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New Prime owner in Vermont!

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by crutz, Aug 10, 2018.

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  1. cntkeepmedown

    cntkeepmedown New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2018
    15
    10
    0
    Location:
    Vermont
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    if you can get the free GMP charger and NOT have to pay for any additional plan Id be all over it, if for no other reason that to be able to travel with the charging cord supplied with the car. Ive recently learned that im not qualified to get the free charger because we do not own the property. The program does not apply to renters.
     
    #21 cntkeepmedown, Aug 19, 2018
    crutz likes this.
  2. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
    712
    1,049
    20
    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Yes, the manuals are daunting. Suggest you download the PDF versions from Toyota's web site. There is both a "user manual" and a "navigation system manual." The advantage of having the PDFs stored on your computer is that you can use the search function to find what you're looking for. (I have no idea why isn't this built into the car for use with the display screen. It would beat filling up the "glove box" with five pounds of documentation.)

    Are you aware of GMP's program to install "PowerWall" storage devices at their customers' homes in Vermont. Please see my Prius Chat post at: https://priuschat.com/posts/2622322/ which describes the technology and the GMP program.

    My wife and I were in Vermont in early July and were pleased to see an article in the local newspaper that the GMP program was on track to get enough of the PowerWalls installed to meet their initial goal.

    This seems like an ideal device for anyone with solar power because it can store power during the day which you can use to charge up your EV when you're home at night. :)
     
    #22 Old Bear, Aug 19, 2018
    crutz likes this.
  3. crutz

    crutz Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2015
    15
    18
    0
    Location:
    Vermont
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Bummer! :(

    Good idea about downloading the PDFs. It's a drag to have to flip through all 700 pages to find one throwaway sentence about what I might actually need to look up, somewhere in all of that! It would be nice if they could have built it into the screen/apps inside the car. I do miss the double glovebox of my old Prius. It came in handy, a lot more than I expected it would at the time, and now I'm fussing and whining because this one only has one--yes, filled up with the 5 pounds of manuals etc! :p

    I've heard of the GMP Powerwall program and it's so cool. I live in a Vermod house and the owner/builder of Vermod was very interested in the Powerwall program and was one of the first to start adding it when it came out. I missed that by a HAIR--house was set in November 2016, a few months later all the houses were wired for it or included it as an option. Sigh. I might look into it on my own at some point.
     
    #23 crutz, Aug 21, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 21, 2018
  4. crutz

    crutz Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2015
    15
    18
    0
    Location:
    Vermont
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    General update: still have not used any gas apart from that one blip getting home from Windsor. Amazing! I am loving this car so far. I plug in every night and then just get on with what I have to do...easy, and fun. Tomorrow night I will use gas, on a longer drive to get to the airport. What driving modes does anyone here recommend for that (for longer trips, mixed driving, when the electric range will be eaten up almost immediately)? I read something about one of the modes being able to save the EV mode for in town or the end of a long trip, and then switch between hybrid and EV otherwise? Am I getting that even remotely right? Time to bust out that 700 page manual! ;)

    I mentioned further back in the thread I was applying for work at Dartmouth Hitchcock and was wondering about the charging situation there. I did find out they have chargers, but they're in odd, out of the way places--in the parking garage on the top level, and some at an offsite clinic, likely not where I'll end up. (The job I'm eyeing is based inside the main hospital building.) Plus I keep hearing about the major drama and tantrums around staff parking there. Special parking stickers, special lots (some far removed from the hospital, there's one by a restaurant apparently), shuttle buses, and so, so much COMPLAINING. Yikes! Luckily it turns out I can make it from my house to DHMC and back still with 15 miles left. So I won't need to get into any of that--phew! If I get in there I will be able to commute roundtrip all on EV. Excited! Today when I went there and back for interviews and then did a few errands around town once I got home I had about 10 miles left. Fun to see it add back going down long hills and with braking, too.
     
    #24 crutz, Aug 21, 2018
  5. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
    712
    1,049
    20
    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    There is a "charge mode" which uses the gasoline-powered engine to charge up the traction battery. There's no such thing as a free lunch, so you'll be using a little more gas in this mode. You invoke "charge mode" by pressing the EV/HV button twice -- not exactly obvious.

    Experience has shown that you can use "charge mode" when driving or even when (gasp) idling. However, it appears to be most efficient when you're cruising along at 40 to 55 mph because, I am told, that's when the gasoline engine is at its happiest.

    I think someone else who works at Dartmouth Hitchcock commented on this here quite a while ago. While it's of little consolation, some facilities managers intentionally place the EV stations farther away so that people with conventional vehicles don't grab them. This reduces the number of complaints that the facility manager has to deal with. :( The reasoning is that it's better to be able to charge your EV and walk a little farther than to not be able to charge your EV at all.

    ---

    By the way, do take a look at the GMP web site about their Powerwall program:

    Tesla Powerwall 2.0 - Green Mountain Power

    It looks like they'll subsidize the cost of the device and its installation. The site says that GMP's program includes "the Tesla Powerwall 2.0 battery; mounting hardware; free installation and interconnection; and free service" for a one-time cost of $1500, or $15/mo for 120 months (2.12% APR).

    (The interesting part of the program is that GMP rationalizes it as a way for them to smooth out demand over their entire grid. The newspaper article which I saw when we were in Vermont was about some severe storms which damaged their grid and how the dispersed Powerwalls reduced service interruptions for all their effected customers.)
     
    #25 Old Bear, Aug 21, 2018
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