this is improving all the time. As a case in point I regularly do a 110 mile round trip to see my Mum and in the 30 kWhr Leaf this could be a little tight in winter. Got the 40 Kwhr Leaf and a month later Instavolt installed two of their lovely rapid chargers round the corner from her house! HTH idd

A 7kW charger as a rule of thumb gives you around 30 miles of range for an hours charging, less obviously if you drive a big heavyweight SUV thingy. With people driving on average 24 miles per day it kind of makes sense really. For those needing more charging oomph there is the option of 22kW domestic chargers but they usually require a 3 phase supply to the house. But the EV has to be able to handle it as well, so fine for a Zoe but my Leaf can only handle 6kW AC. hth idd

Your Podpoint charger is clearly a newer version than mine and that feature is a very sensible upgrade. Would have probably prevented the issues the 1960’s homeowner is experiencing. At least they would have continued to charge, albeit slowly! idd

Single phase chargers are usually rated at 7kW (so less than a typical electric shower) which equates to around 29 amps. If your main fuse is rated at 100A it would suggest that your house supply is much better than your neighbours! 🙂 My 1950’s house has I think a 60A rating. So am careful to charge when we are not using every appliance and showering. In reality I charge overnight on the cheaper rate. hth idd

Found this clip interesting, certainly gives fuel for thought…🙂 JCB Hydrogen idd

Gridserve have been as good as their word and have upgraded the electric highway. Gridserve news Very good chargers. Used one last week during a 10 min stop in the Leaf and it delivered 10% with the battery already at 62%. They really can deliver the amps. They are almost Tesla like in use as well, plug in and swipe card and your charging. No faffing with an app, bliss! They’re also installing additional chargers at Hartshead Moor over by the existing superchargers which is good to see. idd

But perhaps we are all suffering from BIG car obsession? The following video is not recommended viewing for Quashqi Owners! Big Cars From RRR’s post above Smart look to have it for sure! 😀 idd

At the other end of the price spectrum to the model Y Small Chinese Electric Cars So what will you choose for desert? 😀 idd

I don't think I'm going to be able to give you an honest accurate answer to that question as the changes to flow temps, preheat etc were done roughly at the same time. However, I do know that savings are being made as when we were out for the day recently and had a message from daughter to say her shift had been extended and would not be home, a few quick taps on the phone meant the house not being heated unnecessarily for 4 hrs. On the whole we have found the extra degree of control it gives us over the heating has made the house a lot more comfortable overall. No more having to raise the temperature in the hall if we need a bit more heat in the lounge whilst watching telly, that sort of thing. HTH idd

Yes indeed good point, I've also been experimenting with radiator shelves in a couple of rooms to see if they help. thx idd

I’ve been doing the “gas saving” challenge organised by my supplier Octopus and it’s been surprisingly enlightening and looks as if we may have saved around 20% on our gas consumption this past quarter as compared to last year. From their hints and tips I’ve reduced the flow temperature for the radiators down 12 to 64 degrees and the hot water is now at 60 as opposed to 68. We have a combi and I also turned off the hot water preheat and found it made almost no difference in the time taken for hot water to reach the tap so another saving there. Just prior to the challenge I’d also fitted a Drayton Wiser controller and smart TRV’s and this has allowed us to very precisely schedule and control four rooms and the hall. This has been remarkably successful with three of us working mainly from home the house has become more comfortable when and where we want it. You may find having a look at the above useful as like you I was a bit stumped as to what to try next when giving energy saving some serious thought. Hope this helps and best of luck. idd

It can but it needs an automatic switch that isolates you from the grid when the grid is down. When the grid comes back up then it will automatically connect your inverter back to the grid. It's important it works like this to ensure the safety of anyone working on the grid supply. Check with your supplier to see if they offer such a device that is compatible with your inverter. You may find that depending on the number of power cuts you have it is not really worth the additional cost. Good to see the success you are having with your panels. Ours celebrate 10 years this year. HTH Idd

Was somewhat underwhelmed by the ID2/1 when I saw the prototype/concept and even more underwhelmed with its anticipated production date. Perhaps that will change for me. $64k question on the Spring though is there going to be a RHD version for the UK market? Don’t think Dacia have committed themselves yet. Hope they do. idd

Yay it’s back! eUp Returns Though might be a little while yet for the UK. idd

Now that’s cheap motoring… (If you exclude the loss of the “no claims” of course) idd

James has got his hands on a Y, probably from that handover at Southampton. James & Kate idd

First and last time I saw/smelt underbody sealing was when my dad had it done in the early 1970’s on a brand new Austin Maxi! They drilled it full of holes and filled it with an evil smelling black gunk, then plugged the holes with bright yellow plastic bungs. Modern cars are light years away from the rust buckets of yesteryear. Cannot believe anyone still does this, utterly bizarre. idd

Yo dudes, surfs up! ID Buzz idd

Pocket mags.com have a 50% off sale on digital magazine special editions and bookazines. Good selection from BRM, Key publishing etc. Digital Special Issues idd

That’s a shame really as it helped blaze the trail. Never understood why BMW did not do more with it, usual internal politics I guess? idd

Nice success story and it’s British as well you know! Spirit of Innovation Funny to see all the old anti EV arguments trotted out yet again in the YouTube comments. Cest la vie! idd

Good to see V2G making such a significant step forward using Type2 connectors. Shame we don’t have any projects of this scale in the UK. Round here the vast car parks at Manchester Airport would make ideal candidates for such schemes. Utrecht V2G idd