Gas Companies Give Up on Hydrogen

We have discussed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles here many times. The technology fails the basic tests for first principals analysis.

If seems that the oil companies have come to the same conclusion. Hydrogen will not be the fuel of the future.

"Chevron, Exxon, Shell and BP have all backed out of the Fuel Cell Partnership, a joint government-industry group that promotes hydrogen cars."

EV Charging Tips and Tricks

In an earlier post, we covered the basics of public EV charging. That article covered the types of charge ports, charging networks, and how to find public charging spots. In this post, we'll dive into the next stage of EV charging in the wild.

Public charging infrastructure is an all too rare commodity. When you are charging at a public station, the first rule is to be considerate of your fellow plug-in vehicle drivers. You must understand that you are in a shared space and you should be careful not to abuse it.

Don't be an ICEhole (or an EVhole)

If you want to upset the EV community, just park in a charging spot and don't plug in. If you park an internal combustion engine (ICE) car in a charging spot, you are an ICEhole. Similarly, if you are driving an EV and 'forget' to plug in, wait hours after the car is full before you move it, or otherwise abuse this precious commodity, then you may be labeled an EVhole. There are facebook pages dedicated to shaming ICEholes and EVholes.

Tesla community was outraged after Model X spotted occupying three Supercharger stalls

To avoid appearing on these pages, only park in charging spots when you are actively charging.

If you are charging for less than 30 minutes, try to stay with your car so you can unplug and move along quickly to free up that space for someone else.

If you do need to leave the vehicle, put an EV Card on the dash. This will let people know if they can unplug your car or not and how to contact you if they need you to move your car. Be a part of the community.

Lagom Charging Method

When you take a gas powered car to the gas station, you are likely to fill'er-up. EV charging is a different paradigm. When you are charging at home, there is no one waiting for your charging spot and you are in your home, eating dinner, sleeping, and doing whatever else it is that you do. When you are charging in a public charging station, it's not like a gas station, your goal is not to fill'er up. Instead, your goal should be "Lagom".

Lagom is a Swedish word that means "just the right amount". The Lagom charging method means, when you are at a public charging station, that you charge enough to get to your next destination plus a little extra cushion so you can get there comfortably if you have to take a detour. This has multiple advantages. EVs charge slower as the batteries approach full. If you don't need the range, there is no need to tolerate the slower rate. This means that you are not spending more of your time parked than you need to. It means that you clear up the spot for someone else.

Know Where Your Next Outlet Is

If your next destination is home, you know you have a place to charge waiting for you. However, if your next stop is another public charging spot, well, some of them are more reliable than others. After you have been using public charging for awhile, you learn which stations are more likely to be busted. You don't want to learn this by pulling up to a station just as your battery hits E to find it broken down.

To help avoid this, use the PlugShare smartphone app and look at the recent check-ins. If the station was successfully used recently, it is likely working fine.

Some places, like Electric Avenue, have multiple charging stations. If one is out-of-order, or occupied, you can just go to the next stall and charge up there. However, if the place you are heading is not your house and it only has one fast charger, you'll want to have a plan B. So even if you are Lagom charging, make sure you have enough to get to a plan B charging location.

And now that you have PlugShare on your phone, when you are charging up, be sure to check-in and let others know the state of the charging station you're using.

The 14th Amendment for Charging 

All plug-in vehicles have the right to use the plug-in infrastructure. You may occasionally find someone that thinks that you should move your car because they deserve it more than you. Like the image on the right, they think that a plug-in hybrid should move for a battery electric, or that a long range EV, like a Tesla, should move for a shorter range EV.

I disagree with this idea. If you have a car that plugs in and you joined the charging network, you have a right to use the network. If you have a plug-in hybrid, but you prefer to charge up and drive on electricity, rather than gas, you have the right to charge up.

Now, if you are in a plug-in hybrid and someone in an EV asks you nicely to let them charge up because they need to charge up to get home, feel free to let them have the spot. But don't think you have to move because they have more of a right to it than you do.

Don't Be Entitled 

If you are driving an EV, you are not single-handedly saving the world. Yes, you are doing a good thing but this does not entitle you to park in ADA access ramp zones.

Illegally parked EV

Occasionally, you might need to get creative to find a way to charge up. When you do, make sure you are not creating a menace. If you have to park unusually, make sure you do it without blocking foot-traffic. If you have to run an extension cord, make sure you don't create a tripping hazard. If the extension cord has to cross a sidewalk, make sure you have a non-slip safety rug to lay over it. You can pick one up at Home Depot for less than $10.

Wrap-up 

Part 1 talked about joining a network and finding charging stations. In this, part 2 post, we covered being a positive part of the EV community. I hope you found this useful. If you know someone that has recently joined our EV community, please share this with them.

How Model 3 Success Forced Tesla to Buy SolarCity Now

Tesla Model 3 via Motor Trend

Elon Musk has made it clear that Tesla's mission is "to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport." Notice that it's not just "sell Tesla vehicles" or even "sell electric cars".  Sustainable is the keyword in this sentence. Sustainable transportation must to be fueled by renewable energy.*

The overwhelming success of the Tesla Model 3 launch was a surprise to all but the most optimistic fans. Tesla received about 380,000 preorders in the first week, whereas they expected only one quarter as many. When electric vehicles breakout, go viral, hit the tipping-point,... it is important that they are fueled by renewable energy.

As we have discussed before, solar energy and electric vehicles have a large overlap in customers. People buying electric cars today are the perfect potential solar customers. These are the conantur, the matutine cognitia. They see what is coming and they want to be part of the solution. Many of them own their own homes. Meaning that in addition to a garage (with a charging station), they also have a roof. Additionally, these are people in the new car market, so many of them have the income, or means, to consider other products such as Powerwall or solar.

Awareness, will, and means results in action. In this case, that action is to buy and EV and fuel it with solar energy generated from their own roofs.

           

Awareness, will, and means results in action.

The move to buy SolarCity has been decried by many reservation holders as a distraction from all the work that must be done to bring the Model 3 to market. If Tesla had planned on the their next generation of vehicles to be their mainstream breakout car, then they could have waited to start selling renewable energy, but it appears that Model 3 is the start of the hockey stick curve.

This means that Tesla has to be able to offer solar to people as they order and become Model 3 drivers. If Tesla cannot offer this service, then they are not delivering on the sustainable transport mission that they have had since founding the company. Or if they wait a year after Model 3 is shipping, that is hundreds of thousands of potential solar customers that they let slip past. And it is not just the number of people. These are exactly the people that are the right people to inspire their friends, family, and neighbors. These are the people that ordered a Model 3 before they ever touched one, sat in it, or drove it. They are the early adopters and their enthusiasm will inspire the early majority.

Before they ever delivered their first car, this was the vision. If it disappoints you that they are taking steps to fulfill it, then you don't understand Tesla's vision, goals, or mission.

* You could argue that nuclear is sustainable and CO2-free (Pandora's Promise), but let's not get off-topic. 

Tesla Buying SolarCity Advances Civilization Along The Kardashev Scale

Back in 2014, we wrote that Tesla and SolarCity were a natural fit. One is a clean electricity producer, the other uses energy to get us where we'd like to go. And all the better that the energy should come from a renewable source.

That same energy storage technology that moves Tesla's cars can be used to store energy for the grid. Tesla's Gigafactory promises to make these batteries more affordable than they have ever been before. Energy storage would allow energy to be tapped at a moment's notice, without waiting for generators to spin up. Affordable grid-level energy storage is what's needed to bring energy from the analog era into the digital era.

           

Affordable industrial-scale batteries will make energy "digital".

Large-scale energy storage will be a massive disruption. It will change how we produce and use energy. You might say, "So what? As long as I can flip a switch and turn on the lights, what does it matter?"

When energy can be stored, it becomes orders of magnitude more scalable. The grid that we have today is an engineering marvel. It, however, depends on a real-time match of supply and demand. This requires spinning reserves and peaker plants... This real-time match requirement is a significant constraint on the grid. Removing this constraint allows for new grid architectures, better reliability, and levels of innovation in energy that we haven't seen since Edison and Tesla fought the War of the Currents.

Briefly, one variant of the Kardashev Scale measures a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy a civilization is able to utilize. Humankind's command of energy has moved from fire, to gunpowder, dynamite, whale oil, to fossil fuels and nuclear; and now we are on the cusp of becoming a renewably powered civilization.

           

The combination of Tesla and SolarCity moves civilization one small step along the Kardashev Scale.


Imagine batteries that are charged by solar during the day and then discharged at night. When the morning sun comes up, any surplus energy left in the batteries is transferred west, to run from the rising sun and power regions that are still in the dark. With energy storage, it is possible to move energy around where and when it is needed: vehicle to grid, storage to home, storage to vehicle, peer-to-peer energy exchange... new use cases are waiting to be discovered.

How to Charge an Electric Car (EV)

Welcome to EV Charging 101: A Public EV Charging How To 

Electric vehicle ownership is continuing to grow. 1 Million plug-in cars were on the world's roads as of 2015. Plug In America estimates that there are currently nearly half a million plug-in cars on US roadways. The upcoming Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt will continue this trend and we are likely to see 1 million PEVs on US roads during 2018. With all of these EV sales, there will be many new owners that have never used public charging infrastructure.

When you are charging at home it is as easy as: open the charging port, plug in, and smile. Dealing with public infrastructure can be a little more difficult. This article is intended to educate plug-in vehicle owners, newbies and veterans alike, about plugging in when you are out and about.

If you want to charge at a charging stations in the wild, there are a few things that you'll need to know: the type of charging station, where to find it, what (if any) membership card you'll need to access it.

Know Your Car's Charging Port(s)

This all starts by knowing what kind of connector(s) your car has. The types of ports will determine what types of charging stations you can use. Unfortunately, there is not one unified connector for all EVs. There are connectors for AC, connectors for DC fast charging, and some that can do both.

For AC charging, modern EVs use the J1772 (jay-seventeen-seventy-two) plug. This port is standard on most EVs. The big exception is Tesla, they have a proprietary inlet port, but they have a J1772 adapter. Many of the public charging stations are J1772.

SAE J1772 Plug and socket/inlet

Depending on the power source and your vehicle, these give you from 5 miles to 30 miles of range per hour that you are plugged into them. These types of charging stations are good for overnight charging and workplace charging where the vehicle will be parked for several hours, but they are not generally useful for a cross country trek.

For long distance drives, you need DC Fast Charging (DCFC). Depending on the station and your car, these can get you from 80 miles of range per hour up to 170 miles of range per hour. There are three primary types of DCFC: CHAdeMO, SAE Combined Charging Standard (CCS), and Tesla Superchargers.

CHAdeMO (left) and CCS (right)

CHAdeMO is generally supported by Japanese manufacturers such as Nissan, Kia, and Mitsubishi.
CCS is generally supported by German and US manufacturers such as BMW, VW, GM, and Ford.
Tesla Model S/X vehicles, of course, use the Tesla Superchargers. You can also buy an adapter to allow a Tesla to charge at CHAdeMO stations and Tesla has promised a CCS adapter soon.

You need to know which type (if any) of DC fast charging your vehicle supports. For some make/models, the base package does not include DC fast charging and plug-in hybrids usually don't have a DCFC option.

There are some charging stations that support both CHAdeMO and CCS. It is important that you know which DCFC your vehicle supports. If you coast up to the wrong one with a flat battery, it will not be able to charge your car.

Know Your Networks

There are multiple EV charging networks. You need to know which one(s) are in your travel realms and which one(s) work with your car.

Here are a some of the more common networks: Aerovironment, Blink, ChargePoint, nrg, and Tesla.

Charging Station Membership Cards

Tesla charging is a special case; we'll come back to them. Let's look at the others first. These networks require membership to access them. Find out which ones are in your area (more on this in the next section) and join those networks.

Tesla has two charging networks. The first is the Supercharger network, these are fast charge stations that can supply up to 170 miles of range in 30 minutes. No membership is required, other than owning a Tesla. These stations only work with post-Roadster Tesla vehicles (i.e., Model S, Model X, and soon Model 3). The second Tesla network is the Destination Charging network. These are generally at hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. They often include both Tesla wall chargers and Level 2 J1772 from other vendors. These may or may not be free. Hotel sites, for example, may only allow guests to use these stations.

Where Are The Charging Stations?

Here we are in step three. In step one, you figured out what types of charging stations your car supports. In step two, you joined your local (or planned travel route) charging networks. Now, to find the stations.

Some EVs have charging station locations in their nav system. This is handy but it may not include real-time availability information. Unless you have an internet connected car (like a Tesla), then you'll need to use a smartphone app like PlugShare for real-time info.

When you are planning a trip and you know you'll need to make a charging stop, it is very helpful to look these stations up on PlugShare see if they have been used recently and what, if any, notes others have left. These checks and notes are very useful. They will let you know if a station has been used recently and if it is operational. If it is down, you can make other plans.

Tip: when possible, go to a "charging cluster" such as Electric Avenue. Clusters have multiple charging stations. If one of the stations is non-operational or occupied, you can just pull into another stall.

Guerrilla Charging 

Occasionally, you may be traveling to regions that apparently have never heard of electric vehicles. Even in these areas, you may be able to charge with little or no problems. With the right adapter, nearly any electric outlet will do.

Guerrilla EV charging kit

Nearly any US campground with RV hook-up spots will have NEMA 14-50 outlets. These are 240V outlets and will get you 25 to 30 miles of range for each hour that you're plugged in there. In is not the 150 MPH of a DCFC, but if you only need another 50 miles to get to your destination, it can be a nice stop to explore a part of the world you would have previously just driven through.

Depending on how long you are planning on plugging in, many of these locations will allow you to charge for a small fee, whereas others may require you to pay the full overnight space fee. Be charming (not entitled) and you might be surprised that people can be very friendly. An EV is still a novelty and conversation starter in many places.

If you plan on stopping at a BNB on your EV trek, call ahead and ask about plugging in. A simple 120V outlet can provide you with 50 miles of range when plugged in for a 10 hour overnight stay. If you are lucky, they may even have a 240V dryer outlet that you could use to charge even faster.

Wrap Up

There you have the basics and a couple advanced tips. Find the follow up with EV charging tips and tricks here. I'll even explain what that green card below is all about. If you have any related questions, leave a comment below and I'll try to help.

Tesla Model 3 Will Have Half The Battery Cells Of Model S [Updated]

18650 compared to a 20700, both 3D printed. 1:18th Scale Diecast Model S for scale - photo via Aaron Cocker 

Back in May, I wrote a story that said the Tesla Model 3 would have half the number of battery cells of the Tesla Model S. This was based on many assumptions. Some of these assumptions have now been clarified.

During the 2016 Annual Shareholder Meeting, at the 1 hour, 48 minute mark, Elon Musk and JB Straubel talk about the motivations to build the Gigafactory and the innovations that they are putting into both the batteries and the factory itself.

Elon Musk confirmed that the battery cells made at the Gigafactory will be bigger than the standard 18650. He also gave a precise size. Tesla's battery will be 20mm in diameter and 70mm in height. The 18650 is so named because it is 18 mm in diameter by 65 mm height. Using the same naming convention, the new Tesla battery cell would be a 20700 battery cell.

18650 compared to 20700 via Seeking Alpha

This new cell will have 33% more volume than the old cell.

Elon clarified that Tesla does not use commodity laptop 18650 cells. They have been using cells specifically designed for their needs for some time now. It just so happens that they have continued to package these in the same 18650 form factor.

This change in size to 20700 was based on a first principles analysis. This new size allows for increased energy per cell while still allowing for thermal management and fire control within the pack.

On a related note, Quartz reports that Tesla has hired Jeff Dahn, a leading battery researcher who teaches at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Dahn is tasked with doing “whatever it takes” to improve the company’s battery performance.

        

Tesla Model 3 will use a larger 20700 cell with a better chemistry than the current Model S.

JB has previously stated that the Model 3 battery will be "next generation." Battery cells have been improving about 5 to 7 percent each year. Compounded over several years, this adds up.

How Many Cells?

The original article assumed the new cell would be 20% bigger in each dimension. With such a size increase, it was easy to have half the number of cells. That is, however, not correct. The increase is ~10% in each dimension. Given this update, let's guess at how many of the new 20700 cells will be in the Model 3.

According to teslamotors.wiki, there are 7,104 cells (16 modules of 444 cells) in Model S. For Model 3, we'll be able to reduce that number with several factors. First, as discussed above, the Model 3 will use a larger cell. Second, the Model 3 will be smaller, lighter, and more aerodynamic. Third is the range, the base Model 3 will not go as far as the base Model S. The final factor is the battery chemistry will be one or two generations ahead of the 2015 chemistry that is in the Model S and X today. Let's look at each of these in detail.

The first one is easy, the cells are 33% larger. This means a 25% reduction in the number of cells needed for a given energy level. (75%)

The second item is the smaller, lighter, and more aerodynamic Model 3. The final specs for the Model 3 are not released yet, but we'll make an assumption and update this as data is available. Model S has an energy efficiency of 89 MPGe. Looking at other EVs we can guess at Model 3's efficiency. Looking at two examples, the 2016 Leaf has a 114 MPGe rating and the BMW i3 has a 124 MPGe rating. Neither of these carry as large of a battery pack as Model 3 will, but Model 3 will be more aerodynamic than either of these. So, assuming Model 3 will be in this range, that would be a 70 to 80% reduction in needed capacity. (75%)

The third factor is range. The only range known today about Model 3 is that the base model will be at least 215 miles. Assuming Tesla follows the Model S offerings, there would be one battery pack upgrade option, a dual motor upgrade, and performance options. Since we only have an idea about the base model, let's compare the base option 215 miles (worst case) to the base Model S 70. Model 3's 215 mile range is 92% of the 234 mile range of the Model S 70. (92%)

The final factor is the battery technology improvements. The Model S 90 kWh pack was first offered in July of 2015. The Model 3 is expected to start shipping in the 4th quarter of 2017. Battery advancements happen in fits and starts, there is no telling what, if any, improvements there will be above and beyond the July 2015 offering, but let's just take the trend on face value and assume a 5% improvement. (95%)

Putting these factors together and we have an estimate of ~50% of the cells of Model S. That is approximately 3550 of the new 20700 cells in Model 3. This is more than the previous estimate, but still less than half of the 7104 cells in the current Model S / X.

        

Tesla Model 3 will have approximately 3550 battery cells.

Is There Enough Lithium?

During the Tesla 2016 Annual Shareholder Meeting someone asked if Tesla had enough Lithium to do all the things they envision for vehicles and energy storage.

This is a common question when people first consider EVs. They are concerned that the world would be moving from peak-oil to peak-Lithium.

Elon Musk clarified that Lithium supply is in no way a limiting factor to any of Tesla's goals.

Lithium is not rare. It is the 3rd most common element in the universe. The first is hydrogen, but it is bound-up in water (or hydrocarbons) and difficult to separate. Helium is the second, but here on Earth, unless contained, it floats away. Lithium does not float away. It is often bound to salt and this is easy to separate. Lithium supplies are abundant and prices are low and stable.

Even if Lithium were rare and expensive it would not greatly impact Li-ion battery prices. Lithium is only about 2% of the volume of a Li-ion battery cell. Elon called Lithium "the salt on the salad."

Elon and JB noted that it would be more accurate to refer to their batteries as Nickel-Graphite (with Silicon-Oxide).
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Where Are The Range Extending Trailers?

Pure EVs are great. Even with less than 100 miles of range, a lot of trips can be made in an EV. However, there are times when having a range extender would be nice. Maybe the planned trip is through a region that has a dearth of charging infrastructure or maybe my schedule does not allow for charging stops. During these few times, it would be nice to have a range extending trailer.

Of course you could buy a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a range extender like a Chevy Volt or a BMW i3 REx. However, if ~70 miles of electric range is enough most of the time, and I would only need the range extender a couple times per year, it seems wrong to carry the weight of an internal combustion engine and fuel tank around on the hundreds of other trips each year.

The 200+ mile EVs are coming. This will reduce the need for a range extender, but it is not clear is the 100 mile EVs will simply disappear or move to a lower price point when their longer range siblings come to market.

So why haven't any of the short range EV manufacturers come out with a range extending trailer?

The idea is not a new one. The AC Propulsion T-Zero electric roadster (the inspiration for the Tesla Roadster) had a range extending trailer.

AC Propulsion T-Zero with range extender

The first gen electric Toyota RAV4 had a range extender trailer.

Toyota RAV4 EV with range extender

A startup company called Nomadic Power is working on a range extender for the Nissan Leaf and the BMW i3, but they are still seeking funding and using their trailer may require modifications to the vehicle that many people would not be willing to make while the car is under warranty or leased.

Nomadic Power range extender for the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3

EP Tender is another company that is working on a range extender. Theirs is for the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf.

EP Tender range extender

Even the home tinkers have gotten into the game. In late 2011, Phil Sadow, known as Ingineer on MyNissanLeaf, created a propane-powered gas-turbine range extender for his 2012 Nissan Leaf.

Phil Sadow and his DIY propane-powered gas-turbine range extender for the Nissan Leaf

So what has stopped the auto-manufacturers from making their own range extenders? These could be upsell opportunities or something the dealerships could rent out.

It would be best if the vehicles were designed with these devices in mind. The car would need a power connector and a control and communications channels to turn the generator on and off and to monitor the fuel level.

Even when there are 200+ mile EVs, you may occasionally need a range extender trailer. And even when there are 200+ mile EVs for sale, there will still be a market for cheaper ~100 mile EVs. A range extender would be very helpful for these shorter range EVs.

If you were shopping for a ~100 mile range EV, the one that had a range extender trailer option would be the more appealing of an offer to many people. So Nissan, GM, VW, BWM... if you want to stand out from the others, you can offer something that your competitors are not.
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5 Years of Nissan Leaf Driving

In 2011, I received one of only 9,655 Nissan Leafs delivered to the U.S.  My car left Japan less than a day before the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami devastated the island nation.

When the car arrived, I was in love. It was peppy, smooth, and quiet. It had enough range for nearly all of my driving.

May 18th 2011 - The day I picked up my Nissan Leaf

        ♬

The five years we've had have been such good times.

I was lucky that Oregon was aggressively installing EV charging infrastructure. This let me take my car on adventures all around the state. A charging station in my garage filled it up every night and I could charge at work too. This made EV ownership a breeze. Most days, I only charged in my own garage, but knowing that all those stations were there if I needed them, made it comfortable to drive around and take detours as I like.

I was an active reader of the EV forums and news. There were people reporting various types of problems. Range degradation, 12V battery problems, paint issues... I was lucky that none of these problems were impacting me.

4100 Plug Ins

Here are the stats for these five years of Leaf driving: 44,000 miles, 4100 charging events, 44 quick charges. There are Leafs out there with over 100,000 miles on them. Mine is not one of them, it was/is primarily a commuter car.

5 Years of Battery/Range Degradation

After a couple years of ownership, people in Arizona and southern California started complaining of excessive battery degradation. The weather here in Oregon is much more battery-friendly (reason #6), but I was interested to see how the batteries performed as they aged.

        

How have the batteries of the Nissan Leaf held up after 5 years?

There are two simple ways and to gauge the battery health and one more difficult (but more accurate) method.

The first method is the Capacity Bars. There are 12 small marks just to the right of the "fuel gauge". These are the battery health indicators. The top bar (or 12th bar) turns off when the battery has lost 15% capacity. Bars 11 - 4 each represents 6.25% of capacity. This is an easy way to see the battery health, but it is a course measure. Currently, my car is at 80% capacity and it still has 11 bars.

The second method of determining range is to charge the car fully and to look at the range meter (referred to as the guess-o-meter (GOM) by many Leaf drivers). This is not a very accurate method since the value depends on how you have been driving the car recently. This means the results are not consistent or reproducible. Here are three snapshots of the range meter starting with the car when it was new, to one that I snapped just after the 5 year mark.

2011 Nissan Leaf Fuel Gauge, Fully Charged: New (left), 3 years old (center), and 5 years old (right) 

I should point out that even though you see 118 miles reported when the car was new, I was never have been able to achieve such a range. Even the 69 miles that the GOM reports today is optimistic; as you'll see with the final method below, the range is less than 60 miles.

The 3rd and most accurate method is to use Leaf Spy. I found this tool just after having the car for 2 years. Since then I have been logging readings and made the chart below of the battery pack's performance. 

Let's unpack this graph. The blue line is measured range. You can see how there are seasonal changes with the weather. The red line is just a normalized version of the blue line. Removing the seasonal noise gives you a clear view that the capacity degradation is slowing. In the first year, the range dropped by about 4 miles. In the last year (4 to 5), however, there was less than 2 miles of range lost.

The yellow line is the average of all the vehicles that have been self-reporting on MyNissanLeaf. My car is doing much better than this average. This is most likely due to the lowish miles and the mild climate.

It's nice to see the degradation slowing, but it is accumulating. This has meant that we are now using the fast chargers more than we were previously. I am concerned that this could accelerate the degradation. We'll see.

I should note that this is just one example. Additionally, Nissan improved the Leaf battery chemistry in 2015 (known as the Lizard Battery). This new battery could have a different degradation curve.

Looking To Year 6

The Nissan Leaf has a telematics system called NissanConnectEV (formerly known as CarWings). The app lets you check the state-of-charge and turn on the HVAC. The status updates for this telematics app are over-the-air. The list of charging stations in the car's nav system is also updated over-the-air. The car uses the AT&T 2G network for these data transfers. The 2G network is scheduled to be shutdown. The 2G shutdown date has been delayed multiple times. It is currently scheduled for the end of 2016 and AT&T seems serious about keeping to the date this time. When the shutdown occurs, my car (and all the 2011 through 2015 Leafs) will need to be updated to a 3G or 4G modem.

I'm not sure how much this 3G/4G upgrade will cost. I rarely use CarWings, so I am not willing to pay much for the upgrade. Nissan has said that cost information will be available in "late summer of 2016." This is something that I'll have to deal with in year six.

Leaf Repurposed

When I purchased my Nissan Leaf in 2011, it was intended to be my commuter vehicle. I have a 21 mile round trip commute. This is perfect for a short range EV. The 73 mile EPA rated range of the 2011 Leaf gave me plenty of room to spare for errands, HVAC use and the battery degradation that I knew would come as the car aged.

That was the plan and for four and a half years, things went according to the plan. We took the Leaf on a few road trips to check out the West Coast Electric Highway, but for the most part, the Leaf was the commuter and errand mobile. I wanted to take care of the batteries in the Leaf. I was not leasing the car, I bought it and I wanted to make it last 10 years if I could.

To this end, I used the Long Battery Life setting in the car. This only charged it up to 80%. Also, I set the charge timer so that is started charging at 3AM. This had the car fully charged by 7AM and the batteries would not stay charged up for too long before my morning commute discharged them. Lithium Ion batteries are the least stressed in the middle third of their charging range and this method had them there about 16 hours each day.

For long trips we took the usually took the Prius. The Prius, however, was ended when an Uber driver in a Highlander ran a stop sign as he raced to pick up a fair. The Prius was totaled.

So now, the Leaf has taken on the job of the Prius and it's a very different usage pattern. The old pattern was:
   3AM Charge up to 80%
   8AM Drive to work (10 miles)
   5PM Drive home (10 miles)
   (maybe an errand - 7 miles)
   Repeat

The new pattern is:
   3AM Charge to 100%
   8AM Drive to school and back (23 miles)
   9AM Charge to 100%
   Noon Mid-day errands (10 miles)
   1PM Charge to 100%
   3PM Drive to school and back (23 miles)
   4PM Charge to 100%
   6PM Evening errands (piano, soccer, dinner ...) (6 miles)
   7PM charge until 8PM or 100%
   Repeat

As you can see the new pattern is much more demanding. There are many more charging events and the drive to school and back has a 700 ft hill climb. That is 4 times per day over that hill (hence the 100% charges). Summer is almost here and the school trips will end. Next year we're transferring schools, so the trip will be much easier both for the driver (less traffic) and for the batteries (no big hill). When the Leaf was new, this drive would not be a problem with an 80% charge, but now with the batteries ageing, 100% is needed to make sure the needed range is there.

The Leaf has also had to fill in on longer drives where we would have taken the Prius. Trips to Woodburn and Gresham have meant that we are stopping at DC fast chargers. This too has a wear and tear impact on the batteries.

I have been measuring the battery capacity of the vehicle since I found Leaf Spy in 2013. Here is the table of my car's actual degradation:

2011 Nissan Leaf Range Degradation
Year	Range Loss	Range
0	0	73
1	4.0	69
2	3.4	65.6
3	3.0	62.6
4	2.7	59.9
5	2.2	57.7

I didn't have Leaf Spy for the first 2 years, so that data is assumed based on the battery model that the known starting point and the measured values give us.

You can see from the table that there is a notable range loss each year. As the car ages, the loss is reducing, but the effects are still adding up.

For my fixed commute, there is still plenty of range. And my workplace has EV charging as well, this would allow me to use it even when it was down to ~20 miles of range. For a more spontaneous needs, however, at less than 60 miles, the range is not enough.

This is one reason that the 200 mile range cars are needed. With a longer range comes a larger battery pack and more cells. This means that each cell is individually worked less. When the motor needs 80 kWs of power, there are many more cells to distribute the demand across.

Due to circumstances that we had no control over, we have recently asked the Leaf to do more than we intended it to do when we bought it. It has handled this challenge extremely well, especially given the age of the batteries.