Waze mirrored to the nav alone makes CarPlay awesome. The integration with iMessage is also a plus. But I use mine almost exclusively to mirror Waze.

Are you asking how we would provide chargers for public parking on the side of streets? Because that solution already exists. You can mount L2 chargers right on utility poles. It’s fairly easy, since you have a direct line to 240V at whatever amperage you want to provide for the chargers. There has already been a trial in Melrose, in Seattle, in LA, and in Europe.

We already have the technology there, and the engineering challenges are trivial. It’s just a matter of public investment.

And if you’re instead asking how 7 EVs parked in a triple decker would charge right now, I would note that nobody is forcing anyone to buy a BEV right now. We’re at the early adoption phase, and building out charging networks like this is a goal of both federal and state governments including with funding provided from the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Well, first of all the odds of everyone charging all 7 cars at the same exact time are fairly low. With my Ioniq 5, I don’t even charge daily. It’s more like every 2-3 days. And with a relatively low amperage charger (32A), it’s only charging for 4-5 hour increments typically.

They also make chargers that network with others for load sharing. My Juicebox 32 can be paired with other ones to ensure that the load is below a certain threshold. So if I have 2 cars and set my current limit to 32A, it will deliver 16A to each car instead of 32.

So to answer your question, you would maybe have 1 charger for each level of the triple decker. Maybe even two for each. You could have each on its own 40A 240V circuit. Or you could place multiple on the same 240V circuit with load sharing enabled.

And if you’re going to ask how a triple decker can have 3 40A 240V circuits operating at the same time, I would note that it’s not unusual for each unit to have its own service and meter, with each meter having its own panel with similar circuits such as heat pumps, electric ranges, baseboard heat, and dryers operating at the same time.

I guess you can stop waiting?

I have nothing but good things to say about the car. I ended up getting the RWD SE model, so it lacks some of the fancy stuff at higher trims. It handled fine in the limited amount of snow we’ve gotten this past winter, and the range increase of RWD vs AWD is something to consider. Still, it’s admittedly an expensive car even at its RWD base trim models. If you meet income requirements for the federal tax credit, it’s important to note that the I5 does not qualify for the federal tax credit due to the 2023 models being manufactured in Korea. They have plans to start manufacturing them in the US, but my understanding is that they’re at least a couple of years away from that.

Some owners of the 2022 model have reported 12V battery issues around the 1 year mark, possibly from faulty ICCUs, possibly from excessive drain from third party apps “waking” the car to harvest data (one possible source has been speculated as utilities on reduced rate programs retrieving updates from the car hundreds to thousands times a day). Hyundai has supposedly fixed the early ICCU issues and just released a patch that prevents third parties from pinging the car so much, but it remains to be seen if later models will have 12V issues at the same frequency.

Competitors would be VW’s ID.4, Tesla’s Model Y, and Ford’s Mustang Mach E. I believe all of those are also pretty well reviewed, and some (if not all) would get the federal tax rebate. If you don’t qualify for the federal tax rebate anyway due to the income cap, then the I5 is more competitive in price. All EVs do qualify for a $3500 rebate through MA’s EV-mor program (no income or manufacturing origin requirements), and I was able to get that without any issues.

Oh, and just to add some insight on superchargers: Tesla has already started rolling out the magic dock upgrade to their chargers that enable CCS charging. But the I5 has had some issues due to the higher voltage architecture (800V versus 400V of Tesla). Those issues are supposedly being patched soon by Tesla, but as of now, the I5 only charges at reduced power at the few superchargers with magic docks.

Yeah, EV charging infrastructure needs work, but that article is sort of hilarious in the lack of preparation of taking a road trip in an EV. They leave for a fairly long road trip at 48% (first mistake). They don’t plan their route at all for L3 chargers nor take the time to actually click on the EA charger that’s “coming soon” (second mistake). Then they end up having trouble at an L2 station because they didn’t update the app on their phone (entirely a user issue).

There are third party apps for finding chargers (like PlugShare), and most EV owners understand that route planning based on chargers is required at this stage of adoption.

We are still in the early adoption phase of EVs, and I don’t blame on people not wanting to make the leap right now. I own an Ioniq 5 myself, but I’m not ready to take it on certain road trips (I mentioned in another post that NH is a fast charging desert). But the driving experience of the I5 is so far ahead of an ICE. I hate driving our Subaru during those few long road trips we make a year.

And there really isn’t an issue with standards per se. I hear this complaint/concern a lot, but there is basically one standard (CCS) that almost all automakers other than Tesla uses. Tesla has their own proprietary standard, and always has, but they’re opening up their superchargers to CCS vehicles. There’s chademo too, but that’s sort of an abandoned Japanese standard that never really took off here. The Nissan Leaf is pretty much the only vehicle that I’m aware of that is still manufactured with chademo L3 charging. L2 is the same, J-1772, across all manufacturers except Tesla which sells/includes a J-1772 adapter for their vehicles.

Hey, glad to see that your ban has been reversed and you’re back to posting here.

I own a CCS EV myself, and I haven’t yet tried to charge at a L3. I have an L2 at home that pretty much meets all of my charging needs. But taking my EV on the road does give me a lot of pause. Not really in MA, which does have a relatively extensive charging network (even if some are overpriced or nonfunctional, I feel I could find an L3 in a pinch). But places like NH are complete EV charging deserts. There are pretty much no charging options in the lakes or white mountain regions at all.

Did the reporting get any comments from state politicians on any plans to lower the costs of both EV charging/investment and lowering the cost of electricity in general in MA? I feel like electricity costs in NE are more of a pressing issue than EV charging, and I really haven’t heard any solutions being discussed considering how pressing the issue is for most residents.

The 30 day rule is the dumbest thing that I learned during this entire story. You shouldn’t have to register a car here unless you live here for a majority of the year. It should be a 183 day rule, not a 30 day rule. For fucks sake.

Musk first teased it in March of 2019, which was 4 years ago bud.

Ah yes, the elusive cybertruck. Announced 4 years ago and discussed conceptually for 10 years, yet still not in production. Just like “full self driving”, it’s always due to arrive within the next year.

I just bought an EV a couple of months ago, and I reached out to Tesla just out of curiosity. They were low on my list for a few reasons, but they were lowering prices and offering deals for the M3. Wait times (if any) are under a month unless you’re trying to buy a model x. Seeing as that’s a $100k car, I can’t imagine it has that many people actually waiting for a model x.

Kim’s looking like he’s ready to throw that hat at James Bond.

Wachusett has its really dedicated fans who will fervently defend the mountain. They show up often on icecoast posts. But I agree: it’s generally pretty pricey for beginners and gets very boring at advanced intermediate level. They groom 99% of the mountain, so natural and challenging terrain is pretty much nonexistent for skilled skiers.

What they have going for them is proximity to the greater Boston area, decent night skiing coverage, and pretty impressive snow making.

I hate the new 4 hour blocks too. I’ve only been there maybe 3 times since COVID despite the fact that I have two young kids learning to ski. You’d think this would be Wachusett’s wheelhouse. But the mountain is always incredibly crowded and at times feels unsafe and lessons are shorter.

I’ve instead taken the kids mostly to Pat’s peak. The extra hour drive is usually worth it for their kids ski school program alone.

I had USAA comprehensive for years. They’ll cover it. Just tell them that it happened during your coverage or you’re not sure when. They’ll send you to safelite, who will fix it with no money out of pocket and no increase in premiums.

They might not even replace the windshield. I just got a chip in my new car’s windshield the first week I owned it, and safelite simply filled it.

Let me tell you a little secret when it comes to college: for the most part, nobody gives a shit what college you got your undergrad at. If you like the school and it fits your budget, don’t get hung up on whether or not it’s more prestigious than another school.

I did my undergrad at WPI, and I finished with a huge amount of college debt that took over 15 years to pay off. I don’t regret it, but I probably wouldn’t do it again in hindsight. Because when it comes down to it, I would have probably had the same exact job whether I earned my degree at WPI versus a much cheaper public university.

My understanding is that CarMax offers some of the best prices for a used car. I think the only way that you’ll do better is if you list it privately. You’ll have to decide if the difference in price is worth the hassle of listing it, showing it, and going through a private sale.

That said, if you’re buying a new car and don’t want to sell the old one privately, trading it in at the dealership where you’re buying the new car might work out best mathematically. That’s because the sale price, which the car is taxed at, is reduced by the trade-in value of the car that you’re trading in.

So if you buy a car for $30,000, trade in at CarMax for $5000, you’ll pay $30k x 7% ($2100) in taxes. But if the dealership gives you a comparable trade in value for the new car, you’ll pay $25k x 7% ($1750) in taxes. So unless carmax offers $350 more in this hypothetical example, you’ll ultimately end up better rolling in the trade value of the old car into the new car’s purchase.

FIOS finally came to my neighborhood, and I was so happy to finally rid myself of Comcast for good (I cut the cord on TV nearly a decade ago).

Be prepared for an hour long process on the phone/chat, where they’ll try to salvage the result of their long term abusive relationship by escalating the cancellation request multiple times, offering uncompetitive plans with temporary rates, and trying to get you to sign up for more services, including cell phone bundling, when you’re just trying to cancel their shitty service that you’ve been stuck with for so long.

Oh, and they’ll start cold calling you repeatedly to try and get you back once it’s finally cancelled.

I mean, they just groom it all down there anyway 🤷‍♂️ . It will be in the same exact state tomorrow as it is today.

I paid $16k for a 1500 sq ft house back in 2016. It’s an LG system, probably not as efficient at temps below around 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit, but it works just fine for heat most of the time.

No problem. If you plan on charging off peak regardless, it might be worth it for you to go through that process, as the model Y does qualify for it. You’d have to do the math, figure out how much you’d be saving, and determine whether it’s worth the time and convenience.

Dude, $1000/month is insane.

I have an induction range, electric dryer, an EV, and a heat pump system that was installed in 2016 that has been heating my 2000 sq ft house all winter. December and January’s bills were ~$370. I do have solar, but those panels really don’t produce a lot in the winter. I think I had slightly under 400 kWhrs for my 6kW system for December. I have an oil boiler also for hot water that I’ve been forgoing for heat this year due to oil prices.

I would target your insulation and windows first and foremost, assuming your costs are coming from heating primarily, and you’re not running crypto mining rigs or grow lamps 24/7. If you have bad insulation/windows, you’re literally just burning away your money as heat leaks out of your house. If it’s an old house with old windows, there might not be any insulation in the walls at all, and single-pane windows are very drafty and inefficient.

A heat pump upgrade might be next on the list. I’d really question that estimate. Mine was $16k (ductless mini split, 4 zones) when it was installed in ‘16.

I’m kind of thinking you might have municipal power since you’re not eligible for MassSave. If that’s the case, you might be out of luck with switching suppliers (I’m not sure how muni electricity works). If you can switch suppliers, that’s something that you can do right now to potentially reduce your electricity bill by a large amount. If your town has a community aggregate supplier, you definitely want to sign up for that.

I would put solar at the bottom of the list. Solar’s great; I have a 6 kW system myself. But what you produce in the winter is not going to come close to substantial offsetting a bill like that. For $1000, I would guess that your consumption is around 2-3 MWhrs or more. Like I said, my 6 kW system produces a measly 300-500 kWhrs during winter months.

Finally, with bills like that, it might even warrant a call to your electric company to see what’s going on, and to make sure that you don’t have a faulty meter or are a victim of electricity theft. You could flip off your breaker and observe the meter. If it’s still moving with the master breaker off, something shady is going on.

It really depends. I’m fortunate to have a community aggregate program, and after doing the actual math, oil needs to be below $3/gal for it to be cheaper than running the heat pump on my current electricity rates. Right now, it’s going for roughly $4/gal, so it’s not even close.

My heat pump isn’t new, but it’s not old either (installed in 2016). It’s a power hog under ~20F, but I think it’s still cheaper than burning oil at these rates.

The only EV rebate from MA is MOR-EV linked above. If you have National Grid electric and charge from home, they also have a marginal discount for charging off-peak (something like -$0.03/kWhr charging off peak). My car (I5) and my charger aren’t eligible, so I have no experience with this new program, though. I used their similar “smart connect” pilot program with my Prius, and honestly the discount wasn’t really worth the inconvenience of setting up specific charge times and enrolling in the program. It’s like $5 off an electric bill per month max.

There is MA’s mor-EV rebate. The model Y qualifies for a $3500 rebate, which is not related to what you pay in taxes. https://mor-ev.org

I’m in MA, so it might be a little different. But “transmission” is typically from the power generation station to the substation (the definition of “transmission” in power systems). “Distribution” is typically from substation to your house. So they might sound the same, but they are for different things.

Its sort of confusing that they separate your charges into different fees like that, but I’m assuming the transparency in fee structure has to do with it being a regulated utility.

Perfect for doing your legal work and meeting with your attorneys.