G. David Felt

Yup an ugly mess that is going to stay around for a bit.

This is the legacy of old GM cutting corners. I am sure they will have a fix soon. But sad to see this especially when there is clear superior products to fix this.

^

So I had a look at doing Solar on my roof, The quote came in at $25K which would give me a solar grid that is 35 feet by 65 feet on my roof. The big benefit is that the Utility is required to pay you the same rate they charge you for electricity, so based on how big my solar roof would be, I would actually break even each month if not have a positive gain being paid back to me. In 2014 the rebate was up to $6500 but for 2015 they only went with a maximum of $2K. There is a big push to up the rebate again but it will not be taken up till January 2016. So be interesting to see what they offer. Plus there is the federal 30% installation cost coverage to take into account also.

Yes, Washington state is pushing hard on the Solar rebate front also. So here is the rebates for Washington: PV: $300/kW-DC per unit installed, so this goes up depending on how big a system you install.Residential PV: $2,000 for installation Eligible System Size: PV: Up to 100 kW-DC Incentive Amount: Refrigerator Recycling: $30 per unitInsulation: 50% of job cost Double-Pane Windows: $6 - $8 per square foot Duct sealing & insulation: $5 per l.f. Geothermal Heat Pumps: 50% of job cost Heat Pumps: 50% of job cost Lighting: $20 discount Home Energy Saving Kit: free Maximum Incentive: Insulation: $1,200 (Attic), $1,800 (Floor), $1,000 (Wall), $400 (Ductwork) Windows: $1,000 Air-Source Heat Pumps: $2,500 Ductless Heat Pumps: $1,200 Geothermal Heat Pumps: $2,500 Duct sealing & insulation: $800 There is also the federal rebates on Solar which is they will cover 30% of the purchase price. http://energy.gov/savings/residential-renewable-energy-tax-credit

WOW, Thank you for posting your costs on electricity. My average electric bill over the year is just under $175 per month. Course we never have the cold winters you have and I do have Natural Gas as a heating but even during the coldest parts of winter combined I never go over $300 combined electric and natural gas bill. A $1,000 monthly electric bill is just amazing to see.

Thanks Drew, agreed, this is a much better and interesting thread on this topic. I just posted in the other, please move my response over as I think many will find it interesting. Thank you,

Agreed that there is a big push to support more and more EV auto's. Web site of incentives by state for EV auto's. http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/state-electric-vehicle-incentives-state-chart.aspx Washington state has these specific incentives: $100 registration fee since you pay no fuel tax. No sales tax on an EV purchase, current state sales tax is 10%, we have NO income tax. Alternative fuel purchase credit of $5000 for autos up to 14K pounds, $10K on auto's 14,001 to 26,500 lbs and $20K on auto's over 26,501lbs. Incentive to go with EV, CNG, BioDiesel or Propane. PSE, out local utility with the state will pay for a Level 2 charger installed in existing homes. State starting with 2015 requires all new homes, condo's and apartments to have Level 2 chargers installed. Federal Incentives are as follows: $2500 to $7500 credit based on the price of said alternative fuel auto's up till the manufacture hits 200K type auto's sold and then it is no more. So what this means is that you can buy a chevy VOLT here in washington and get $12,500 off at time of purchase at the dealership, pay no sales tax and have the state with PSE install a Level 2 charger at your home. Makes a VOLT very enticing. Makes one excited for the BOLT also.

That is a lovely Mutang +1 for posting the beauty!

+1, pensions are a dying dinosaur. They are not sustainable.

Yes...we also have that concept in Quebec. I dont think its mandatory...yet...for new home contractors to comply in building energy efficient homes , but if a home owner buys an energy efficient home, he gets subsidized by the Quebec government. Tax breaks and Welcome Tax rebates are applied. Novoclimat is what this standard is called in Quebec. My home is a Novoclimat home. What the government gives you back: http://www.efficaciteenergetique.gouv.qc.ca/en/my-home/novoclimat/homes/#.Vi-kaCum3aQ http://bonestructure.ca/en/ecohomes-through-novoclimat-20certification/ Now...what are those standards in insulation and stuff? Im trying to find a website to list those standards, but I cant find any at the touch of my fingertip. I need to dig deeper. The Quebec Government also subsidizes home owners that wish to convert their older homes into energy efficient ones also. Washington does not give any rebates for home owners to update to a more efficient home but I would love it if they did. Here is a web site that does a good job explaining the R value and how thick each value is. http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/6109/title/understanding-the-r-and-u-values-of-insulation.aspx

Back on Consumer Reports rating: So I found the following story that is supposed to explain how CR tests their auto's and yet with reading it I find many things stated by CR to be a bit fuzzy and confusing. This is a quote from the story: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-selling/consumer-reports-automotive-ratings.htm Types of Consumer Reports Automotive RatingsWhen you check into a vehicle, you'll be able to drill down to many different specific parts to see how they fared in tests and surveys. Here's a list of the various vehicle areas rated by Consumer Reports: Engine: major Engine: minor Engine: cooling Transmission and clutch: major Transmission and clutch: minor Drive system Fuel system Electrical Climate system Suspension Brakes Exhaust Paint, trim and rust Body integrity Body hardware Audio system Consumer Reports requires a minimum sample size of 100 cars to publish auto reliability information; however, most models have much larger samples numbering into the thousands. Over all it leaves one to believe they try their best but clearly work in a grey fuzzy world.

That is an interesting take on managing when you do certain house hold choirs. So do they have higher energy home building standards than in the past to conserve energy? Example here in Washington state, Homes built up till 1986 were all 2x4 walls, did not matter exterior or interior. They they stared to incorporate green code into home and business building. Now homes built today have to have 8 inch thick exterior walls with R22 minimum insulation. This compared to the 4 inch thick walls back in 1986 with an R4 insulation. Same with windows, Single pane 1986, then double pane 2 inch thick and now Triple pane 3 inch thick windows. The whole idea is to minimize heat or cooling loss as well as power consumption. Amazing how quiet the new homes are especially with the way they are building them. Most homes now have the electrical, water, outlets, etc done on the exterior walls and they do a dense spray foam and then sheetrock. This makes the home very tight and quiet. Lower priced homes still have traditional instulation used but more and more they are going to spray foam to really quiet a home, seal it tight and make sure it is well insulated.

But he did state it correctly, I followed the links and even the Canada government shows it as $6.21 per KWh. The web site unless I am miss understanding is wanting people to stay under the 30KWh thresh hold. Seems crazy expensive but that is what they post and say on the web site. Still electricity is cheap but they do have a big hit for heavy users according to the web site.

Would love an extended drive in the ELR from Cadillac. Would also love to experience driving around in a woody.

WOW, that is cheap for the first 30KWh, so have you ever hit the 50 KWh rate? Amazing what they charge, $6.21 per KWh would make me want to change the home heating from electric to gas.

^ if the AWD system works fine and no other major issues, then yes, winter beater.

Like the interior, warm and nice. Enjoyed reading about the updates they have done to the car. Sadly they are still jelly bean bland on the outside.Their body style leave much to be desired. They have not learned how to push the envelope.

Very good question. The Benz CLS400 I had over the summer had a bad habit of its navigation system freezing up on me and me not realizing it until 5 or 10 miles down the road. Then it would reboot which seemed to take 2 - 3 minutes. 5 or 10 miles and the rebooting would take 2-3 minutes... That is a heck of a long time and distance for a computer driven car to be without any guidance...especially when hundreds of cars are being encountered in that period of time and distance... Then there is the question of maintenance. People dont change their oils, brakes...on a regular basis... Heck, people dont even check their tire pressure any more. Plus...it is a well known fact that all these sensors we have in modern cars eventually fail... Add all that up...on an autonomous car that is 6-7-8-10 years old, with 90 000/120 000/150 000 hard daily driven miles with a very minimal amount of maintenance done to the vehicle...what happens to all that computer technology and all those sensors let alone the mechanical side of things that fail on today;s cars on top of all the autonomous driving smart technology computer systems? Meaning... A brand spanking new autonomous car will perform flawlessly the first 1-3 years....what happens to that autonomous car when wear and tear actually occurs down the line and proper maintenance is not performed? With airplanes...rigorous overhauls for maintenance is made on a very regular basis...we all know that the cars on the road are not all exactly in pristine showroom quality with near 100% flawless mechanicals... What you do not realize that this is a step towards never owning a car again. You lease for the right to have a car to drive and at the end of the 3 year lease the car goes back, gets shredded and recycled and they produce a new self driving car that you have to pay for. This is the new model of perpetual payments for life and never owning a car again.

OK, so how much per Kilowatt hr? Washington state which is 100% Hyrdo powered and they just built a couple of huge wind farms on the Columbia river so do not know how that factors in, but we have always had almost the cheapest electric cost in the nation. One reason the aluminum plants all came here. Our Home rate is 6.94 cents per Kilowatt hr. Only 2 other states are cheaper than us at 6.90 and 6.92. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ Course on this Gov web site they show us as the cheapest in the nation. http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/204.htm So what is your rate?

Yup a PROUD Total NERD!

That would Rock EV in the Electra!

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. Did you take it back for return or exchange? Costco has a great return program and while the say 90 days, I have seen them take stuff back that was far older. They are the Nordstroms of Big Warehouses. Awesome customer service. 90 days is only for electronics. Everything else has no pre-determined time limit. See like most people, I see the 90 day sign and ignore the rest. So that probably helps them also.

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. Did you take it back for return or exchange? Costco has a great return program and while the say 90 days, I have seen them take stuff back that was far older. They are the Nordstroms of Big Warehouses. Awesome customer service.

Really? Like what? The only thing I bought there, a car wash brush hose attachment, broke after 3 uses. I realize Costco has various different product for areas depending on where you live, but they do have a nice assortment online that can be shipped anywhere. http://www.costco.com/wash-wax.html I do like the Mothers packages they have, one that is local here in Seattle but does not seem to be online is their $99.99 bucket package. This is a 5 gallon bucket with 3 pack of mitts, and their premium exterior car care kit. Another package they do not have listed is their Mothers Drill Rim cleaning and polishing kit which is $29.99 at Costco and I find it in the auto parts stores and Fred Meyers for $39.99. They always seem to also have a few generic packages also. There is a 3 pack of 1 gallon containers, Cleaner, Wax and Clearcoat sealer for $19.99. So this always last me the year to keep my auto's clean. Some of their auto options that I would pass on, the GOODYEAR Wipers. I have tried them and even though Costco brings in their top of the line version and sells them for $9.99 per individual blade, I have never had anything beat the long life and clear windshield I get with Bosch wipers. Thought I did find these new blades online that I have not seen in the store. http://www.costco.com/Scrubblade-Platinum-Wiper-Blade.product.100041251.html# Anyone ever hear of Scrubblade before?