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If our rates go from 3 cents to 15 cents per kWh by the time we go to sell our home, there is no doubt our solar will add value to the house (even if it is ~20 years old by then). To that point, I'm switching to a 12.5 cent per kWh plan from March through September. During those months, we...

I'd add that governments pick winners & losers based on an agenda for what they believe will be embraced by their voters. Responsible decisions seem to take a back seat to the perception of being responsible. That surprise $1.36B settlement our government was forced to pay to electricity...

I have no doubt that if you were looking to buy a house in my area, my 9.2 kW of solar would be a big selling feature of the home, and (based on your posts) you'd recognize the value of lower electricity bills, and intangibles like the house being aligned with your environmental goals. From...

I think it's important for governments and constituents to have clear, and measurable goals, and an understanding how they reach those goals before transitioning a power plant from feedstock X to feedstock Y. Our government considers themselves the "leaders" in the fight against climate...

Another fair question: What is the extent of the environmental impact of suddenly scrapping 100's of thousands of cars, causing the demand to manufacture & sell 100's of thousands of cars to replace them? While a lot of us made a quick financial gain, Mother Nature lost big time.

Guess I should have read his post again...around our parts, "forever home" loosely translates into empty nesters downsizing into retirement. He did solar once, and figured the savings / payback didn't justify doing it again. Perhaps I read too much into it.

Read his post again. When you're retired, making a big investment in solar may not be the one of the smartest financial moves you can make. Personally, I'd rather use that money to enjoy the rest of my years instead of putting it on the roof. I totally get where he's coming from.

Stay tuned. Years ago, there was no business case for manufacturers to install expensive battery / regenerative braking systems to make cars more efficient. MPG (especially with diesels) was "good enough". Putting advanced tech like that into a TDI would have put too large a price premium...

^^This. Cost per watt is only the beginning of the conversation. I'm in the same boat, and not sure that we'd do it again either. Our solar *might* pay for itself given another 15 year or so, but given that my price per kWh has dropped from $0.08 down to about $0.03 - getting our full ROI...

Just curious, how did you search / find that car? I've done searches on several car sales sites using keywords such as "replaced battery" or "new battery" and still had to sift through dozens of cars without finding and old car with a new battery.

That's the part I have trouble getting past. The offer he made on the B is reasonable. Aside from range, every used EV in the ~$20-25K range feels like a downgrade. I don't really want to go the PHEV route (Volt, or facsimiles). The 150 EPA miles a the new Leaf SL would suit me fine...

A client of mine really likes my B250e and made me a surprise offer for it...about $5000 less than I paid. At first, I considered it a pretty solid offer and my car-guy juices started flowing again and I've been shopping around for EV's. Trouble is, 1.5 years, and 19,000 miles later - I still...

As an example of serviceability, I had an oops my first winter with the EV. I didn't realize that the washer fluid that shipped with the car wasn't rated down to -30C - until the hose that feeds the rear window froze, and had to be replaced. My local Mercedes dealership had no problem taking...

Well, I suppose it depends on how long you intend to own the EV. My Audi A4 costed me ~$25,000 in gasoline, oil services, brakes, fuel pump, water pump, timing chain, etc, (stuff that wouldn't apply to my EV) over the course of 100,000 miles. If I'm able to put 100,000 miles on my EV, and...

You sound like me about six months before I bought my EV :) You're correct to weigh the advantages offuel savings against the risks of non-existent serviceability in your area (I did). I'm quite sure that I have the only Mercedes B250e within 1000 miles of where I live. There is also a zero...

Fair enough. No doubt liability / who pays for damages caused by automation failure is another kettle of fish. Aside from that, if Autopilot technology can significantly reduce the risk of an accident; then I'm all for it. I'm just saying that expecting Autopilot technology to be 100%...

Except that those who embrace, oppose, or are indifferent to the technology expect it to be 100% perfect, all of the time. When an incident with automated driving does happen, it's big news. The YouTube video gets posted, tweeted, and forwarded everywhere - and the general takeaway is "this...

I'd agree with that assessment, though I do think that autonomous driving would / will cause the number of accidents to drop overall. Humans take risks like blowing through stop signs, running red lights, and getting loaded on NYE then getting behind the wheel. Machines don't.

My neighbor had a brand new 2009 X5 that constantly ran down the battery because of this. BMW's service reps told him this was "normal" and he had to store the key somewhere else in the house farther away from the vehicle. Who knew the BMW comfort access option also helps you get more daily...

It's a scenario that I think is fair but clearly others do not. Until that happens, I'll sign up for the most expensive price per kWh plan I can find from April - September; then revert back to spot price plan from October - March. That's not my first choice, but so be it.