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By Josh Goldman
It's 90 degrees here in our nation's capital but it might feel like the winter holiday season to those who reserved a Tesla Model 3. Expected to have a 215-mile range and sticker price of $35,000 (or $27,500 after the federal tax credit), the Model 3 will compete with the similar spec'd Chevy Bolt for the prize of cornering the early majority of electric vehicle owners.
No other automaker has a relatively affordable, 200 mile-plus range electric vehicle on the market, yet (the nextgen Nissan Leaf will compete too), and one or both of these vehicles may be a pivotal point in the modern shift to electrics. Assuming you're already sold on the benefits of driving on electricity, here are a couple tips for you to consider if you're prepping for an electric vehicle.
1. Prepare Your Home Charging
There are two main options for charging an electric vehicle at home: (1) 120V charging from an ordinary home outlet and (2) 240V charging from either an upgraded home circuit or existing circuit for a heavy electric appliance like a drying machine.
There is also DC fast charging, but that is only applicable to charging on-the-go and described in more detail below. Before deciding on how to charge, talk with a couple licensed electricians to better understand your home's electrical capacity. Mr. Electric appears to win the Google SEO for "electrician for electric vehicle," so maybe head there for a start.
Electric Vehicle Charging Level 1 (120 volts)—about 4-6 miles of range per hour of charge
- Uses an ordinary wall outlet just like a toaster.
- Typically won't require modifications to electric panels or home wiring.
- Confirm that your home's electrical circuits are at least 15 or 20-amp, single pole by consulting with a licensed electrician.
- Slow, but can get the job done if you don't drive that much on a daily basis. If you only need 20 miles of range, for example, only getting 20 miles of charge each night is not a problem. For road trips, most EVs are equipped to handle the faster charging options that can make charging pit stops on road trips pretty quick.
Electric Vehicle ChargingLevel 2 (240 volts)—about 10-25 miles of range per hour of charge
- Installation costs vary, but here's a 30-amp charger from Amazon that is highly rated and costs around $900, including installation, and here's one that includes an algorithm to minimize charging emissions and costs.
- Will likely require a new dedicated circuit from the electric panel to a wall location near the EV parking spot.
- Consult with a licensed electrician to verify that your home has a two-pole 30 to 50-amp electrical circuit breaker panel.
Electric Vehicle Charging Level 3 (aka DC fast charging) (400 volts)—Not for home use, but can charge battery up to 80 percent in about 30 minutes
- The fastest charging method available, but prohibitively expensive for home use.
- Some vehicles can get an 80 percent full charge in as little as 30 minutes, depending on the electric vehicle type.
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By Elizabeth Henderson
Farmworkers, farmers and their organizations around the country have been singing the same tune for years on the urgent need for immigration reform. That harmony turns to discord as soon as you get down to details on how to get it done, what to include and what compromises you are willing to make. Case in point: the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038), which passed in the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, 2019, by a vote of 260-165. The Senate received the bill the next day and referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary, where it remains. Two hundred and fifty agriculture and labor groups signed on to the United Farm Workers' (UFW) call for support for H.R. 5038. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez rejoiced:
800,000 Doctors to Trump: Heed Expert Warnings and End Dangerous Campaign Against Social Distancing
By Julia Conley
A council representing more than 800,000 doctors across the U.S. signed a letter Friday imploring President Donald Trump to reverse his call for businesses to reopen by April 12, warning that the president's flouting of the guidance of public health experts could jeopardize the health of millions of Americans and throw hospitals into even more chaos as they fight the coronavirus pandemic.
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Over six gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of wine. "Irrigation, sprays, and frost protection all [used in winemaking] require a lot of water," explained winemaker and sommelier Keith Wallace, who's also a professor and the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, the largest independent wine school in the U.S. And water waste is just the start of the climate-ruining inefficiencies commonplace in the wine industry. Sustainably speaking, climate change could be problematic for your favorite glass of wine.
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By Jeff Turrentine
From day to day, our public health infrastructure — the people and systems we've put in place to keep populations, as opposed to individuals, healthy — largely goes unnoticed. That's because when it's working well, its success takes the form of utter normalcy.