14000 miles

I've owned my Nissan Leaf for about a year. Today the odometer reached 14000 miles. I'm still thrilled about owning an electric vehicle and excited to drive it every day. Recently my 20 mile commute turned into a 40 mile commute so I'm extra happy about my EV purchase. I have no doubt it will save me money in 2014. Some stats:

• I've driven 14,000 miles at a fuel economy of 3.8 mi/kWh
• I've used 3,684 kWh of electricity
• I've done 288 charges for a total of 2,000kWh at Chargepoint stations
• I've charged 1684 kWh at L1 or L2 at home, and DC FC stations
• I've avoided using more than 500 gallons of gasoline 

Here's to another year of clean and quiet driving in my Leaf. Cheers!

more jobs and less wars, at any speed.

In response to a high-impact literature review and opinion piece on cradle-to-grave emissions of electric vehicles done by a UCBerkeley researcher, I think that we need a realignment of messaging about EVs. Let's not only focus on the global warming and air pollutants impacts of EVs, but also on the job creation and energy security goals that can be achieved by electrifying cars.

As I pointed out in a previous post, most scientists who study this topic - including the one(s) referenced in the article - have found that EVs reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly even after those from production and recycling are accounted for. For example, Hawkins et al. finds that EVs lower global warming potential by about 30% when compared to a conventional car. The BMW i3 offers approximately a 30 to 50% lower carbon footprint over 100,000 miles of use than the fuel-efficient diesel-powered BMW 118d, according to a BMW executive, and the carbon break-even point for the i3 versus the 118d is at about 30,000 miles when you account for the burden associated with production. A Natural Resources Defense Council post sums the situation up perfectly, that is the dirtiest day for an electric vehicle is the day you buy it. And that's in stark contrast to a conventionally fueled car. 


What's often left out in the argument about why electric vehicles are simply better for society is that they create jobs above and beyond those produced by conventional cars. Part of the reason is that nearly all of the electric cars in America were also built here. The Nissan Leaf, including its battery, GM Volt and Tesla Model S are built in Smyrna, TN, Hamtramck, MI and Fremont, CA (respectively). The carbon fiber used to produce the BMW i3 is made in Moses Lake, WA. Further, Those automotive jobs represent the rebirth of manufacturing in America which is supporting the (lower) middle class and is strengthening our economy as others around the world are failing. EVs run on electricity that comes from a portfolio of generation technologies operating within 10s of miles of where they are fueled, and THAT is an exciting idea. Unlike the oil supply chain, renewable energy and electric vehicle service equipment installation creates diverse local employment and growth opportunities.  


EV owners spend less on fuel and spend more on local services, as a result. Eileen Tutt, Executive Director, California Electric Transportation Coalition recently said; “Every dollar saved at the gas pump and spent on other goods and services that households want and need creates 16 times more jobs in the state. Simply put, a dollar saved on gasoline by driving cars fueled by electricity is spent largely in the state economy.”


Our use of conventional fuels comes at an even greater cost. American expenditures to protect access to Persian Gulf oil for motor vehicle use is not well understood, but it is most likely greater than $30B annually. Afghanistan and Iraq wars will cost taxpayers $4-6 trillion, accounting for loss of life. These conflicts have added $2 trillion to America’s debt, representing roughly 20 percent of the debt incurred between 2001 and 2012. There is nothing more patriotic and America-loving than driving an EV.    

Bring A Book

I’ve just completed my longest trip to date in the Leaf, 195 miles in a single afternoon. It took three fast charges, adding over 1 hour to the trip if you include the time taken for charging events (25, 19 and 19 minutes) and highway detours. I drove at a sluggish 62 mph, but I could have driven a bit faster; I arrived at chargers with 11, 18 and 21 miles, respectively and between 20 and 30 percent SOC according to the screen of the fast charger.

The important thing is that I didn’t have to substitute a gasoline car for this trip, and DC fast charging enabled this. The SF Bay area is a glimpse of the future, with respect to the proliferation of fast chargers. The Petaluma Visitor Center charger was conveniently located near a starbucks and a number of great restaurants. I charged there twice. It’s not so bad to take a break every 1-2 hours and grab a coffee. It’s certainly not life in the slow lane; I had some emails to respond to and a really great book to read.

 I’m reading Lisa Gansky’s “The Mesh” which looks at how mobile technologies and social networks have enabled so many new businesses around sharing and collaborative consumption. Gansky also talks about changing societal attitudes towards the environment and sustainability and how that’s driving growth in those industries. It got me thinking: It was through the Plugshare iphone app that I found FC stations en route. saw that they were available in real-time and read reviews from other plugsharers that the station was in fact operational (and located near shopping). Of course I checked-in and posted a picture of my Leaf charging.

Workplace charging

I'm convinced that one of the quickest ways to increase demands for electric vehicles is for companies to support workplace charging. That's because a charger in front of a building with an EV plugged into it is a conversation piece. Conventionally fueled vehicle drivers can see how charging works and ask questions to EV drivers, about costs of owning an EV (i.e How much does it cost to charge?), range (How far do you drive each day?) and other EV attributes (Can you use carpool lanes?). Workplace charging enables employees with longer commutes to own an EV. And because employees are parked for long periods of time, there are opportunities for multiple vehicles to charge throughout the day. Chargers at the workplace can have really high utilization and those chargers become public chargers in the evening and on weekends. With software from companies like Coulomb operators can set multiple rates (and accessibility) based on who is using the charger and when they're using it.

We have three (free) unrestricted Chargepoint EVSEs in front of our office in Mountain View. Since they were commissioned in February and October 2012, they've "dispensed" 584 charges and 4,310 kWh. This year average charging on a daily basis was 25kWh. At the end of the year I'll look into off-peak and weekend usage of the chargers. I plotted monthly and cumulative energy use so far in 2013 and daily utilization of the past thirty days, in case anyone is interested.

EV Buying and Social Networks

You can learn a lot about electric vehicle drivers by listening to the stories that we tell. Auto manufacturers have embraced the concept that stories about owning and driving an EV told by real people will help convince more customers to buy EV products. Two examples of an excellent use of storytelling in marketing materials is Zero Motorcycles and GM for it's Volt. An extension of that is the creation of special social networks for EV drivers and integrating social networks in marketing campaigns for EVs (share a charge or driving event on Facebook). Researchers have examined the role of social influence and networks in transitioning towards zero emission vehicles and sustainable consumption of goods. They find that the storys that we tell within our social networks - at work over coffee, at Thanksgiving dinner with family, out with Friends at a bar - can have a higher impact on sales of clean technologies than any traditional marketing channels and media.

Electric Vehicles and the Environment

This post is in response to Bjorn Lomberg's WSJ article and multiple recent publications on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts of electric vehicles. The Lomberg article focuses on results from Hawkins et al. 2012 in the Journal of Industrial Ecology; The publication draws attention to the embedded energy and CO2 emissions associated with production of vehicle components unique to electric vehicles, like li-ion batteries, power electronics and motor(s). Good news: When compared to efficient - 34 mpg - gasoline vehicle models, electric vehicles reduce global warming potential (GWP) by 20 to 24 percent when they use average European electricity. This GWP savings is lower than those predicted by other recent studies which account for reasonable decreases in US electricity emissions rates over the next ten years. A study delivered to the CA Air Resources Board by UCLA used similar methods and assumptions to reveal that an average conventional vehicle produces 63,000 kg of CO2 in its lifetime while an electric vehicle produces 32,000 kg of CO2, which is a lifecycle GHG emissions reduction of nearly 50%.

So, why are the results of these studies so different? Hawkins et al. point out that the GWP impact of production that they've calculated is almost twice the impact reported by previous studies. 50% of total lifecycle GWP intensity is from the production phase; 41% is from the battery, 8% is from the motor and 36% is from power electronics and cooling system manufacturing (15% is from other stuff associated with electric drive). Other publications which do a better job of cataloging and analyzing costs for EV specific components arrive at a 30% increase in emissions from manufacturing, compared to an average gasoline vehicle. If you add to this that EV manufacturers are offsetting additional emissions by developing and using renewable energy at production facilities, this penalty evaporates.

From an email conversation with a prominent electric transportation and utility expert: "The study finds that manufacturing emissions of plug-in electric vehicles is about double the manufacturing emissions of conventional vehicles.  However, based on discussions with automakers, it appears that the motor and inverter materials are overestimated by about 3 times, while requirements for certain critical components that are unfamiliar to researchers accustomed to analyzing conventional vehicles, like rare earth magnets and copper windings, are overstated by an order of magnitude.  The vehicle charger materials requirements are inexplicably overestimated by over 140 pounds."

On the topic of calculating GWP impacts of using an electric vehicle, there is no doubt that it is complicated. That's because the environmental benefits of driving an EV are linked to the timing, duration and location of charging. For example researchers at the Institute for Transportation Studies at UCDavis identified through an electricity supply model that emissions associated with generation vary greatly with hourly demand and power plant availability. Green house gas (GHG) emissions associated with electricity generation also vary greatly across geographic regions. For example, the US South, Midwest, and Western Rocky states have more than 3 times greater EV GHG emission rates than the West Coast and Northeast. An electric vehicle charged in California is likely to produce 60% less well-to-wheel GHG emissions than a conventional gasoline vehicle because of the mix of electricity generation sources. In 45% of US regions, regardless of when it’s charged, an EV produces less well-to-wheel GHGemissions than even the cleanest hybrid vehicles. The BMW i-3 is expected to achieve a 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions largely due to the integration of GE in both production and use phases of the vehicle.

It's also worth mentioning that EV owners support renewable energy by investing in solar. A survey of customers who participated in a two-year all electric MINI E US field trial revealed a strong user preference for charging EVs with solar (100%) and wind (98%) energy. The same survey of former US MINI E owners found that 37% owned solar by the end of the field trial. This result was re-confirmed by a recent survey of California EV owners (96% Nissan Leaf owners) which found that 39% have invested in home solar systems (n=1419), helping to “fuel” their vehicles with renewable solar energy.

I'll save the discussion on impacts of recycling and disposal for another post. 

The Hawkin's et al. publication tells us that electric vehicles are an impactful and disruptive technological breakthrough with huge and reasonable environmental benefits. Lomberg reminds WSJ readers that buying a coal-powered Nissan Leaf and tossing it after 50K miles is 25% more polluting than driving on gasoline. Thanks dude.    


            

Lyfting on electrons

I joined Lyft in March after meeting the founder of Zimride at a sustainable mobility conference. He mentioned that his new dynamic ridesharing service was going to be huge. He was right. In fact Lyft is so disruptive that the CPUC delivered a cease-and-desist letter and fined Zimride. $20,000. It has been banned, along with Uber and Sidecar, in other major cities like NYC and Washington DC because of concerns about passenger safety and a lack of consumer protection, among other issues.   

Lyft is a platform for connecting people who are driving with people who need a ride. Riders request a ride through the app, get picked up at a location they specify by placing a pin and dropped off within 60 miles of the city and then donate a suggested amount to the driver within 24 hours though a mobile payment service. Drivers get a ride request, navigate to the rider using Waze or Google navigation, pick up, drop off and rate the rider. They get paid every two weeks. A driver has multiple phone and in-person interviews along with a comprehensive car check up.

I signed up for three reasons. First, I wanted to expose riders in SF to an electric taxi which from a user experience perspective should be more premium because of the smooth ride and lack of engine noise. Also, inner city mobility service users report having an environment and new technology interest, and I want their feedback and response to the Nissan Leaf. Second, I wanted to test the Nissan Leaf’s usefulness as a taxi (can it go far enough, can I find charging, etc.). Third, I joined for the social and community aspects of this exciting new service. Lyft has regular food-truck parties and other social events. Both drivers and riders have extremely broad and interesting backgrounds and personalities. Fist bumps all around.

My experience using the service - both as a driver and as a rider - has been extremely positive. I’ve given about a dozen rides, all between 1 and 10 miles (2 mi average), and I make twenty to thirty dollars an hour. Lyft is the most time and cost effective way to get around the city, hands down. When I’ve requested Lyfts in the past, the waiting time has ranged from 2-8 minutes. The cost of a ride - which is merely a suggested donation with room for a tip - is at least 10% less than that of a taxi. The rider has 24 hours to pay the driver through Lyft’s mobile payment system.   

To date, there is no academic evidence that mobility services like Lyft take away from Taxi or public transit revenue. On the contrary, because they sell their car(s), users are potentially more likely to need to use public transit, taxis and car sharing as each of those services fit a different use case. On a number Lyfts, riders confessed to having shed cars. This fulfils goals of public transit and parking regulatory communities.
Stay tuned for more stories about my experience as a electric Lyft driver.