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Electric cars?

Would you buy an electric car?

  • Already own one

    Votes: 10 5.1%
  • Yes - would definitely buy

    Votes: 43 21.7%
  • Yes - preferred over petrol car if price/power/convenience similar

    Votes: 78 39.4%
  • Maybe - preference for neither, only concerned with costs etc

    Votes: 38 19.2%
  • No - prefer petrol car even if electric car has same price, power and convenience

    Votes: 25 12.6%
  • No - would never buy one

    Votes: 14 7.1%

  • Total voters
    198

Thought about the sunshade but my wife and I haven't had an issue with sun from the glass roof, and we've been in the outback with over 40C temp.
 

My wife and I love the glass roof, it lights everything up and makes the interior look and feel open to the world. The glass is very reflective, no sunburn so far and we have traveled in over 40C days during the las bad bushfire season.

Tesla has tested its cars in real-world situations at a whopping 50 degrees Celsius.

 
So you don't have to run the air con on hot sunny days, that's amazing. It was one of the common complaints that people had with the tesla model 3. if i had known it wasn't a problem I would have given it more consideration.
It might not be an issue over East, but in W.A with limited charging infrastructure, having to run the A/C all the time is a real problem. A friend who has a model 3 went to Albany, from Mandurah and said t was worrying. They then a few weeks later went to Kalgoorlie and decided to take the Mazda 6.
As I said it might not be a problem over east, I just googled the Tesla forum and some say it is fine others say it is hot, so probably very subjective.

My Tesla Model Y Long Range finally delivered at the end of March. I like the car a lot. It is a great car but the downside is the glass roof. Summer time is coming and it is getting hot! Did anyone tint their glass roof for a model Y? My tint shop was not willing to do it for me. It is a big surface area to tint inside the car. I live in San Francisco. It is not super hot but when I am parked in the sun, it is like almost 100 degrees inside. Sometimes the weather outside is only high 60’s. I just got the roof sunshade. It is helps a little. I believe adding tint to the glass would keep the car much cooler.

I live in Florida and just got my new Model 3. It’s winter and already the heat coming through the sunroof is oppressive. What is the best way to keep that cooler. Does the Tesla sun shade work?

Last week, I had the chance to test how quickly the temperature rises in our Model 3 with white interior. I brought the cabin temperature to 72 degrees and then shut off the AC while the car was in full sunlight (80 degree weather) and sitting on black asphalt. In just 6 minutes the cabin got back to 110 degrees and in 10 mins was already at 115. I decided against running the AC to conserve energy while away from the car until the last five minutes of our approach.

Cabin overheat protection is convenient, but from an energy savings perspective it makes more sense to cover your windows or park in the shade. The trouble with these vehicles is the sheer surface area of glass. While driving under intense sun, I can definitely feel the heat in the cabin - especially within a few inches of the upper glass components. I have a tendency to wear a hat while driving which helps a bit.

Really good ceramic tint and a sunshade in the 4-5 months of heat here in Phoenix does the trick. I'm tall with my head not far from the glass. The combo makes it so I don't even notice any heat. Tint alone is nice, but the radiated heat from hot glass can still be felt on my head.

When it cools down, it take the sunscreen off and store it in the frunk.
 
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I never turn off my A/C, even in winter.

My first two cars did not have A/C, I was young and didn't know better but bloody hell they got hot inside & I think I still have scars from the metal seat belts.

When my wife and I decided to travel around Australia I purchased a FJ55 with A/C, never turned it off when it was hot.

When we decided to start a family in the late 1990's we swapped the Landcruiser for a 1988 Volvo 740 turbo Estate, magnificent car until it was t-boned, that had climate control and the A/C was on all year round.

Then we picked up a new Ford Territory in 2004, again the Climate Control was on all year.

It's not worth turning the A/C off. It keeps the interior at an ideal temperature and removes excess moisture. And the A/C system last longer in vehicles that use it all the time, compared to those that are turned on infrequently.

When an A/C is off the lubricating oil drains to the lowest points, the oil is also a sealer. The hoses in an A/C system is not as leak tight as metal pipes, but with a coating of oil on the inside it is almost if not as good. And modern A/C compressors do not have a reservoir, they rely on the refrigerant to carry the lubricant. By running the system on a regular basis, the refrigerant loss is minimal, compressors are constantly lubricated and last longer.

Not one of my cars have had an A/C issue.


 
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Electric vehicles use an average of 30 kilowatt-hours to travel 100 miles (160 km), equivalent to the electricity used by a typical American home per day to run appliances, computers, lights, and heating and air conditioning.

If you use auto, you can use a 1kW A/C ballpark, which is more efficient and allows the fan to adjust to the temperature of the room. If you averaged 60 mph (96 km/h) over 1hr, then AC at 1 kW consumption would be 1 kWh, or approximately 4-5 miles (for a car with 200-250 Wh/mi efficiency). 1 kWh represents 16.67 Wh/mi when traveling 60 mph (96 km/h).




During warm summer months running the air conditioner in a gas vehicle will lower your MPG, which happens in an EV too. However, it’s not nearly as bad as some people would have you think. I’ve seen comments online that the AC will lower an EV range by 50%, which is not true, especially on modern electric vehicles.

For example, in 2019, research from AAA suggested that when outside temperatures reach 95-degrees F during the summer and AC is used in a vehicle, the driving range can decrease by around 17%. And while that’s certainly not good, it’s not awful, either.

However, in a comment to The Verge, a Tesla spokesperson disputed AAA’s findings and suggested that based on real-world data from the millions of Tesla cars on the road, users won’t experience a decrease anywhere near 17%. Tesla claims that at 95-degrees Fahrenheit, using the AC will only lower your Model S range by roughly one percent.
 
Thought about the sunshade but my wife and I haven't had an issue with sun from the glass roof, and we've been in the outback with over 40C temp.
We haven’t had any big issue either, but being from Brisbane in the middle of summer I can feel a bit of heat radiating down, and my wife also is really cautious with sun, so like to have it on.

I also thought it might slow down how hot that car gets and save some energy in the cabin over heat protection.
 
It's not worth turning the A/C off.
Not sure about EV's but in an ICE car it takes longer for the cabin to heat up with the A/C sucking heat straight back out again.

Perhaps different if the car has a fancy control system but for a manually operated heater and A/C controls that's definitely the case.
 

My wife drives the EV during the week, I drive my VF SSV Ute. I never turn of the A/C, I leave the climate control on between 21 to 26 C depending on the weather. I did the same thing with my previous car, a Ford Territory.
My dads XC Ford Ute that I inherited 20 or so years ago was another story, the heater in that took ages to warm up. No A/C in that on, just a thick solid iron block.

Modern engines are designed to warm up very fast.
 
Thanks forthe update on your vehicl Mick. We are 45k out of Perth, used to be frming and is now what is termed landscape living for the wnna bees living a rural lifestyle at mostly mine and a couple of thers expense. We do have a double charging facility in Mundaring, but we are like you in that we have a pretty substantial amount of solar panels on the shed roof. Not ina mad rush to do the change over just yet but when I have have nothung better to do it makes interesting reading about the various models.
Ithing the cruier though 14 years old will be creamated with me at my demise. It knows it's away around the farms better than She Who is Never Wrong.
 
Australia's first full size electric bike, by an Australian company.



 
You could always convert the cruiser to electric.
I presume its a 79 series ute, which can be converted (see Evolution Australia).
I seem to remember my Hi lux ute spent most of its time on the farm idling as I put out hay, rounded up recalcitrant cows or fixed fences.
Would be an ideal candidate.
Mick
 
Into the 6th month of driving my Atto 3 and I have averaged 14.6kWh/100km.
As I live 2km from the M1, to travel anywhere I use it as an artery, so spend a lot of time at 100kph until traffic inevitably snarls somewhere.
Although I tried Eco and Normal modes earlier on, I only drive in Sport mode now as it's much safer getting on and off roundabouts, and in merging traffic.
 
Into the 6th month of driving my Atto 3 and I have averaged 14.6kWh/100km.
Very similar to the Kona, it is surprising how much I'm enjoying not having to worry about finding time to go to the fuel station, the wife never used to fill up the Jeep, so it was always down to me.
Now I just plug it in at home, done, it really is good from that aspect IMO.
 
It certainly flips the script on the people that say the reason for not owning an EV is the don’t like the thought of wasting time charging, when in reality you soon realise petrol stations are a waste of your time.
 
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