Jim Standen

EV Tips: Charging

I often get asked about EV Chargers. The EV Group has worked diligently to encourage merchants around Salt Spring to install Level 2 Chargers that are mostly free to use (some have donation boxes - please use them). The charging stations are primarily for tourists, but are also intended for our use. I’ll take this opportunity to thank the business owners again for their generous support. However, is this where you would charge your new EV? Not exclusively, that would be totally uncool. So what options do you have? The first thing to say is that charging is easy. Just like you plug in your lap-top or phone when you get home, you will mostly charge your EV the same way, at home. Come out in the morning to a full charge. A lot of people are bothered because it can take hours to charge a big battery, but the truth is that you are mostly asleep and the total ‘charging time’ is the time it takes you to plug in and unplug your car. Less than 60 seconds. How long will it take to …

EV Tips: Driving Electric Cars in Winter

This winter we have seen our share of challenging weather. I have often been asked how EVs manage in snow and slush and on icy roads. And what about the range?? So here’s my take on driving an EV in the winter. First…Creature comforts. In an EV, use the heated seats and if you have one, the steering wheel heaters. They work really well, and a warm bum and hands helps you to stay warm without having a really hot cabin. The cabin heat and defogger use a bit of juice, so I keep the cabin at a low set temperature, and cycle the defogger on and off. Better yet, if you have access to your car via your phone, pre-warm the cabin before you leave for the day or before heading out from your performance at ArtSpring. You will lose distance during the Winter months. The combination of reduced battery efficiency and reduced re-generative braking, increased use of headlights, heater, high friction winter tires, all take their toll. But you get used to it very quickly and the…

EV Tips from Jim Standen and the EV Group

Promoting Sustainable Transportation on Salt Spring Island ~ I am pleased to announce that the ArtSpring EV chargers are back in operation. This was the first EV Charger on SSI and has been working reliably for 6 years. The original wands (the thing that plugs into your car) wore out from overuse (which is kind of a good thing - wink). The new wands are far superior to the original ones. Larger contacts - better materials, etc. I would like to thank Julian Sale of Motorize - Your EV Store, for sourcing the wands and doing the replacement work at no charge, Jeff Chamberland of Bearfoot Renewables for the removal and re-installation and Erin at ArtSpring for running the panel. This is a good time to remind folks that ArtSpring does not own the chargers, Transition Salt Spring does. The EV group (a sub-group of TSS) tries to provide funding via the donation box to cover the electricity usage, repairs, eventual replacement, and signage (behind the c…

Electric Vehicle Density on Salt Spring

With the recent COP21 decision in Paris to have a plan to address the threat of climate change through Green House Gas (GHG) reductions, Salt Spring Island is proud to be already leading the way. Electric vehicles are the low hanging fruit for emission reduction and we have the highest density of electric automobiles in Canada (and quite possibly the US) and more are arriving on a regular basis. We will end the year with at least 61 fully electric vehicles quietly not producing any GHG emissions. A recent and conservative estimate of our total fleet emission reduction (through avoidance) is estimated to be at least 200 Tonnes per year. And we have 6 Public free charging stations sponsored by our generous local business for our visiting EV tourists. And this is, as they say, just the start.

Growing Electricity Based Transportation Movement

There have been many achievements over the past year in support of electricity based transportation on Salt Spring Island. This especially true in support of electric cars with the installation of Level II charging stations at B&B's and commercial locations in Ganges. We have rapidly grown to almost 50 fully electric cars in a very short time, to by far the highest density of EV's in Canada. We have many more e-bikes (and vendors) and we have an industrial electric drone company. We have created new jobs in the community. To recognize our achievements and the opening of the charging stations at Country Grocer and Island Savings, Transition Salt Spring and the Chamber of Commerce together with our sponsoring businesses, have gathered for a celebration. The focus is our expanded infrastructure and the many available and affordable forms of electric transportation. Automotive vendors including Vancouver TESLA, Motorize Auto Direct, Graham Kia, Three Point Motors, C…

Electric Vehicles - Sharing the Benefits

We have just completed our first 2,500 kilometers driving our all-electric Nissan Leaf, almost all of which has been on Salt Spring. Ours is a used vehicle (affordable to us) that was pre-owned as a leased unit by Nissan. It provides a good driving range, is comfortable, quiet, handles well, and has a surprising amount of power to ensure safe driving. Almost all of the time, we have plugged the car into a standard 120v outdoor outlet at our home. We have occasionally used the Artspring Level II charger, which is free for use by the public, but the electricity used is currently paid by our local organization, Transition Salt Spring (TSS). A big thank you to TSS for providing this valuable service to our local electric vehicle owners and providing an incentive to those considering visiting our island. This week we received the first Hydro bill since purchasing the car, and as per predictions based on the car technical specifications, it has increased somewhere between …