December Report - 2013 Was A Very Good Year! | Print |
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Written by Administrator   
Wednesday, 01 January 2014 21:05

I was just getting the hang of writing '2013' on my checks...yes, another year is in the history books and now it's time to assess how our solar house and plugin car performed.

pvdec13First, let's look at the electrical output from the 4.2 kW array. It ended up generating 4,190 kWhrs of electricity - a sizeable quantity from a system which is in its 19th year. There were no glitches as it continued to perform flawlessly. We've reached 4,200 kWhrs annually for most of  the past years - should I round it off to 4,200? :>)

priusdec13Second, our plugin Prius delivered outstanding mileage over the summer, registering 411 mpg at one point! The overall mileage since I bought the car in the fall of 2012 is 144 mpg. You'll note from the attached photograph that we are now in the 10-mile charge range - that's the wintertime maximum for a 3-hour charge. I use the plugin primarily for local travel. I'm just 1.6 miles from our small village and 6 from a larger town. I have no complaints about this vehicle but I look forward in another year and a half, when my lease runs out, to getting my hands on an all-electric car with at least a 75-mile range. The passive and active solar systems continue to produce comfort in the winter.

2013 was a very good year...here's to 2014!

Last Updated on Monday, 03 March 2014 12:44