In many parts of the country, like Los Angeles where I do electrical work, electric vehicles (EVs) are being delivered to anxiously waiting customers. Deliveries are also starting in other West Coast cities as well as cities along the Eastern Seaboard. In the center of the country, not so much. In many cases, these areas will start receiving deliveries towards the end of 2011.

Let’s say electric car deliveries have already started in your area and you own of these new-fangled vehicles — a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. How do you recharge the battery? In my last post, I talked about the simple and inexpensive option, Level 1 charging. This is using a charging cord that comes as standard equipment with your electric vehicle, similar to the one your cell phone comes with. You’ll need an electrician to make sure that you’ve got the right kind of outlet in your garage or carport (GFI outlet on a dedicated circuit). Your electrician will also need to check whether your electrical panel needs upgrading for sufficient capacity. Once it’s a go, plug your charging cord into the outlet and wait … a long time. For the Chevy Volt, 10 hours, and the Nissan Leaf, 20 hours — empty to full.

Even though Level 1 charging is slow, drivers who have short commutes may be satisfied with it because, if they work it right, they won’t start at empty. They’ll have charge left in their batteries and will simply top off at night.

Here’s how it can work. The range of the Nissan Leaf is about 100 miles. Americans drive an average of 33 miles a day. Drivers who drive the average 33 miles will use only one-third of the battery in a day. If they religiously plug in when arriving home, they will be able to top off at night in about seven hours and leave with a full charge in the morning.

In addition, the pressure to be fully charged when leaving home will ease as chargers are increasingly installed in public places. Chargers are already available in Los Angeles train stations, the main airport (L.A.X.), the L.A. Convention Center, and other public places. One can easily find the network of existing public chargers on-line. In addition, malls will begin installing chargers as an inducement for shoppers and workplaces as an employment benefit. In time, you’ll be able to recharge your battery while you shop or work. But we’re not there yet.

For hybrids, like the Chevy Volt, the issue of leaving home fully charged is less pressing. The Chevy Volt can drive for about 35 miles on a fully-charged battery. Once the battery hits empty, it, like other hybrids, the Volt turns to burning gas in a conventional internal combustion engine. This isn’t good for gas usage, but on the other hand, the driver may suffer less from “range anxiety.”

While you may be able to make Level 1 charging work, you also have the option of faster charging by installing a special Level 2 charger in your garage or carport. More on Level 2 Charging in later posts or find out more by clicking here.

For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — . If you’re interested coupons for electrical work, for example, $50 off installation of a Whole House Surge Protector in the L.A. area, click on our coupon page.

Maciej Winiarcyzk using more than two thousand digital photographs just over a month ago.

I have never had the privilege of seeing the northern lights in real life, but my sister lives in northern Canada and has told me about them. (She’s a pretty credible source: She even named her daughter Aurora.) After asking her, “What ARE the northern lights,” several times, I now understand the aurora borealis to be a visual effect of the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric charged particles with the thermosphere. Can you see why I had to ask what the northern lights were more than once? The northern lights are most spectacular near the North Pole and during spring and autumn equinoxes. (And, by the way, no. The northern lights are not Santa’s off-season hobby.) But the northern lights, if there are some geomagnetic storms a-brewin’, can be seen closer to home, too, visible occasionally as far south as Chicago or New York.

Anyway, this guy Winiarcyzk is an astronomy enthusiast who lives in Caithness, which is at the tippy top of Scotland. There’s isn’t much light pollution way up there, so it’s a good place for such a sky-minded person to live and enjoy his hobby. Wonderfully, with this time lapse video of the northern lights, we get to enjoy his hobby, too.

Take a look. Have you ever seen anything more lovely occurring in nature? You know, with all this solar wind, magnetospheric particles, thermospheres, and geomagnetic storms, it sure seems like there is a lot more going on in nature than we can readily sense.

Commercial buildings such as ones that house a large number of offices also consume a significant amount of electricity. Most businesses look for ways and means of saving electricity and making their premises more energy-efficient. There are numerous ways in which you can optimise energy-efficiency on your commercial premises.

For instance you can install high grade insulation, install energy-efficient windows and doors, get blinds, drapes and curtains; and use UV-resistant glass film on the window panes etc. While all of these are important aspects, it’s also very important that you incorporate some cost-saving electrical solutions for your commercial building, such as:

Most people try various energy- saving methods in an effort to reduce their utility bills, but one of the simplest ways of lowering your energy usage is to make the most of natural light. This process of allowing the sun’s rays to light up indoor spaces is referred to as daylighting. It can help reduce your buildings energy requirements, while also improving the health & productivity of your employees.

There was a time not too long ago when gas and electricity costs weren’t really a topic of concern at all. Keeping in view expenses such as mortgage payments, insurance etc, energy bills faded in comparison. However, that is no longer the case today. Energy costs have become a major concern for property owners and the need of the hour is for energy – efficient solutions to be incorporated into the home.

And there is no dearth of these types of solutions. Ranging from LED bulbs, use of solar energy, smart lighting, optimum insulation, use of energy-efficient building materials, switching from standard ovens to convection ovens, people are trying everything in the book to coax their energy bills to drop a little bit. While all these measures are definitely helpful in bringing down energy consumption, there is one more thing consumers can do to keep a handle on their energy bills- use smart lighting schedules!

Energy providers in Australia charge consumers a variety of rates; this is based on the type of meter in the house and the manner in which energy is used in peak & off-peak periods. There is no standard rule here as different retailers maintain different energy rates. The one way to get a much reduced rate is to opt for a long-term energy contract. It’s important to shop around a bit as the difference in rates between providers can be significant.

Off peak times are those when businesses and homes typically use less electricity. The off peak time is dependent on your meter type and location; however, these are typically on weekends and/or at night. When consumers use electricity in busy peak times, it burdens the electricity networks in the country. It’s also why energy usage in the off-peak hours is charged at much lower rates. This is the way consumers are encouraged to use power outside busy hours.

There is another definition of off-peak rates. This can refer to the electricity used by a particular appliance on a dedicated circuit. For instance the electric hot water system in your house could be on a separate circuit and will be billed separately, on the off peak rates your service provider is offering. It’s possible to leverage this off-peak rate to reduce energy costs in your home. You can use interval metering or off-peak hot water to benefit from these lower rates at set times of the day and the weekends.

If you are considering using smart scheduling, it’s important that you contact your energy provider and find out if it’s something they accommodate and what you are required to do. For advice on smart metering and other electrical installation services, call Allround Electrical at 1300 169 263. You can also drop us a line via email.

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