Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
I'm not looking for you to justify what you want, as no explanation is necessary, nor do I have any negative opinion of those wealthier than me that spend money differently than I would.
...(snip)...
Perhaps when I'm older I'll value the money less and the cutting edge stuff more.
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Having driven our Leaf for just over 2 years now, we do not keep it charged at 100%. I would not plugin and charge at home every day, just like I do not put gas in my Subaru every day. Unless it is going on a big trip, if it gets below 50%, then I put more gas in it. With the Leaf, it is usually in the 30% or sometimes 20% range before we charge it.
I expect the same thing with this Cybertruck (or any other EV we purchase).
Money, for me, is only a means to an end. The value relative to material products shifts around (almost always downward), so saving it does not have much benefit, when the cost of inflation outpaces most savings interest rates, unless I am willing to have more limited access to said funds (CDs, etc). I grew up pretty poor for parts of my life, which I am sure has lead me to have a less than logical view on money.
And yes, I am open to compromise, but due to the wife getting slowed down by several public chargers not being in working condition the one time she tried taking a trip in the Leaf, I think I will not have a problem with getting it 'approved'... and I am very much aware of the proliferation of Tesla charging facilities in my area.
I watched several people try to build an EV jerry can (portable charger to add a few miles of range to help get an EV to a recharging station) and it does not seem to work at all... Maybe I am gravitated to this option (the solar panel bed cover) thinking it might help in those situations? But you are probably correct, the money would be better spent on using for electricity or even putting together my own solar charging system and only carrying it when needed.
Just spit-balling: 4x 300 watt solar panels, micro-inverters, charge controller/BMS, and combination of capacitors and batteries with say 1kW of storage and the circuitry and connectors to dump that out effectively so Tesla's would see it as a valid power source... sounds like a lot of work and experimentation...
Cost would be... oh, $400 for LG monocrystal panel, so that is $1600 for panels. $800 for an Lithium Iron Phosphate battery... another $800 in electronics and add-in a connector... I am over the $2,500 for the option trying to make something DIY.
We get direct sunlight, we just get about 2 to 3 hours in the winter months and 4 to 5 in the summer months, due to the tree shading. The last time we had it analyzed, it looked like we needed 6+ in the summer and 4+ in the winter to really make it viable and due to the trees on the property line to the east and the trees on other peoples property to the south and west, not going to happen... all the trees on my property are to the north, which I like (about 1/3 to almost 1/2 my land has mature, tall trees).
Normally I am less taken with 'neat' technology the older I get, but there are somethings I hold important, like trying to move to EVs. I am considering selling my house and getting one with more southerly exposure so I can put up solar panels. Then we can provide for some of our own electrical uses.