One year of driving off my solar panels!

[Tanso]

Really cool driving with solar panels!

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by fb_bf

The midget gets close, if not equal to 5 miles for every Kwh put into it.

200Wh per mile is really good, esp. for homebrew. I can't remember the resource and the info is old, but a few years ago I heard the best anyone had done mileage-wise was 100Wh to go a mile. That was on a very modest, research-oriented vehicle. That you can do half as well on a converted fossil car is pretty impressive.

[fb_bf]

Yes, 200Wh per mile is really good. When I owned a gas midget, I always thought it would make a good conversion because they are so light and small. I measured that value a couple of different ways, and if it isn't 200Wh per mile it's real close. I have 50 MPH measurements that beat that, but when I look at my stop and go numbers I wouldn't claim I get that. The car isn't known as an aerodynamic wonder, but it does have a very small frontal area. I have the tires pumped up to 40 PSI, and the wheel bearings and lack of brake drag make it roll very easily.

[Arragonis]

I just got my year end statement from my electric company, and despite driving 4,500 miles in my electric car I still banked 405 Kwh of electricity

Banked is an interesting term, where did that power go given it can't be stored ?

[Cobb]

Good question. I have a small grid tie system and I just assume I replaced power I used since its all interconnected. Who knows if the power makes it down the grid or to your neighbors? We have just enough to zero out the meter in idea conditions, full durect sun and nothing big on or about 500 watts.

[fb_bf]

For me,banking meant having credit from the electric company for future use. My contract allows me to either get paid for extra electricity I produced over the year, or "bank" it for future use if needed. I've always had them pay me for the extra electricity. I'm going to change that to just keep the total for future use. I only got $9.00 for the the extra 500kwh of electricity this year. The reason is that they pay you at their average cost to produce electricity. This year it was only 1.7 cents per Kwh. I suspect it is because of the low cost of natural gas. If I where to buy 500Kwh, I'd be paying at a cost closer to 9 cents a Kwh. They can add in all these extra charges that bring up my costs. So in the future I'm just going to keep the extra electricity I make over the year. The "extra" electricity doesn't get stored, but is does reduce what the power company needs to produce. It is real power.