We were forced to shop for a new car when our old Prius was totaled and only looking at replacing with a newer used model, assuming an electric car was out of price range. Amazingly, this actually wasn't the case - a used Prius hybrid with low miles was more expensive than an electric car! We discovered that the market for affordable used electric cars is growing rapidly. We feel very fortunate and proud of driving around in our little BMW i3 - such a fun ride!

After hearing the webinar on community solar, we realized we could sign up even though we already have a roof top PV system. The Energy Sage site was easy to navigate and we ended up signing up for a NextAmp project that will come on line this winter. Brendan from Next Amp answered all my questions and we expect to save 10% on our electric bill and provide them users to support community solar. Win- Win!

My only visit to a gas station now is the annual vehicle inspection. They have learnt not to look for a tail pipe!

There are many great features in EVs and particularly in the Tesla Model 3 (pictured here). I could wax lyrical for a long time however overall I would say it's driving experience that makes me glad to own this car. It's as fast as you could ever want, comfortable, quiet and intelligently designed. But the feature I think I like best is that the car just keeps getting better. Over the air updates bring new features and updates. It is always interesting to see what new capability the car has when the update arrives.

The fact that there is no tail pipe emission is almost incidental. Yes, you do have to be a bit more planful on long trips but the onboard computer does a great job of figuring out your stops and the car will navigate automatically to them. The supercharger network is extensive now and stops rarely take more than the time to get a cup of coffee, visit the toilets and stretch your legs.

The autonomous driving on highways requires an attentive driver but substantially reduces driver fatigue. I tend to use the feature most of the time and believe one is less prone to get into accidents when using it. The car has 360 degree vision and can avoid accidents better than a human driver.

I would be happy to chat about my experience of almost three years with the car if you want to drop me an email at dap4583@gmail.com

If you decide to buy you can use my referral code and we both get some free supercharger miles.

https://ts.la/david39357

We went with rooftop solar back in 2012 during the solarize program that was offered that year. It was in the years of the sluggish stock market following the crash of 2008 and part of my rationale for taking the plunge was because I figured there had to be better use for my money. At the time, they projected my breakeven point would be 6.5 years out. But between the performance of my system and the SREC checks, we actually hit breakeven at 4 years! And now, 8.5 years after inception, I have realized a 250% return on my investment! It is routinely 6-7 months a year that I effectively have a zero-dollar electric bill. My only complaint is not a function of the system itself, but that the pitch of my roof is such that, after a heavy winter snowfall, the snow doesn't slough off as quickly as some of the neighbor's systems (who followed our lead some years later and have steeper pitches). Otherwise, my performance would be even better! I don't know what the pricing schemes are these days - and how long the SREC program will last. So I can't guarantee you'll have the same investment experience we did. But even if it's not about the investment return, the satisfaction knowing that we're making a difference would make me do it all over again in a heartbeat! It's quite fun to go out on a bright sunny day and watch the electric meter go in reverse!

I am constantly getting compliments on our landscaping - which birds and butterflies and dragonflies and native bees also clearly love - and most of which is very low maintenance! We like the natural variety of green leaves and textures that is the foundation of classic layered ‘English gardens’.

With a few years of weeding and transplanting we have encouraged the spread of oceans of groundcover that now do the work for us! They crowd out weeds, retain soil moisture so no watering is ever needed and also help trees and shrubs survive periods of heat and drought - but perhaps the most amazing part of all is Zero raking or leaf-blowing!!!

It’s as though the ground cover swallows up the leaves and turns them into an annual dose of free fertilizer. Observing how efficiently leaves are ‘disappeared’ by nature during winter and early spring, we no longer even clear leaves off our lawns - nature seems so eager to take care of the leaves when left to do so I wish more people would try it!

So happy to fiinally be able to put the electric snowblower aside 🙂 Time to switch over to the weedwhacker, the leafblower and the lawn mower - also electrical! 

They're all the Ryobi brand and they are less noisy and lighter than the gas-powered ones, and I don't need to deal with stinky cannisters of oil in my carport. They also pack the punch I need. I've not used other brands so I can't compare, but these do just fine.

I suggest if you go electrical to choose a brand and stick with it: each machine comes with a battery, and between brands they're interhangeable, so one pack can be charging. By themselves the batteries cost almost as much as the equipment.

I'll  never go back to gas-powered. I've been eyeing an electric chanisaw...