Author: kootenay andrew

Andrew is an environmental engineer by day, "kid activity/school volunteer" by evening, and EV advocate / blogger in his remaining spare time. He is very passionate about the future of energy generation & usage. He prefers bikes to cars, but acknowledges that Canadian cities have been developed primarily with cars in mind, so if we're going to drive, let's make them all EVs! (But let's get EV buses and take those where possible first.)

Cost Update – 4 Years at 153,000 km

Year 4 of ownership has now passed by in my 2014 Nissan Leaf SL electric vehicle (EV).  This post is one in a series, the rest of which can be found at Cost Info Posts.  Note that all costs are in $CDN.

I’ve included a summary of costs over the 4 years.  Further down you will find my usual detailed 6 month interval update, and below that any tidbits of news or information I found interesting from roughly the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2018.

If you find this information of value, please consider a small donation via Patreon.  Cheers! Continue reading Cost Update – 4 Years at 153,000 km

Kootenay fast chargers: first trip! (and what they mean to short-range EVs)

The Accelerate Kootenays direct current fast charger (DCFC) network is filling in right now during the winter of 2017/2018.  In December, Radium and Canal Flats came online, and in the last two weeks, Greenwood, Christina Lake, Castlegar, Salmo and Creston all came online as well (as I write this, Jaffray might be online now too!)  That brings the total tally to 8 (or 9?) out of 13 installed so far.  I recently had a trip in our 2014 Nissan Leaf (a short range electric vehicle, or EV) that I think will illustrate what the fledgling DCFC network will mean to those of us with (or contemplating buying) short-range EVs.  If you want to skip the trip report itself, head right to the big heading of “Conclusions” near the bottom. Continue reading Kootenay fast chargers: first trip! (and what they mean to short-range EVs)

Cost update – 3.5 years and 135,888 km

Time for another electric vehicle (EV) total cost of ownership (TCO) update for my 2014 Nissan Leaf SL.  This is the eighth in a series – the earlier posts can be found at the “Cost Info Posts” page.  I’ve now crossed 136,000 km (~85,000 miles) at the time of writing at just over the 3.5 year mark.  Note that these costs are all $CDN.

I’ve also included a few bits of news I found of interest from the EV world in the last 6 months down below the cost information. Continue reading Cost update – 3.5 years and 135,888 km

Green Energy and Home Show 2017

The 5th annual Green Home and Energy show was held tonight in Nelson, BC, and I was happy to be there for the 4th year running to share my knowledge of EVs with our local residents.  This year was the biggest yet, with 3 Leafs, 2 Bolts, and a Tesla Model S on display.  Thanks to my fellow EV enthusiasts for coming out to talk to people and show them your cars 🙂

My presentation this year (download it here) had a short bit on general info about EVs, but I changed the focus this year to the 2nd generation of EVs that are starting to hit the road, along with what various regional and inter-BC trips would be enabled with the expanding DC Fast Charging network (see acceleratekootenays.ca)

As always, if you have any questions I am happy to answer them – get in touch with me through the “Contact” page.

Cheers!

Cost update – 3 years and 117,000 km

Time for another electric vehicle (EV) total cost of ownership (TCO) update for my 2014 Nissan Leaf SL.  This is the seventh in a series – the earlier posts can be found at the “Cost Info Posts” page.  I’ve now crossed over 122,500 km at this time of writing, of which I had hit about 117,000 km at the 3 year mark 7 weeks ago.

Continue reading Cost update – 3 years and 117,000 km

Chevy Bolt EV: a review from rural BC

A few days ago I had the chance to see a Chevrolet Bolt EV (brand new to Canada, and EPA range of 383 km!), courtesy of Kalawsky Chevrolet here in the Kootenays (in Castlegar, BC).  Terry Klapper is the resident Bolt EV (and Volt) sales guy and he was happy to show me the car’s features and let me take the wheel for a short, but representative, test drive.  (A short drive through town, then across the mighty Columbia River following Highway 3 up the first big hill on the way to the Bombi Summit allowed me to get a sense of town driving, merging, hill climbing, highway speeds, and descending with regen.)

First Bolt in the interior at Kalawsky Chevrolet

Continue reading Chevy Bolt EV: a review from rural BC

Day-trip: Nelson to Kaslo and New Denver

Our neck of the woods near Nelson is a really beautiful part of British Columbia.  The roads along the lakes, valleys and over the passes are amazingly scenic.  In an electric vehicle, you can drive a little slower with the windows down and really enjoy the scents and sounds of the mountains, or you can tighten your grip on the wheel and enjoy the instant torque of an EV on our twisty roads (safely of course!)

On this sunny day in June 2016, we travelled along the shores of Kootenay Lake to nearby Kaslo.  After a tour of the SS Moyie and a light lunch (while charging at the local campground), we headed away from the lake, up over the pass and down to New Denver on the shores of Slocan Lake.  We stopped for a short walk in an old cedar/hemlock forest on the way.  My wife and her mom visited the Nikkei Internment Centre while the boys and I played in the park and swam in the lake (the car was charging at the campground while we were doing this). Continue reading Day-trip: Nelson to Kaslo and New Denver