July was a healthy month for electrical production from our PV array. We generated 463 kWhrs of electricity courtesy of the sun. This brings us to 2,803 kWhrs for the year - with five months remaining to achieve our goal of 4,200 kWhrs or more. Looks like we'll make it with room to spare.

On August 2, I leased a Prius Plugin. I charge it each day from our household current (fed by our PV array). Actually, I'm plugging it into the SUN!

I'm getting 12+ miles on the electric vehicle battery which gives me nearly four roundtrips a day to our town without using a drop of gas. Once I come home, I plug it in again to top off the battery for additional gas-free trips during the day. In the first week, I averaged 136 mpg which was three times what I got in my diesel Jetta (around town). At the end of the second week my mpg was 156! The 1.0 mile data below the EV battery icon shows that I had one more mile to go before the car would switch over the the HV mode.

Yes, the mileage will go down when I take longer trips, but this is a fantastic way to use less fuel.

Look for the EV-HV Maine plates (Electric Vehicle - Hybrid Vehicle) on a highway near you.