[ausev] Cold Weather and lead acid batteries/plugging in at work

[Ian Ward]

Claire,

I experienced the same thing at this time last year. Cold is tough on the
lead-acid batteries.

I had also asked the Plug-in Partners group about getting their help in
establishing incentives for installing charging infrastructure, but they
weren't really interested given that there aren't yet any plug-ins on the
market from major auto makers.

Thanks,
ian

On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 7:40 AM, Claire Sorenson
<csorenson1 at austin.rr.com>wrote:

> Hi guys,
>
> FYI - I am also experiencing lower charge and lower range for my Ranger
> EV.  It started as soon as the cold weather hit.  The battery pack is also 1
> year and 3 months old, so I would expect a certain amount of decreased
> range with age, but this was not a gradual shift, so I assumed it also had
> to do with the cold.  Until a couple of weeks ago, I could get to work and
> back on a little over half a charge, and now it takes the full charge.
>
> Given my reduced range, I have talked to the CFO at my office and they will
> let me install an outlet so I can plug the truck in while I am working.
> Since our CFO plans on trading his Prius in on a Plug In Prius as soon as
> they are available, he decided to add another outlet and share the cost of
> the installation (thank goodness, since it is turning out to be pretty
> expensive).  I was hoping that Austin Energy might have an incentive program
> available for employers who would like to provide outlets for employees who
> drive EV's, but when I spoke with a friend at Austin Energy he said there is
> nothing in place yet.  If we owned the building we occupy, we could get an
> income tax deduction, but that is all that is available right now in Austin.
>
> --
> Claire Sorenson
> 512-689-5911
>
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> AusEV at austinev.org
> http://www.austinev.org/mailman/listinfo/ausev
>
>
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