Nissan Expanding Dealership Quick-Charging in Puget Sound Region

It's been a year since Nissan first announced an aggressive campaign to expand CHAdeMO quick charging at its dealerships across the U.S.  Initially, though, there were only a handful of chargers installed; far less than the oft-quoted 500 new units that LEAF drivers salivated for. Inexplicably, the rollout all but stopped in most regions by the summer of 2013.

Fast forward, and Nissan appears to be back in the car charging game.  It is like Nissan miraculously remembered that manufactures must also build charging infrastructure if EV sales are going to shift to mainstream car buying.  This "if we build it, they will come" philosophy was pioneered by Tesla, who continues to aggressively expand its nation-wide Supercharger infrastructure.

Nissan may have also been motivated to expand its dealership network of fast charging stations with the bankruptcy of the ubiquitous electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturer, Blink, during the fall of 2013. This certainly appears to to the case in Washington State's Puget Sound region.

The Seattle-Tacoma corridor regularly lists in the top 3 of Nissan LEAF sales every month.  However, until recently, there was a major gap in reliable quick charging for all of those new (to-be) LEAF owners in Seattle.

Enter redundancy.  Nissan seems to now be fully committed to taking on the burden of providing reliable quick charging in the Seattle-Tacoma region.  With the government-backed West Coast Green Highway prioritizing quick charging stations for longer distance travel outside of the Puget Sound area, Nissan is refocussing the redundancy effort where those Blink quick charging stations so-often disappoint in Seattle proper.

Nissan dealership quick charging coverage is providing much-needed redundancy in the Puget Sound Region.

Today, I set out to try my luck with this maturing Nissan dealership quick charging infrastructure. Living just north of Everett, WA provided me with an opportunity to hit the Nissan dealerships all the way to Olympia to test out their quick charging equipment, and hopefully make it back home without a need for rescue.  

Additionally, and very importantly, I wanted to find out how easy it would be to get those charges at a Nissan dealership.  In my mind, I envisioned the roughest of car sales people booting me from the property because I did not purchase our LEAFs there, or delaying my charge request because of dealership stock blocking the charging equipment.

Everett: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Edmonds: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Burien: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Puyallup: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Olympia: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Renton: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Each dealership charging experience was painless! There were no heavies blocking access to the charging stations, and each dealership was welcoming even though I did not purchase our LEAFs from them.

The shocker, though, came from the two newest CHAdeMO installations, at Puyallup Nissan and Olympia Nissan respectively.

Upon pulling up to each of these locations, there was not an RFID card/fob reader on the charging unit.  I simply got out of the car, plugged in the quick charging connector, and pushed the "start" button.  Easy!

For almost a year now, LEAF drivers have simply asked if there could be a way to allow one of the many car charging network fobs or cards to work on the Nissan branded quick chargers.  And for almost a year, there have been plenty of excuses reasons why a fob is needed to activate a charging session at Nissan dealerships.

It appears, now, that Nissan is warming up to the idea of open access at their dealership quick charging stations.

Today's 237 mile drive around the Puget Sound region didn't cost anything to "fuel" my LEAF. The free ride wasn't even the best part of the day. The highlight was in seeing how committed Nissan is to expanding the quick charge infrastructure in my corner of the world.  They are building it, and we will come!

***

Earlier in the day, while driving at sluggish speeds in heavy traffic on I-5 in downtown Seattle, I was initially frustrated with the stop-and-go driving and breathing the diesel fumes from a truck next to me.  Looking around, I saw a Tesla Model S a ways ahead and another LEAF not far behind me. Almost on cue, an early 90's hit song, Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones played on the radio.  The lyrics struck me:

Right here, right now

There is no other place I want to be

Right here, right now

Watching the world wake up from history

Breathing the soot from that neighborly diesel truck was not my idea of bliss. Seeing electric vehicles on the road, and driving an electric car myself, did give me a moment of immense satisfaction, though. As we all begin to see more EVs on the road, it is proof that the world is waking up.

Team CrazyDaddy at it Again!

Just five days ago, I had substantial shoulder surgery.  Today, I have a serious case of Cabin Fever-itis. Tomorrow, while Tanya is at work, I am going to take Sabrina and Charlie on a little road trip--great medicine!

We'll be heading up north.  First to Bellingham, and then we'll be driving up to the ski area at Mt. Baker.  With a little luck, the three of us can have a nice picnic up in the mountains and bag another fun excursion in our Nissan LEAF.

For this trip, I encourage folks to follow us on their smartphones via the Glympse app.  We'll be traveling via the Glympse tag:  !CrazyDaddy    Yes, there is an exclamation point at the beginning.

I'll also be updating on Twitter @EV_RoadTrip    Additionally, the Twitter updates will be used should I miscalculate the battery charge in our car and end up in trouble.  We will be in the wilderness, but may be able to send a Tweet in sticky situation where there is spotty cell coverage.

Real-time speed, E.T.A., and live mapping.

In Bellingham, we will take our LEAF up to a 100% charge with the CHAdeMO and J1772 electric vehicle supply equipment in Sehome Village.  From there, here is what we're looking at:

Sea Level to 5000 feet in 60 miles!

I will be collecting data for a later blog post--stay tuned!

Can an EV Make the Trip to Yakima?

For my grandfather's 91st birthday, I thought it would be nice to take Sabrina and Charlie to see Great Grandpa in Yakima this past weekend.  Tanya and I haven't visited Grandpa since owning an EV, and frankly I was always concerned with the feasibility of the trip with our kids.  With the successful BC2BC trip under my belt, I figured that if a LEAF can cover the "EV Badlands" of California, where there isn't a J1772 or CHAdeMO for hundreds of miles in much of the state, then visiting my grandfather in Yakima ought to be doable.

Before leaving, it looked like we would be okay to CHAdeMO quick charge all the way to Cle Elum. However, successfully traversing I-82 from Ellensburg to Yakima seemingly would require some Level 2 time in Ellensburg.  When asking for route options from fellow LEAF owners on the Seattle owner's Facebook site, there were suggestions to travel along the Canyon Road instead of I-82.  Avoiding the steep terrain of I-82 sounded good--the Canyon Road was the way to go!

The Canyon Road from Ellensburg to Selah is such a beautiful drive!

This trip was also the first time that I would use the data logging feature from the LEAF Battery application.  This Android app was developed by "Turbo3" from the My Nissan Leaf forum. Using this app was a critical part of the successful BC2BC drive, and having it for the drive to Yakima would be important so that I would not end up stranded on the side of the road with a two and five-year-old.

Not only did we successfully make the trip from Lake Stevens to Yakima, but it was downright easy! We utilized only CHAdeMO quick charging--Level 2 charging in Ellensburg was not necessary at all.

Here is how it looked:

Bellevue College DCQC to Snoqualmie DCQC

We did a long charge at Bellevue College, leaving with 267 GIDs @ 92% State of Charge ("SOC" hereafter).  I wasn't sure if we could make it to the Summit at Snoqualmie with a more typical 80% charge.

We arrived at the Snoqualmie summit with 70 GIDs @ 33% SOC remaining.  Driving at 60 m.p.h., this is an easy leg in the summer, and can probably be driven in the winter too.

Snoqualmie DCQC to Suncadia Lodge DCQC

Even with a quick charge to just 199 GIDs/71% SOC at Snoqualmie Pass, it was way more than what was needed to drive to Suncadia Lodge at 60 mph.  I could've made up some time by driving this leg at 70 mph or charging less at the Summit.  We arrived at Suncadia with 70 GIDs/33% SOC.

Suncadia Lodge DCQC to Yakima via Canyon Road

It is a good thing that Tony Williams amended the rules of the "100 Mile Club" because, with an elevation profile like this, I could've driven all the way to Goldendale on a single charge.  Note that the ~800 foot uptick at the end of this leg was due to Grandpa's home being actually outside of town, up in the Naches Heights area.

Back at the Suncadia Lodge, we did an hour-long charge and departed with 280 GIDs/96% SOC. Pulling into Grandpa's place, the battery was at 111 GIDs/45% SOC.  When we arrived into Yakima, there was still more than half of the battery charge remaining--charging to 80% at Suncadia would be more than enough to make the summer time drive into Yakima possible.

The return trip was even easier--we only quick charged twice.  Driving from Yakima to Suncadia is no problem, again driving the Canyon Road.  We arrived at the Suncadia Lodge with 47 GIDs/24% SOC. In the winter time, I recommend driving on WA-10 from Ellensburg to Cle Elum to avoid the freeway speeds of I-90.

The CHAdeMO at the Summit is proving to be a great location.  We made it back home to Lake Stevens (~75 miles) with just an 80% charge, driving 65 mph from the Summit to Issaquah, then 60 mph on I-90/I-405/I-5 the rest of the way home.

Taking our gas car to Grandpa's house used to take four hours, with a couple of stops along the way for our kids.  On this trip with the LEAF, it took five and a half hours to get to Yakima, and five hours for the return.  If we were to take advantage of doing the minimal charging needed at the CHAdeMO stations, the trip to my grandfather's house could be done in just about the same time that it took us to drive using our gas-powered vehicle.  Now, that is amazing!

17 Day Road Trip: Lookin' for Some Fun!

My five-year-old daughter, Sabrina, and I will be leaving in two weeks to start a 17 day road trip in our all-electric Nissan LEAF.  For as long as I have been licensed to drive, road tripping has been a favorite vacation activity.  Tanya and I have driven many road trips together, most of which were measured in thousands of miles driven across many states and/or provinces.

Traveling more than 3200 miles in an electric vehicle (EV) is certainly a new endeavor, though.  We own two EVs, a 2012 Nissan LEAF and a 2013 Nissan LEAF.  On a day-to-day basis, I drive the white 2012 LEAF and Tanya drives the black 2013 LEAF.  For this trip, I will be driving our 2013 as it has a much faster onboard charger for Level 2 charging.  Even with the faster charging, we will be charging every 80 miles, or so.  In Washington and Oregon, most charging will be done at high-output Level 3 stations that will have us back on the road in about 20 minutes.  However, in much of California, we will frequently charge with Level 2 equipment.  When that happens, Sabrina and I will need to find things to do for a few hours until the charge completes.  

This is where we need your help! Please share your ideas of some activities in the areas we will be Level 2 charging.  Also, if you know of a cool roadside attraction on I-5 from Blaine, WA to San Diego, CA or along U.S. 101 from San Francisco to Portland (return trip), please do share in the comments section at the bottom of this blog!  

What to do in...

• Albany, OR
• Grants Pass, OR
• Weed, CA
• Yreka, CA
• Redding, CA
• Chico, CA
• Vacaville, CA
• Hollister, CA
• King City, CA
• San Luis Obispo, CA
• Santa Maria, CA
• Santa Barbara, CA
• Oxnard, CA

(return trip)

• San Fernando, CA
• Lebec, CA
• Clovis, CA
• Turlock, CA
• Ukiah, CA
• Willits, CA
• Garberville, CA
• Arcata, CA
• Klamath, CA
• Crescent City, CA
• Coos Bay, OR

Three Pass Blast!

Ask somebody who owns a Harley what the Three Pass Blast is in the Cascades and you'll be entetertained by stories of motorcycle riding across the three primary mountain passes in Snohomish and King Counties: Stevens Pass, Blewett Pass, and Snoqualmie Pass.

At 4062', 4101', and  3022' respectively, having a blast on "The Blast" while driviving an EV presents a potential challenge not considered by the weekend warrior motorcycling crowd. The West Coast Green Highway has EV charging stations sprouting up from the Puget Sound area to connect both sides of the Cascades with Level 3 Quick Chargers.  With this electric car infrastructure in place, driving from, say, Everett to Leavenworth to Snoqualmie Pass and home again should be possible.

For this trip, I wanted only to charge to 80% at each station to be as time conscious as is realistic on this 265 mile excursion.  At Quick Charging stations, the LEAF default charges to 80% to promote battery longevity.  Sure, it is easy to get a full charge at a Level 3 station, but doing so would take an hour instead of the typical 25 minutes to charge to 80%.

At each stop, I collected some basic data to share with fellow LEAF drivers.  Let me just say that it is almost an embarrassment to post the number of battery bars used to travel in a LEAF, as the car's display is truly a guess-only affair.  Without a proper GID meter, though, this ballpark reading may serve some bit of usefulness to other LEAF owners.

Some points from the chart need clarity.  I had the AC blowing the entire trip.  Yes, running the AC in warm weather is massively more efficient than having the heater on in the winter.  I had a close eye on the energy consumption of the climate control and it ranged from 0 kWh to 1.5 kWh, with the average probably about 1.0 kWh for the day.  Second, the Low Battery warning (~12 miles of range remaining), was only hit once--pulling into Suncadia Lodge.  Third, the trip from Cle Elum to the top of Snoqualmie was a horrific experience!  As you can see in the chart, the battery was getting warm.  There were actually eight temperature bars when we pulled out of the Suncadia Lodge parking lot.  I drove at 55 m.p.h. on I-90 from Cle Elum to the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass which helped to get the battery to cool, but I truly was public enemy number one to the folks driving home over the pass after a nice weekend east of the mountains.  I had so many trucks road raging because of my snail's pacing that I was having flashes of Steven Spielberg's Duel haunting me.

How to get 100 Miles of Range?  Drive Downhill.

This ties in with my final thoughts on the average speed.  For most of the trip, I went the speed limit.  The only other times that the speed limit was not maintained was on the stretch from Skykomish to Stevens Pass (55 m.p.h.) and the final 10-ish miles leading up to top of Blewett Pass from Leavenworth.  On the way down from the Passes, I frequently shifted the car into neutral and coasted at the speed limit, shifting into "gear" only to activate the regenerative brakes.

Beyond going geek today, I was a dad!  My five year old daughter, Sabrina, joined me for this trip.  As for being a fun experience for the two of us to enjoy, today was a resounding success!  Needing to stop every hour, or so, has some great benefits...it slows you down.  For those who know me professionally, having a full day to be present with my daughter is a real blessing.  Slowing down is not my usual modus operandi.  

We Actually Built a (Small) Sand Castle

While charging in Skykomish, we played along the Snohomish River.  Who ever takes even 15 minutes to pull over in Skykomish to walk the town?  It was awesome.

Today, I fell in love with Leavenworth all over again.  When bombing across the Pass and stopping in Leavenworth for food, we typically stop at Heidleburger Drive-In.  Sure, the grub is good, but we stop there nearly every time because it's the first food stop in the town when traveling from the west.  Today, we ate at the Leavenworth Sausage Garten.  It is every bit as fast-food as the Drive-In, but it was a change.  A change that wouldn't have happened unless we had to charge!

On Your Mark.  Get Set.  Go!

While looking for a park for Sabrina to play at in Leavenworth, we stumbled upon an Easter egg hunt...at the Suncadia Lodge, we went on a "bear hunt" (a.k.a. hiking trail) and enjoyed stunning panoramas of the Yakima River...at the Summit at Snoqualmie, Sabrina and I had some care-free moments in the snow.  Before owning an electric vehicle, we never took the time to enjoy these places like this.  Today was casual.  There was no worry about hitting the tourist spots like what happens when these places are the destination.  Instead, our stops today gifted us with the time to recharge.  It was perfect.

It's St. Patrick's Day. We're Going Green!

Driving an electric car for the purpose of being "green" was about 17th on the list of considerations for me when we decided to buy our LEAF.  However, after more than 10,000 miles of gas-free driving, there became a realization that being gas-free is not just good for the pocketbook, but it's also pretty good for the environment.

Grand Coulee:  The World's 5th Largest Hydroelectric Dam

Upper-Most Section of the Youngs Creek Falls

I've read that EV ownership in the Pacific Northwest is particularly environmentally friendly because the electricity that is generated for consumption in the region comes from sources that can harvest electrical energy with minimal impact.  In Snohomish County, our electricity is provided by the Snohomish County PUD.  The power supplies for PUD come from several different sources:  hydroelectric, biomass, wind, and landfill gas--with other methods in development.  Hydroelectric generation accounts for more than 80% of the utilities' power.  When I think of hydroelectric power, the concrete monstrosity that is Grand Coulee Dam comes to mind.  However, the PUD is increasingly incorporating small scale hydroelectric operations.  Today, we set out to visit one of these locations:  The Youngs Creek Project.  The power generation at the Youngs Creek Falls is only 7.5 megawatts.  Compared to Grand Coulee's 6000 megawatts peak capacity, this seems like a pitiful joke by the PUD.  There are benefits to downscaling power generation, though, mainly being a much lower impact on the local environment and fish habitats.







Not every region in the U.S. is able to produce electricity as "clean" as the West.  Want your EV to be green?  You better go coastal.  Multiple studies show that regions where electricity can be generated from wind and water benefit the most from maximizing the use of that clean energy.  Electric vehicles happen to be an ideal application of the use of this clean electricity because an EV purchase is likely to replace a gas-powered vehicle on the road.

Want your EV to be green?  You better go coastal.

So, that brings me back to today's trip.  I cannot imagine taking my kids to visit BP's Cherry Point oil refinery in Anacortes, WA for a fun adventure.  Rather, a family outing to Cherry Point serves as a cautionary tale.  On this St. Patrick's Day, "going green" was also a lesson on what is right in going gas-free.

An EV Enthusiast?

Many folks say that America's obsession with their cars is waning.  Are internet-enabled, app-sprouting cell phones going to take over as our most beloved inanimate possessions?  CNN, among others, believe so:  Why Young Americans Ditch Their Cars.

When I was a young buck, spending five or six hours on a Saturday washing and waxing my car was not just pleasure, it was duty.  I was supposed to do it.  I was supposed to buff my car with a diaper.  I was supposed to cruise the town with my pals, or by myself for goodness sakes.  After all, that car was the embodiment of my character, however delusional that likely was.  

Fast forward a couple of decades...who has the time to spend loving on a car when there are so many things competing for my time, sweat, and money.  My obsession with cars was not just on hiatus, it was dead.  That is until I saw a quirky movie called Who Killed the Electric Car?.  It was the beginning of The Great Recession, and now electric cars seemed to be the future of practicality...of saving money.  I became obsessed with these cars called EVs.  When we bought our LEAF in August of 2012, I had developed a one-track mind for no-gas.  Money saving led to an infatuation with the LEAF...the love affair with the automobile was back!  

Standing Around Talking About ( Electric) Cars

This weekend, a group of EV enthusiasts got together at a little coffee house to share our passion for the Nissan LEAF and EVs.  Sure, there weren't any burn-outs, and it was a little weird to pop the hood on an electric car to chat kilowatts.  But is sure was fun.  There is something about being with like-minded people to share stories and excitement for something.  At one point during the day, I thought about popping the LEAF's charging port door to show the world the car's two, read:  TWO!, charging inlets.  This sucker can take on 100 amps with the best of them.  

Kidding aside, electric vehicles are surely going to play a big part in rekindling America's love for the automobile.  They are practical, fun, and, dare I say, "hip."  Once the cost of batteries comes down, EVs will be accessible to young drivers, too.  I've even seen a poster at the mall of an electric fantasy car.  After all, iPhones are sooo 2007.

The Pleasure & Pain...

The title of this blog is Are We There Yet? The Pleasure & Pain of EV Ownership.  Sometimes the "pain" is more evident than the pleasures.  

The two pictures below show where we do most of our driving.  We work, shop, play, and visit friends and family mostly in this area, from Everett to Seattle.  The first picture shows all of the gas stations (red dots) while the second depicts the EV charging opportunities (green/orange blimps) in our region.  When comparing the two, it is easy to think that the electric vehicle folks are trying to install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE or "chargers") in roughly the same locations and in similar numbers as what the petroleum folks have done with gas stations.  Why, then, do we ever worry about running out of electricity in the LEAF?  

Over the weekend, we'll be documenting the destinations that we travel to in the LEAF.  If there is a chance to plug-in, we'll do it.  Afterwards, maybe we'll have some clarity on the whole "range anxiety" phenomena.

King/Snohomish County Gas Stations (Google Maps)

King/Snohomish County Plug-Ins (PlugShare)

Library:  No Plug-In

Costco:  No Plug-In

Alderwood Mall:  Level 1 (120v)=Slow Charging!

Target:  No Plug-In

Local High School:  No Plug-In

After a couple of days of public charging consciousness, a few things are apparent.  One, the public EVSE infrastructure has some ways to go to help make charging on-the-go an afterthought.  Two, having a Level 2 (240 volt) EVSE installed at home is currently a must-have.  Lastly, not once were we anxious or stressed due to the lack of EVSEs.

With the range of most of the electric vehicles available today, daily driving an EV to work or around town on errands is easily accomplished.  If drivers want to use an EV for those 100+ mile outings, that, too, is possible with some planning...and the pain of inconvenience.

Cold Weather EV Range Test

We are now into our sixth month of owning an electric vehicle...a 2012 Nissan LEAF.  It was understandable that the switch from a gas car (Ford Focus) to an electric vehicle was going to require a change in driving habits.  What we never anticipated, though, was how fun EV ownership can be!

With that being said, making the LEAF our primary family-hauler does require some effort.  The '12 LEAF is rated at 73 miles of range by the E.P.A.  What we've realized, though, is that an EV's range is not an absolute number.  Many factors affect the range, and this is what led to a blog to share the stories.  There are endless opportunities to learn something about the car and its range capabilities, and it's always fun to share the pain and pleasure of these excursions.

For today's adventure, Sabrina and I are setting out to find out what the range of the LEAF currently is...from full charge to the Very Low Battery warning.  You can see that we're bundled up; we will not be using the heater on this trip.  Yes, it's only 42 degrees outside.  And yes, the heater zaps a lot of energy.  So, let's bundle up!