Discussion
I have downloaded the app but have yet to try it as most users think its err....a bit poor to say the least. I shall try at some stage no doubt. Good experiment today, lovely clear skies and the solar panels bringing in lots of juice. The home storage batteries (12Kw) were getting on for 60% so I plugged in the Mii on the 13 amp and enjoyed 2 1/2 hrs (41 miles) of 'free' charging. Home storage still got to 85% too, bonus! Next few days might not be so fruitful mind.....
Had a play with the app, don't think I'll be bothering with it much. Last time I saw graphics like that was on a Sinclair Spectrum.....I'll stick with Waze and warm the thing up myself (which is does quickly anyway). Gave middle hooligan a go in it yesterday (he's well on his way to sitting his manual test), he adapted quite quickly once I explained the regen etc but he finished with 'boring' after a half hour play....fair enough!
Zappi 2.0 installed yesterday so we are all good for quicker turnarounds now if needed. It added around 30 miles range in an hour and a quarter so not too bad in cold 3C ambient.
Unfortunately, we have a duff door sesñor/lock and the interior light doesn't go out when they are closed. Dealer aware and we shall keep the interior lights switched off just now. Glad of the new wipers with the amount of rain we have been getting too! I also did a trickle charge of the 12v battery as it was down in the 11 volts (perhaps related to the interior light?) so that's back up at 12v now.
Unfortunately, we have a duff door sesñor/lock and the interior light doesn't go out when they are closed. Dealer aware and we shall keep the interior lights switched off just now. Glad of the new wipers with the amount of rain we have been getting too! I also did a trickle charge of the 12v battery as it was down in the 11 volts (perhaps related to the interior light?) so that's back up at 12v now.
Got a Fb marketplace bargain today. 10 quid for full set of moulded genuine rubber mats for the Mii! Have confirmed it's the boot switch not switching off the interior light and now its slightly warmer car is averaging 5.3miles/Kwh. Lots of positive comment from people that have been in the car too!
Experienced what is probably ev Achilles heel for myself today. Weather was drizzle and only 7C ambient so I needed the heater fan on (not a/c), heated rear screen on occasion, wipers & headlights. 46 miles of start stop stuff yielded 3.9 miles/Kwh. That's fastest I've seen the range drop to be fair. It has left claimed range of 78 miles left, was tempted to top up but have left it to see how far I can actually get through the rest of the week.
somouk said:
The e-mii has a heated screen instead of using the fan as it is more efficent. Might be worth considering.
Anything with a heating element is going to kill the battery though.
Unfortunately due to the drizzle and slow speeds the heated front screen wasn't any good as the side windows were steaming up and cracking the windows a little just allowed water into the cabin. I knew it would be an issue and can factor that in.Anything with a heating element is going to kill the battery though.
On a positive note, bright sunny day yesterday so decided to charge using the surplus from the panels. A few hours later I had a range of 141 miles. Drove around locally for an hour and got home with 141 miles still remaining.....You could argue that makes up for the rubbish one a few days earlier!
6 m/kwh hit today for the first time! Long slow overnight charge from the Zappi on eco, Range showed 131 miles at start up and 7C ambient. Actually thought there was something wrong as I had no regen at all for the first few miles. After that the regen worked as normal so I'm guessing that the cells were completely full and couldn't take anything back initially. Completed 39.7 miles over 3 and bit hours and got home with orange of 130 still showing and the temp hovering around 9C.
If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
stickylabels said:
6 m/kwh hit today for the first time! Long slow overnight charge from the Zappi on eco, Range showed 131 miles at start up and 7C ambient. Actually thought there was something wrong as I had no regen at all for the first few miles. After that the regen worked as normal so I'm guessing that the cells were completely full and couldn't take anything back initially. Completed 39.7 miles over 3 and bit hours and got home with orange of 130 still showing and the temp hovering around 9C.
If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
This is the issue with basic EVs they won't tell you that your regen is reduced as the battery can't take it back. The Tesla tells me that. If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
I've been seeing good range from our Mii again now we're getting slightly warmer.
Experiment time yesterday. As said, temps are increasing and range increasing too. I had the range up to 166 miles potential last weekend. Yesterday with 140 showing we tried a trip along the dual carriageway. Despite being in 'eco', heater etc all of as it was quite warm and the cruise set to a sensible 58-60 mph we arrived at our destination 28.7 miles away with just 71 miles range left......The first 5 miles were in the 'burbs with 5.4 m.kwh showing. We arrived with an average of 4.3 m/kwh.
Now whichever side of the fence you sit (and as stated by me when I began this thread) the whole idea of this is to discover first hand the ups and downs of an ev. That is extremely poor whichever way you cut it and whatever reasons/excuses you offer up not really good enough. The Fiesta for example would have consumed well under 1 gallon of fuel.
We returned a different route using small country roads, through villages etc and the Mii was able to redeem itself and arrived home with an average of 4.8m/kwh and 55 miles showing.
As said, it was a fair test and we continue to enjoy it for all the short local stuff where it does excel, the 5 series was brought out of hibernation for todays longer drive, horses for courses etc!
Now whichever side of the fence you sit (and as stated by me when I began this thread) the whole idea of this is to discover first hand the ups and downs of an ev. That is extremely poor whichever way you cut it and whatever reasons/excuses you offer up not really good enough. The Fiesta for example would have consumed well under 1 gallon of fuel.
We returned a different route using small country roads, through villages etc and the Mii was able to redeem itself and arrived home with an average of 4.8m/kwh and 55 miles showing.
As said, it was a fair test and we continue to enjoy it for all the short local stuff where it does excel, the 5 series was brought out of hibernation for todays longer drive, horses for courses etc!
stickylabels said:
6 m/kwh hit today for the first time! Long slow overnight charge from the Zappi on eco, Range showed 131 miles at start up and 7C ambient. Actually thought there was something wrong as I had no regen at all for the first few miles. After that the regen worked as normal so I'm guessing that the cells were completely full and couldn't take anything back initially. Completed 39.7 miles over 3 and bit hours and got home with orange of 130 still showing and the temp hovering around 9C.
If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
That looks excellent to me. All these big SUV type EVs bang on about range but due to the huge batteries onboard are actually twice as expensive to run, 3 miles / kWh being typical. Big, heavy vehicle consumes more energy than a small one, who'd have thought it? If all that tallies, that was a possible range of a sniff under 170 miles which I reckon is good going.
The efficiency of EVs doesn't seem to get much publicity, the fact some people say the weight doesn't matter is obviously not accurate.Yeah some people are daft, of course weight matters, and it always will. It’s just physics, something heavier will always take more energy to move. That’s why I think small EV’s are its prime application.
Good updates though, it’s good to see some honest reporting of real life day to day stuff, most people are so drowned by the Kool Aid to be able to comprehend writing something real about their experiences
Good updates though, it’s good to see some honest reporting of real life day to day stuff, most people are so drowned by the Kool Aid to be able to comprehend writing something real about their experiences
With regen braking, weight isn't the major factor as a heavier vehicle will recover more energy than a lighter one, so it evens out to a point so long as friction brakes aren't used.
It's the aerodynamic difference, specifically CdA, which is the biggest factor when comparing the efficiency of a small city car with a large SUV.
It's the aerodynamic difference, specifically CdA, which is the biggest factor when comparing the efficiency of a small city car with a large SUV.
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