A blog about gadgets and green stuffhttp://www.jaffacake.net/en-usMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:18:14 +0100 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:05:51 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/green-electricityGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/green-electricity?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/green-electricity http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/green-electricity http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/green-electricity?opendocument&comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:28:00 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-car-uk-emissions-equalityGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-car-uk-emissions-equality?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-car-uk-emissions-equality http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/volvo-car-uk-emissions-equality http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-car-uk-emissions-equality?opendocument&comments Thu, 8 Dec 2011 14:53:55 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/the-changing-face-of-electricityGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/the-changing-face-of-electricity?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/the-changing-face-of-electricity http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/the-changing-face-of-electricity http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/the-changing-face-of-electricity?opendocument&comments Wed, 2 Nov 2011 10:15:00 +0100
Regular readers of this site will likely have read some of the previous articles f]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/zero-emissions-or-just-hot-airGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/zero-emissions-or-just-hot-air?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/zero-emissions-or-just-hot-air http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/zero-emissions-or-just-hot-air http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/zero-emissions-or-just-hot-air?opendocument&comments Wed, 5 Oct 2011 11:55:39 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/fuel-dutyGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/fuel-duty?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/fuel-duty http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/fuel-duty http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/fuel-duty?opendocument&comments Tue, 6 Sep 2011 15:30:46 +0100
Commuting in the Prius for two weeks was plenty time to get accustomed to the feel of ownership. I'd never driven a 3rd gen Prius before but had been a passenger in a colleagues car on numerous occasions. As a passenger is felt big and spacious - in fact a bit too spacious. It didn't feel cosy at all, a bit like drinking in an empty pub. Behind the steering wheel, however, things feel a bit different. Whilst you still have plenty of room, in the pilot's seat things begin to feel a bit more normal. It still couldn't be described as cosy, but considerably less detached and rather more comfortable

At this point, it would make sense to draw some comparisons to the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle, which I drove for an extended period on their European Press Launch in Lisbon, Portugal. After all, potential buyers may well be trying to make some kind of comparison between these two well known plug-in vehicles.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-five-how-does-it-driveGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-five-how-does-it-drive?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-five-how-does-it-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-five-how-does-it-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-five-how-does-it-drive?opendocument&comments Thu, 1 Sep 2011 09:05:56 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/how-many-electric-car-owners-does-it-take-to-change-a-60W-lightbulbGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/how-many-electric-car-owners-does-it-take-to-change-a-60W-lightbulb?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/how-many-electric-car-owners-does-it-take-to-change-a-60W-lightbulb http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/how-many-electric-car-owners-does-it-take-to-change-a-60W-lightbulb http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/how-many-electric-car-owners-does-it-take-to-change-a-60W-lightbulb?opendocument&comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:55:34 +0100
European emissio]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/dear-car-magazineGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/dear-car-magazine?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/dear-car-magazine http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/dear-car-magazine http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/dear-car-magazine?opendocument&comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:56:21 +0100
This scenario isn't entirely typical of EV ownership, more like visiting somebody else whilst you're driving oned. Long term owners often choose to have a permanent outdoor socket fitted for the purpose in a handy location. With a cost of around £1000 for a future proof fast charger, however, you may need to drive over 10,000 miles on electric power before you get a true return on that investment.

Opening the garage door, first I found my old faithful tool - a plug in 13 Amp power meter. This measures the instantaneous voltage and current going through a power socket and also totals the power consumption, in kWh, over time. This will be perfect to see how much charge we get into the batteries of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

I unwrapped the cable and plugged the charging "gun" into the socket in the front left of the car and then walked across the garage towards the mains socket in the far corner. At this point you realise that 7 metres isn't as far as you think and, with the instructions explicitly stating not to use an extension cable, it was time for another plan.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-four-home-chargingGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-four-home-charging?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-four-home-charging http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-four-home-charging http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-four-home-charging?opendocument&comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:37:04 +0100
As I was parked at the office, the short charge time of the Prius was convenient and when I came to leave, the batteries were full and we were back to a range of 12.7miles - until the air-con kicked in. For realism, however, I left the climate control turned on and set to my preferred 20.5C - considerably cooler than the external 24C temperature. Range slowly ticking away, I hastily entered my destination into the sat nav and proceeded on my way.

The first thing I noticed was that this model has no reversing camera fitted. Having owned a car with one fitted for many years now, it's always a bit weird to reverse out whilst staring at the sat nav...suddenly you realise that you need to use the mirrors. This is the only time the split rear screen of the Prius comes in handy - whilst it's pretty odd to look out of in normal conditions, without the lower section you couldn't really see out properly and reversing could be problematic in an unfamiliar car without a camera.

I realised there was an "eco" button on the dash and, having not used it on the little drive back from picking up the car in the morning, I thought I'd give it a go. Normally, a throttle pedal carefully controls the speed/acceleration of the vehicle. More throttle, more speed. Even more throttle, even more speed etc. In "eco" mode, however, all these movements are smoothed out (read ignored) and, unless you put your foot right on the floor, the car will pull away with all the haste of a Nissan Micra owner off to pick up her pension from the Post Office. Slow and uncomfortable is not enough to describe it when you're used to a responsive throttle pedal and nipping into small gaps on a roundabout.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-three-first-driveGreenBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-three-first-drive?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-three-first-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-three-first-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-three-first-drive?opendocument&comments