Double blows today
Posted 02-03-2009 at 12:52 PM by moldiebrownie
Tags legal, plugging in
I've been commuting for 2 weeks now and today my boss (who supports what I'm doing) pulled me aside to tell me he was in a recent meeting with top company execs. At this meeting they informed him that they had heard (I work in a small field office, me and six other sales guy and my boss) that I have an electric car and are concerned about me plugging in. Apparantly they think I am using a lot of electricity. Its only 12 miles to my work and its like a top off charge...about 2.5 hours. Long story short ....my boss asked me to lay low for awhile (dont plug in). I can make the trip and back without charging but I got some pretty severe hills and I like to be at full voltage when I tackle them. I told him no problem, I got alot of things I still need to do so I'll work on it for a month or two. Its up in the air whether or not I can continue to charge at work though. I work for a auto parts supplier so my company might feel strangely about supporting me....we sell gas car parts...everything. If I worked at say, Apple computer or something..no problem. Second thing was today I went back to the DMV (department of motor vehicles) in California for my inspection to get my stickers. A stern lady there who inspected it told me I had to put the passenger seat in and also cover up my batteries inside...so I got to go back...very disappointing. I've seen guys with less tidy conversions that got their stickers no problem but this lady was very uptight..I felt there could be a problem as soon as I started talking to her.
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Total Comments 16
Comments
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I think that I would make it known that they are being petty. They should be embarassed in the first place to even bring that up, and if they aren't then they just need to be re-appraised as to the big picture. I think it just shows their true colors.
It is the little things that either keep people motivated to stay at a job, or piss them off enough to quit. These things don't even have to cost a lot. This falls in that second category.Posted 10-19-2007 at 11:47 AM by kittydog42 
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I recommend buying a Kill A Watt™ , I did just in case for the scenario you described.
They'll be embarrassed when you offer to pay them back the dollar a day you consume.
It has a large LCD display that counts consumption by the Kilowatt-hour just like utility companies. You can figure out your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, even an entire year. Monitor the quality of your power by displaying Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor.
Hope that Helps,
MannyPosted 11-20-2007 at 12:12 AM by Mannyman
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That's wonderful! I was going to suggest something along the lines of building a meter and offering to pay, but I didn't realize there was a commercially available product.Quote:Originally Posted by Mannyman
I recommend buying a Kill A Watt™ , I did just in case for the scenario you described.
*The More You Know theme plays*
Posted 11-20-2007 at 07:58 AM by pandaran
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Fantastic idea. I actually just read the rating on the charger of my bike to do the same calculation. I know that a bicycle draws a lot less current than a car, but it's the same principal. I have lots of fun telling people that I am costing the school 90 cents per month. I geuss I could hand the school a 5 dollar bill at the end of the semester.
Posted 02-14-2008 at 07:05 AM by xrotaryguy
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I would not even attempt to charge at work because I know someone would make it an issue. People are funny, and there is always going to be someone who doesn't like you, or doesn't like "activists", or whatever. It's hard to educate everyone as to how little electricity your using and to some it would not matter, they just don't want you getting something they don't get.
A sad state of affairs.
"Green" can mean clean or it can mean envious.
DonmanvaPosted 02-14-2008 at 04:53 PM by donmanva
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Yeah, I guess it depends on where you work. I am a full-time student right now, so everyone here is of the granola variety. You know, fruits nuts and flakes... Democrats... :P Anyway, I have had no problems charging here at school. Everyone here is always very happy to hear that I use so little of the school's resources in my pursuit of clean-affordable transportation. If I worked at Haliburton, that would probably not be the case.
Posted 02-15-2008 at 01:41 PM by xrotaryguy
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Hi
I know this is an old post, I hope you are still following it. I would do what someone has suggested and buy a Kill-a-watt. Measure what you use and offer to pay them TWICE what it costs. How can they refuse, if they are concerned about the cost, and they are now making money off of you. And then they will feel foolish when you pay them the $1.17 or whatever you use.
But I guess you don't want to make your bosses feel foolish. I guess I have been self-employed to long
PeterPosted 04-02-2008 at 07:19 AM by heynow999
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Well yeah you have to keep the batteries covered! What if one blows up in your face? Did you see what Kiwi did? Not only did he have have them enclosed, he also has to have a fan that blows air through them for 3 minutes after you shut off.Quote:Originally Posted by DIY Electric Car Blogs
A stern lady there who inspected it told me I had to put the passenger seat in and also cover up my batteries inside...so I got to go back...very disappointing. I've seen guys with less tidy conversions that got their stickers no problem but this lady was very uptight..I felt there could be a problem as soon as I started talking to her.
More...Posted 04-03-2008 at 06:20 AM by the slashmaster
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I had the same problem, with my employer. But, that only lasted one day. When my boss told me that the general manager told him to tell me that I could not charge anymore, I scheduled a meeting with the general manager. Then I wrote an email, but did not send it. Instead, I printed it and saved it to disk. During my meeting, the general manager said that other employees had the perception that I was getting a "free ride". I told her that I had written an email that I would send to all employees, with her approval. She then read the printed copy of the email. She laughed and said that was a great idea. I then went to accounting and we calculated out a billing plan that included the energy cost plus an administrative fee which all totaled sixty cents per month. We were all laughing during the entire proceeding and everybody came out happy.
The following is the email I sent...
Little yellow electric car…
I guess most everyone has seen the little yellow electric car parked on the west side of the back parking lot. The car belongs to my wife, Heidi. She generously lets me drive it every other day. I park it on the west side because it is convenient to plug it in to top off its charge. Keeping it topped off extends the life of the batteries.
The commute from my house to work is 10 miles and the car consumes 1.56 KWH of energy for that commute. The Austin Energy rate is 3.55 cents per KWH so that works out to about 5.5 cents for the commute. As a comparison, a 1500-watt portable electric heater like many use at their work area, consumes 1.5 KWH of energy in one hour.
This is really cheap transportation, but regardless I am not seeking a free ride. I have set up a payment plan with accounting to cover my charging expenses.
Just wanted everyone to know.
Ken Thomas
Engineering
Posted 04-03-2008 at 07:31 AM by KensCircus
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I had the same problem, with my employer. But, that only lasted one day. When my boss told me that the general manager told him to tell me that I could not charge anymore, I scheduled a meeting with the general manager. Then I wrote an email, but did not send it. Instead, I printed it and saved it to disk. During my meeting, the general manager said that other employees had the perception that I was getting a "free ride". I told her that I had written an email that I would send to all employees, with her approval. She then read the printed copy of the email. She laughed and said that was a great idea. I then went to accounting and we calculated out a billing plan that included the energy cost plus an administrative fee which all totaled sixty cents per month. We were all laughing during the entire proceeding and everybody came out happy.
The following is the email I sent...
Little yellow electric car…
I guess most everyone has seen the little yellow electric car parked on the west side of the back parking lot. The car belongs to my wife, Heidi. She generously lets me drive it every other day. I park it on the west side because it is convenient to plug it in to top off its charge. Keeping it topped off extends the life of the batteries.
The commute from my house to work is 10 miles and the car consumes 1.56 KWH of energy for that commute. The Austin Energy rate is 3.55 cents per KWH so that works out to about 5.5 cents for the commute. As a comparison, a 1500-watt portable electric heater like many use at their work area, consumes 1.5 KWH of energy in one hour.
This is really cheap transportation, but regardless I am not seeking a free ride. I have set up a payment plan with accounting to cover my charging expenses.
Just wanted everyone to know.
Ken Thomas
EngineeringPosted 04-03-2008 at 07:33 AM by KensCircus
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Hey Ken
Just read your post and thought I'd come welcome you to the DIY. How is Tweety anyway? I had a call from a guy the other day and he just started raving about this yellow 3 wheeled car doing a burnout on Youtube 8^) I asked was it named "Tweety" and the guy say's Yeah! I think it was. Anyway, just thought you might get a giggle out of that.
Cya
Jim Husted
Hi-Torque ElectricPosted 04-03-2008 at 07:37 PM by Hi Torque Electric
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Hey Thanks Jim!
Yes, Tweety is doing great. Except that rear tire is getting pretty slick! I am learning that street tires perform much better with tread!
Everything is about the same except it is getting harder to find a hot street car to embarrass. It seems all of them in this area has learned to avoid Tweety!
I decided to look around to see where John and everyone went after the EVDL thing and found this forum. Don't know if John is here, but I found that you and Wildman are here so I decided to join. Great forum!
Ken
Posted 04-04-2008 at 07:35 AM by KensCircus
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Ken, great story. I also live in Austin so now I know I have another resource a bit closer to ask questions!
Posted 04-04-2008 at 01:22 PM by jnissen
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I read recently that Austin has a couple of companies that are really making the news when it comes to electric cars or hybrids. Nowadays, especially with the "green" thoughts of today (Earth Day for example), I would think a company would be PROUD to say that they have employees that are taking advantage of the eco-minded opportunities.
Anyway, congrats!! Good job on the investigation of what you really use in electricity.
Have you thought of going Lithium? The lifetime of those batteries is rumored to be EXTREMELY long... you can get up to 5000 charges, and then they just drop a bit in efficiency!
Matt
Independence, MOPosted 04-24-2008 at 09:02 AM by mstalanon
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That's a good comparison referring to those personal space heaters people use. I guess you could always use coffee pots, mircowaves, radios, hairblowers, or any other appliance workers and management uses.
If the company wants to make a profit, they could put in a few "parking meters" (electrical stations) and people could pay as they go for usage.
I photoshopped this "meter" but you get the idea.
Posted 05-25-2008 at 02:56 AM by tj4fa
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Hey it would be a shame if your customers all learned you where an expert in Battery, Power delivery and inverters.
DIY owners of RV's, busses and EV's would NEVER shop for Auto parts for their car.
Owners of $ 100,000 Rv's probably don't have any money to spend on parts you know.
Be a real shame if you started ordering Banks of Batteries and inverters for these same customers. I mean ya'll probably don't need to supply 8 batteries for a Rv inverter at $ 3,500. no real profit in that.
Home owners with Solar and computer battery back-ups, no market there.
Be a super Shame if 50 people in your local comunity decided to follow your example and build thier own car and spend the entire $10,000 conversion cost with your Employer. let's see 50 x 10,000 issssss.........
You probably didn't use ANY parts form an Auto Parts house to wire and outfit your EV conversion.
since ya'll don't need ANY additional Markets to expand into.
Might as well not support you at all.Posted 06-07-2008 at 11:24 AM by SuperChuck_A11
