A blog about gadgets and green stuffhttp://www.jaffacake.net/en-usMon, 15 Aug 2011 21:18:14 +0100 Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:05:20 +0100http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-rara.comReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-rara.com?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-rara.com http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/review-rara.com http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-rara.com?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-airReviewsBen 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, 31 Aug 2011 12:43:27 +0100This is an article about Scan Computers International Ltd. 25-28 Enterprise Park, Middlebrook, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6PE - not to be mistaken w]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/scan-computers-3xs-system-reviewReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/scan-computers-3xs-system-review?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/scan-computers-3xs-system-review http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/scan-computers-3xs-system-review http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/scan-computers-3xs-system-review?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-chargingReviewsBen 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-driveReviewsBen 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 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:17:49 +0100
Pulling up next to the charging post at the office, I opened the boot to see a choice of 3 charging cables. Examining the plugs on each end, I grabbed the bag containing the fancy blue end and walked over to the charging post.

Waving the tag on the key-ring, the flap opened on the charging post to reveal a standard 13-Amp plug socket like that you might find in your home. So I went back and swapped out for the hi-viz curly yellow charging cable - I think these are a legal requirement in some areas when running a cable across the public pavement.

Once you've wasted time working out that the charging flap on the car doesn't open with a hidden lever/button inside the car, plug both ends of the cable in then close the flap on the charging post to start charging. The LED indicators on the charging post change from blue to green and the display changes to confirm that charging is taking place.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-two-public-chargingReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-two-public-charging?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-two-public-charging http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-two-public-charging http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/prius-plug-in-hybrid-part-two-public-charging?opendocument&comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:18:14 +0100
Regular readers will know I'm a little bit sceptical when it comes to plug-in electric cars. I question "zero emissions" claims from some manufacturers, as the electric has to come from a National Grid which already creates significant emissions of its own. I question the subsidies of up to £5000 that are given by the government for plug-in cars out of tax payers money. I also question the excessive pricing of some of the models on sale which, combined with their limited range, simply doesn't add up in my head.

So far I've written about the Nissan LEAF, Vauxhall Ampera and Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid models. I drove the LEAF at its European Press launch in Lisbon last year and found that, whilst it's a very comfortable drive, with its 100 mile range it's rather limited as a primary vehicle and too expensive as a second car. The Ampera, which I drove at Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, resolves range issues by carrying a petrol engine on board but the poor efficiency and added cost of this somewhat ruins the whole purpose of the whole car - it's not that eco friendly or cheap. In contrast though the Volvo made a lot of sense and, whilst it's an early prototype and final spec remains to be seen, it makes a lot of sense so far.

So how does the Plug-in Prius add up?
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-reviewReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-review?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-review http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-review http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-review?opendocument&comments Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:21:16 +0100
I wasn't there myself, I had my Ampera first drive at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum event in May, but this time attendees were apparently told amazing facts like under 40g/km of CO2, charging time of under 4 hours and some rather insane combined fuel economy figure of more than 176mpg. Naturally, as I did with the Nissan Leaf, I've done a few sums of my own.


It would seem the Vauxhall Ampera is being marketed as one of these wonderful new electric eco cars. Sold in the US as the Chevrolet Volt, it's the first of a new type of vehicle known as the Extended Range Electric Vehicle or E-REV - notice how they split of the E to make it look that little bit more eco? I expect on some marketing leaflet somewhere, they'll make that first E green and lower case, just to make it even cooler. It will probably go on to win a load of so called "Green Car Awards" but I digress.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/vauxhall-ampera-any-colour-but-greenReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/vauxhall-ampera-any-colour-but-green?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/vauxhall-ampera-any-colour-but-green http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/vauxhall-ampera-any-colour-but-green http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/vauxhall-ampera-any-colour-but-green?opendocument&comments Fri, 27 May 2011 11:18:24 +0100@majorgav very accu]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/my-smmt-in-a-nutshellReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/my-smmt-in-a-nutshell?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/my-smmt-in-a-nutshell http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/my-smmt-in-a-nutshell http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/my-smmt-in-a-nutshell?opendocument&comments Tue, 24 May 2011 17:43:47 +0100
What is it?

It was a truly multi-cultural event. I wa]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-first-driveReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/volvo-v60-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive?opendocument&comments