PHEV + EV Household

[Gigi]

We bought a Fusion Energi in November to replace my wife’s car. I became so enamored with driving on electricity that in January, I leased a Focus Electric and parked my gas guzzling F-150. Now, my wife is driving the Electric for her 54 mile commute and I am driving the Energi for my 26 mile commute. It was a hassle for her to plug in the Energi at work. I don’t mind plugging in at the office. With this arrangement, we are able to maximize EV miles. For the last three weeks, we have driven the two cars a total of about 1,500 miles, only 108 of which have been on gasoline. More than 93% of our miles for the two cars in the past three weeks have been EV miles.

Does anybody else have a PHEV + EV household?

 

[EVA]

Very cool story. I'm considering a Fusion Energi. Oddly it is between a number of cars, one of the other front runners is a Focus ST and a Mercedes CLA. I might want a toy instead of practical.

I would have to break down and add another electrical circuit in the garage if I got the Energi. Can't have an argument over which car gets the plug in at night.

 

[Gigi]

I might want a toy instead of practical.

For me, the Focus Electric is the "toy." A very practical toy, I might add.

I would have to break down and add another electrical circuit in the garage if I got the Energi. Can't have an argument over which car gets the plug in at night.

That's just what I thought before I got the second car. It turns out that we have had no problems sharing one EVSE. Typically, in the evening after work, the Energi charges first. Even if I don't get home until 8:30 p.m., the Energi will charge in 2 hours and then the Electric gets her turn, charging (or finishing the charge my wife started) while we're in bed asleep.

My wife leaves for work before I do, so the Electric is already connected in the morning to power her GO time. After she leaves, I switch the cord to the Energi to power my GO time.

Switching the cord back and forth has gotten to be a routine. If it ever comes to an argument, the Electric wins since the Energi can always get where it needs to go on gas.

I have thought of installing a second EVSE. Our current unit is only 3.8kWh and a 7.2kWh unit would give the Electric faster charges, but 3 or 4 hours versus 5 or 6 hours charging time makes no difference in the middle of the night while we are asleep. For the present, there are higher priorities on my "to do" list and I don't mind being the "plug jockey."

 

[Gigi]

I'm considering a Fusion Energi.

Give it a close look. It's what lured me deeper into the EV world. Here's more: http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1771

 

[michael]

Just about to get a Volt.

 

[Fluke]

I started my addiction with a Volt. My wife quickly annexed the Volt for her use and I got a Focus Electric for my work commute. Then somehow a Tesla Roadster made its way into the garage...

The F-150 in the driveway gets no love now.

 

[Gigi]

The F-150 in the driveway gets no love now.

I still love mine, especially when I've got a load of stuff to haul.

 

[Fluke]

The F-150 in the driveway gets no love now.

I still love mine, especially when I've got a load of stuff to haul.

I love that it is a truck that gets used, when needed, as a truck. I use it for hauling dirt, rocks, mulch, tree limbs or whatever else needs to be moved around. Otherwise, it does not get used.

 

[Gigi]

I love that it is a truck that gets used, when needed, as a truck. I use it for hauling dirt, rocks, mulch, tree limbs or whatever else needs to be moved around. Otherwise, it does not get used.

Yeah, me too. I needed to take my chain saw up to the hardware store to get tuned up. I didn't want a leaky saw in the trunk of one of the cars, so it went in the bed of the truck. 20 miles to the hardware store and back - a part of me was thinking, "This would have cost me only 60¢ in one of the EVs rather than four and a half bucks in the truck, but a trip like that keeps the battery charged, the plugs clean, and doesn't get gas and oil in the back of a car.

I'm in the process of renovating a house, so the pickup really comes in handy. It's a Lariat, with leather, a great audio system with a subwoofer, and all the bells and whistles for its year. I think of what my dad would say about this truck: "Boy, how you gonna hose all the mud and dirt out of that truck when you've got carpet and leather in it?

Having a truck as a backup is great.

 

[v_traveller]

I have thought of installing a second EVSE. Our current unit is only 3.8kWh and a 7.2kWh unit would give the Electric faster charges, but 3 or 4 hours versus 5 or 6 hours charging time makes no difference in the middle of the night while we are asleep. For the present, there are higher priorities on my "to do" list and I don't mind being the "plug jockey."

Plug Jockey... so that's what it's called!

Following your lead, I now have a PHEV+BEV household... two BEVs as of last week, here's the story, along with a fuzzy picture:

http://vinn.myevblog.com/2014/02/22/indoor-plumbing/

...and with and no L2 at home, this Plug Jockey has been spending at least several minutes each night strategizing what to plug where and for how long, while maximizing charging during super-off-peak (12am-6am). Fortunately there are two outlets reachable from the driveway - one in the garage and another on the east side of the garage, each on separate 20A circuits. There is a third outlet on the west side of the house, but I have to run a 100ft extension in front of the house to get to it... used it a few times on the Volt, which has an 8A Level 1 charging mode, but I try to avoid it. It's safe at the lower amperage, but it kinda looks ghetto... one of the neighbors might spot the extension cord strewn across the front steps and give me crap, i.e. ask if I am getting an early start on Christmas lights.

There's a 220v 20A outlet in the garage, and I am close to plunking down $500 for a 16A EVSE... but I'm struggling with whether or not I should upgrade the circuit now to 50A, so the RAV4 EV can be charged full-bore (40A). I'm leaning toward just getting the 16A Clipper Creek for now, then putting in a new 50A circuit for the RAV4 down the road sometime. My wife drives the RAV4 less than 20 miles/day, so I really never need to fully charge that big battery overnight... yet. Any advice would be appreciated.

There is a truck in the fleet, a '07 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Hemi, pretty much for the same reasons y'all have. Anxiously awaiting a decent full-sized plug-in truck, hopefully one hits the market at a reasonable price before the Ram wears out...

 

[Gigi]

Any advice would be appreciated.

It would be an easy stop-gap measure to just use one of those plug-in 16A units on your existing 20A circuit, though neither the FFE nor the RAV4 would be able to charge at their highest rate. I'm doing fine with a 16A unit for our two cars since the longest charge happens while we're sleeping.

You may be better off to just bite the bullet and install or have installed the 50A circuit and get a unit that will handle the RAV4. For the number of miles your wife is driving, it will take less than an hour to charge the RAV4 making way for one of your other cars. The Volt is going to take 4 hours to charge whether you are on a 16A unit or a 40A unit. The FFE can charge at its full rate on the 40A unit and get out of the way for another vehicle quicker than on a 16A unit, though if you are driving the FFE the most miles, it's likely to be the one charging overnight.

I would want to get away from 120V charging. It's inefficient, it takes a dreadfully long time, and it sounds like in your situation you end up with wires strewn everywhere. If I were starting from scratch with your stable of vehicles, I'd install a new 50A circuit and the 40A unit first. If you find that you can get two of the cars charged in the evening and the third one plugged in before going to bed, you're good. If that doesn't work, you could get a 16A unit for the Volt and use it on the existing 20A circuit. That way, whichever car finishes charging first in the evening can give up its plug for the third one and you'll have three fully charged cars by morning. With the 40A unit, you'll be able to get the quickest charge possible on the RAV4 or FFE in case you need a vehicle to get somewhere and the Volt isn't available.

You're a better plug jockey than I with three EV/PHEV cars in your stable. Charging is more complicated than just going to the gas station, but I think the effort is worth it.

 

[michael]

If you've got three EVs...

1. I'm envious. Hope to get in that position eventually
2. You really should put in 220 circuits and ease the charging situation.

When I installed my fixed 6 KW EVSE, I also installed a 30 A 220 outlet with the idea that I could, when necessary, charge a second car simultaneously using a portable 220 EVSE. I now have a Turbocord and can do so.

Tomorrow hoping to close the deal on a Volt, so I'll be 2/3 to way to your arrangement....

 

[v_traveller]

Thanks Gigi and michael! Read your post yesterday afternoon ... Needed that kick in the butt from you all to stop hemming and hawing on whether to go 16A or 50A and just make a decision... bottom line is I'm taking your collective advice, I need two L2s, so I'm going forward with doing a 16A plug-in EVSE right now, then getting the 50A as soon as I figure out how to add it (either on the existing service, or on a new dedicated EV meter to get the super-off-peak rates 24/7 instead of just between 12am and 6am). Right now leaning toward doing the WattsUp setup - modify a Clipper Creek hardwire into a plug-in - because I need the extra 5 ft of cord it has over the Turbocord (25ft vs 20ft) to reach all 3 vehicles without having to shuffle them around on the driveway. If not, I will do the Turbocord. Will decide by Monday.

 

[jcjj]

Have been an EREV + EV household for over a year now and am loving it!
Only have one EVSE, so have been doing the plug hockey thing every night. We charge the vehicle with less miles driven that day first, then plug the other in and have EVSE programmed for 1-5am automatic charging.

FFE has over 10k miles.
Volt has close to 13k miles and only used 22 gallons of gas (made several trips from SD to LA).

Thinking of Fusion Energi when Volt lease is up at the end of this year. Would be nice to have a 5 seater that is a PHEV.

 

[michael]

Happy to report I've just added a Volt to the fleet. Together with the FFE I can easily handle any reasonably expected combination of tasks my wife and I will face, and in almost every case without any gasoline.

 

[v_traveller]

Awesome, michael!!! Which dealer did you end up getting it from?

I wonder what percentage of plug-in sales this year are going to be due to repeat offenders like us...

 

[michael]

Keyes in Van Nuys. Dealt directly with the sales manager, gave me a firm no hassle price lower than anything I could get elsewhere. In-and-out in two hours including briefing by saleswoman on the car's features. Highly recommended. They mailed me my green stickers already.

The Volt works fine for me. I make my daily 38-mile-each-way commute on electricity alone (charging at work). I drove to Palmdale yesterday from West LA. Made first 30 mile on electric (due to climb) and then switched to gas. Used 0.8 gallons going up and 1.0 gallons returning (on gas alone, no charging available but downhill). 120 mile trip on 1.8 gallons...not bad.

I still like the FFE better, but the Volt is also very good. I'm using the Volt for a little while to check it out and reduce the miles on the FFE (overdriving the lease) but in general I'll drive the FFE and my wife the Volt.

 

[Gigi]

Happy to report I've just added a Volt to the fleet. Together with the FFE I can easily handle any reasonably expected combination of tasks my wife and I will face, and in almost every case without any gasoline.

That's what I have been working on. Yesterday, my wife was home from work and I had a day that would have required burning gas in the Fusion Energi. I left the Energi with her for running to the store and I took the FFE for a set of trips that got me home with 7 miles left on the battery, maximizing our EV miles and burning no gas for the day. We try to organize our days for minimizing gas usage as often as we can. Having an EV and a PHEV and a willingness to trade cars back and forth gives us all kinds of options.

I think the Volt is a neat car, especially the ability to go 40 miles in EV. We often have 5 of us going places together, so that eliminated the Volt from our consideration. Congratulations on your new car!

 

[Gigi]

Have been an EREV + EV household for over a year now and am loving it!

Thinking of Fusion Energi when Volt lease is up at the end of this year. Would be nice to have a 5 seater that is a PHEV.

I really like our Fusion Energi. Being able to pile five adults in the car to go somewhere fits our family size. Since I can charge at work, the 21 mile range works for me just fine most days.

 

[Gigi]

It has been more than a month since I've been to the gas station in the Energi - February 4th to be exact. The car has traveled more than 1,000 miles and the trip odometer shows that it has used 7.25 gallons of gasoline - about half of that on some really cold days in February when my wife didn't want to have to worry about range in the FFE and used the Energi for her 54 mile RT commute.

At this point, I expect that I won't stop at a gas station until the beginning of next month before going out of town on a trip. Since I was 16, I have never gone a whole month without buying gasoline until now.

Our fuel cost for about 2,200 miles per month in our former daily drivers, an Odyssey and an F-150, was about $440. The past month, we've used $23 of gas and I estimate about $60 of electricity. What a difference!