What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

Was this post written by ChatGPT?

 

That was my concession. On one hand Tesla is more practical. Public charging is available and way better. Other ev's are close to impossible to raid trip. Tesla has a built in system and map guiding you to the quickest route to charge efficiently.

On the other hand as these cars are generally bought as extras they are not yet counted on for this duty. SO who knows what will happen.

 

Totally worth all that effort.

 

I've read that I need an internet. How do I get one?

 

This is above my pay grade... @what

 

You do get tax credit for used EV now under the new bill but certain criteria have to be met

1) the sale price is less than $25k

2) you would be the second owner

3) you buy it from a dealer

I haven’t looked too much into it but that’s my basic understanding. Dig deeper into it.

 

No wonder Tesla is panic selling their inventory.
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Wyoming wants to phase out sales of new EVs by 2035

https://www.engadget.com/wyoming-wants-to-phase-out-sales-of-new-e-vs-by-2035-200704042.html

 

Damn, that's cool and makes more sense (give or take the dealer part). But I would have qualified for exactly all three of those a couple of years ago when we got ours.

 

Absolutely.

Solar should last 30+ years. (Qualifies for 30% tax credit as well as state credits?

Level 2 charger should be a one time expense. (material and labor qualify for 30% tax credit and state credits)

Which means for the balance of 30+ years you can run your EVs on free energy once your solar is paid off. And before it’s paid off, if you have worked your numbers, you should be breaking close to even.

 

What if you move houses? What about apartment dwellers and people who lease?

 

Just ordered my 77 year old mother a Model Y Long Range, been thinking about getting a Tesla for a couple years now, the price drop made it a no brainer and she still qualifies for the rebate while paying enough taxes from her RMD/investments. No test drive, just showed her the car online while I was ordering and told her if you can operate an iphone you can drive a Tesla lol

 

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-credit

The income limitation is more strict than the new EV credit. Guess I'm getting an Escape!

 

You need to evaluate it based on your own situation.

1) Do you get enough sunlight where you intend to place your panels? If your house is covered by trees, solar is not going to work for you, If you are not able to place most of your panels facing southern sky, solar is not going to be efficient for you. Pitch of the roof matters as well with regards to production.

2). How old is your roof? The best time to get solar is when you are geting your roofs done. This way the age of the roof and panels coincide. The second best time to get solar is right now if your electric billls are getting out of hand.

If your roof is 12 years or less, not an issue going solar. Even roof if 15 years old or more, consider replacing the roof side where the solar is going. You can upgrade the non solar roof part later.

The other option is to not worry about the roof, if it is in decent shape, let it age as it is. Then when the roof needs replacement, have the solar company dismantle the solar equipment and reinstall on the new roof.

The labor for dismantling and reinstalling is not bad. Around $3000 or so for entire system. Very acceptable given you are saving a lot more with solar.

3). How long do you intend to stay at the house? If you do not intend to stay for at least 7 years or more, you might want to reconsider.

However, even this depends on several factors.

For example how high is your monthly electric bill? My last monthly electric bill was lose to $400 and that’s with the contract deal in place for discounted rate. Once that is up my electric bill could well be over $500. My case makes a much stronger case for solar.

But even if you have to move, all is not lost . As long as you are not leasing the panels and paying to own, it will increase the property value.

NEVER EVER lease solar panels. That’s the worst thing you could do. You don’t qualify for tax rebates with lease. The company claims the tax rebate. Also when you want to sell the house, a solar lease becomes a nightmare.

Having and owning (not leasing) a solar panel that offsets your electric bill, and you can show and document this to house buyers, can make it very attractive especially where utility rates are high.

Lastly, apartment dwellers and people that lease should not consider solar. I am pretty sure they don’t even qualify for tax rebates. It’s the owner of the property that everything goes through.

 

I was about to make a joke about driving through the garage, but for real, make sure she's aware of the instant torque, especially if she hasn't test driven.

 

Don't worry, if she doesn’t run you over the car will do it on its own

 

What area of town so fellow clutchfans can avoid it…

 

Spring Branch. I had the upgraded black wheels at first and then realized those things will be curb checked to hell in the first week so stayed with the standard wheel package.

We will take her to Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon around lunch for her first drive, if she can survive Bellaire during dim sim hours she can make it anywhere.

 

Thank you very much for this info, this is all great advice. I think what is clear is that solar and shift to EVs is not yet feasible, affordable, or economical for most people. The costs of EVs themselves are getting higher and higher, the electric costs to charge them are high, and finding a way to charge for cheap (your solar example) can only work out long term in very limited circumstances.

So to address the thread title, the shift needs to be clean AND cheap, not just clean, and not clean and expensive, or else the shift just won't happen, at least not very quickly.

 

One solar solution that existed when I lived in Minnesota (but doesn't seem to exist in most states) is community solar gardens. Basically, instead of mounting panels on our roof, I was able to either buy or lease panels at a dedicated solar site and get the credits for electricity generated from the panels. In Minnesota, the utilities are required by law to interconnect with registered solar gardens so there's a guaranteed market for them. Well managed solar gardens cover maintenance and do a good job of optimizing the panels. I think the state law actually enforces a higher credit for electricity generated from community gardens than roofs. The only downside is that you naturally won't get the ability to install battery backups.

But it was always a great option for us since we were never planning on owning our house for decades. So instead, we bought panel panels at a community site and then sold the panels when we moved. Also it gives access to solar for people that rent and those solar garden panels are naturally portable as long as you stay in the state.