All Electric Driving

Thought I might let you in on our insights while we drive an electric vehicle daily as our main form of transport.

In our Fleet we have the classic original Nissan Leaf 2012 and the new 2023 Ford e-Transit. These are very different animals, the Leaf is primarily a city short range vehicle while the e-Transit is our mid-range vehicle. Both vehicles have a place to get staff and equipment where it needs to go, as the e-transit cannot tow it had to be big enough to haul our solar panels and batteries in the rear on pallets with a forklift, it does this very well.

As for range we have been from Caroline Springs to Bayswater and return on a single charge loaded, fitting our daily purpose very nicely.

Charging is predominantly in most places we need, I think on one occasion to get home I wanted to air on the side of caution, so I wanted a 5min, went to the shopping centre and found a few cars waiting for the charger but realized there was a charger 3min away in hungry jacks that was empty. The time I purchased a quick meal (16min) and got in my van I paid $7 for the Energy and $25 on the Meal and I was home in no time. Mostly this isn't the norm as it charges to 80% every night at home and gives me 180km of range. The trick for fast charging is to make sure the battery at 80% charge covers your daily usage. The reason for this is the fact the last 20% of charge takes as long as the 80% charge.

For example if your car charges to 80% in 30min, it will take another 30min to finish the last 20%.

Primary takeaway is to have a range of 80% charge to fast charge in less than 20min. Battery technology likes to sit between 20%-80% charge so the battery doesn't degrade from usage. So when it comes time to buying your electric car remember your daily drive must fit within the 80% charge range on the label.

Second takeaway is electric vehicles don't like highway travel due to wind trag and constant energy usage, whereas in the city they rule the road as they will recharge as you drive in peak hour traffic and don't use energy on idle while stationary. It's just a case of what is your primary usage? What is your 80% of travel through the course of a year?

So hope that's a helpful read, stay safe on the road and enjoy the silent future.