Yep, our Hyundai Kona 64kW EV has been performing flawlessly for the past 4 years now and has payed for itself in those 4 years. Of course, having our own solar system and charging station does add up to the experience. We do occasionally drive 600+ mls a day from our place in the Southwest of the Netherlands to Berlin Germany but it only adds an hour of charging time, in which we have time to eat and drink and stretch our leggs. Cheers from the Netherlands, where some Waardenburg family roots must be. I really enjoy your channel. Thanks.
Hello to our friends in the Netherlands! Yes, our roots are in Friesland, Netherlands. I visited the Amsterdam area and loved the cycling roads as well. I heard that the Kona is a fine EV. It looks like the European drivers are embracing EVs! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Great video. It was pleasantly informative with a good message at the end. This is the future and it should not be blindly rejected for political motives. Its the Horse Vs Model T, situation all over again.
I am so happy to read your comments, because that was my goal. Let's have a civil conversation in this country about the pros/cons of EVs and sustainable energy options. There is so much misinformation placed in the public space by industries that have huge investments subject to loss/gain by changes in our use/production of energy. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Great content. Thanks for making the comment about your children's future. I wish the anti-EV crowd would understand our responsibility to future generations. We should listen to the facts science is telling us and be willing to act accordingly.
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there about EVs. Given that billions of dollars are invested in petrol energy, the move toward EVs and solar energy is a threat. And yes, our generation has a duty to care for the environment that we hand off to the next generation. Civil discussion for real solutions is needed.
Another EV driving farmer here (Chevy Bolt)! Enjoyed the video. How easy is it to get service for the Tesla? We looked at a 3 when we were car shopping, but there aren't any service centers in our state (Kansas). Love our car except when road tripping, ha ha.
Wow, we are Bolt fans here too! I had one for 4+ years and loved it. No issues...just wanted faster supercharger times. We are fortunate to have a Tesla store in our town (4 miles away). I have had zero issues in the first year so I have not been back to the Tesla store! My son has a Bolt so we have 2 or 3 EVs in our driveway many days. Wishing you and your farm good weather and great crop prices for the upcoming growing season! Take care. Don
Fun watch. Looks like the topic itself brings in the automatic controversy (or inauthentic users, always hard to tell). I'm still using my ICE car (which I do still enjoy greatly), but I'm quite excited to get an EV when the time to replace it comes. How rural are we talking here, practically? Is it a long journey to get into town and the grocery store or something like 20 minutes? How often are you using anything more than the lowest level plug charger at home? Do you have to make any adjustments to your habits when winter hits?
We live in a rural township with mostly farms, but we are situated close to a metro area with shopping, restaurants, hospitals all within 10 miles. I can drive round trip with no charging to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. I charge in the garage with the 220 20 amp option most of the time. If I need a faster charge I use the guest charger outside (40 Amp). Our extended family has EVs as well and we provide a no cost guest charger outside to encourage our kids to visit. And to be fair, our son designed the solar panel setup and our extended family constructed it so they all have lifetime free charging. Thanks for engaging in conversation. When the time is right, have fun with the jump over to EVs!
I have saved around $15k not driving a gas car in the last 5 years. Before I had a Subaru Forester XT that was breaking down after 55k miles. I have 105k miles on my model 3 performance and only changed out the front control arms, which I was able to do at home in my garage.
@@Beezo-2099 Unfortunately I can't really disagree with you, with the exception of Ford. I will always think highly of Ford for being the first to join Tesla in adopting NACS!
If I had the land of a farmer I'd so take advantage of a tiny portion for solar generation and use it for a every thing possible. Because why not. This is like videos from the 80s of a teacher or classroom using a computer for the first time. Hopefully it becomes totally the norm where it makes sense and is practical to do so.
Right....here in the US we are still in the early adopter phase for EVs and many people are not comfortable making the change. Also many of the EVs are performance cars or luxury with not many lower cost family cars. That will be changing over the next few years. Thanks for sharing your insights!
I have 100's of acres and you are absolutely right. Solar is easy and works really well. Current solar systems are incredibly simple to wire up. I am entirely off grid and I never suffer from power outages. My home is almost entirely electric and soon will be all electric. I can't wait for electric trucks and tractors. Why the hell should I pay for energy when I can so easily produce my own.
@@jemezname2259 I'm excited for electric tractors too, because most tractors actually have weights added to them, so battery energy density doesn't really matter! They could easily take advantage of cheaper and more robust but less energy dense chemistries. Maybe if there enough comments my dad could be persuaded to let me convert his tractor to electric. It would be fairly easy to do since it uses hydraulics for everything.
I bought a used MS P85 with 100.000 km. Quite a lot of german Autobahn speed driving 100mph+ and frequent supercharging. Now it's almost 10 years old and has 303.000 km on the dashboard and still runs fine.
@HenryBabcock I never really measured it as it's almost not noticeable in everyday driving and only use battery percent display instead of remaining kilometers. I guess it's something like 15%. What "degraded" really quickly was the charging speed with one of the earlier updates, but as that seems to prolong battery life and massively reduces fire risk, I'd say it's worth the 10 minutes extra time when supercharging. Later models don't have this issue AFAIK. Especially the M3 and MY with LiFePO battery seem unaffected. The drive unit has been exchanged once on warranty, and I renewed the suspension bars and stabilizers after 250TKM due to a knocking sound. Even the original set of brake pads lasted 250TKM. Suspension also seems a problem in the newer M3 and MY, but improved aftermarket parts are available.
@@dirkvornholt2507 thanks so much for the informative reply! I wonder if you can see battery degradation by checking what "full charge" range says it is, compared to what it was new.
@HenryBabcock That might have worked with older software versions which calculated the remaining range based on the standard consumption of around 200Wh/km. In one of the later updates, this was changed to the previous consumption based on your driving style. At least, that's what seems to happen when the remaining charging time at a supercharger on a longer trip is calculated for the next leg of the trip based on the previous leg. As mentioned, I have a lead foot syndrome, and my average consumption is around 260Wh/km. German Autobahn, no speed limits in lots of sections, so I usually do 200 to 250 kilometer legs at higher speeds and accept the longer charging time. As my driving didn't match the originally assumed consumption, the calculated remaining kilometers were pretty off, and I got used to using the battery percent display mode. With that, I can easily adjust my speed to be sure to reach the next supercharger. Worst case at top Speed of 213 km/h is around 1.5 kilometers per percent, best case in snail mode tailgating trucks is around 4km/percent so I usually calculate around 2km/percent in normal Autobahn traffic conditions and lead foot mode "light". This enables reaching the SC with +/- 1% precision. Once you know your car, there is no need for range anxiety.
@@dirkvornholt2507 I drive a Rivian R1T, am quite familiar with it's capabilities now in both hot and somewhat colder weather. I tend to want to drive fast which of course uses a LOT more power, but driving an EV has helped me learn to drive a bit slower generally and overall I'm very impressed with Rivian's stated range being quite close to actual if I'm willing to drive slower like 60-65mph. But I'm looking into a Tesla M3 for a friend who needs a car, they can be found for such a good value right now at the $20-28k range, depending mostly just on mileage. So I'm trying to figure out exactly how much he'll really be getting by paying several thousand more for one with lower say 40k miles vs say 80k. I know there will also be more wear on the other components but I figure they should still be fine (looking at 2022 model years mostly). Though your mention of the drive unit has me a little concerned. Thanks again for the response and info.
Have a 2011 f250 diesel w low miles for 13 years. Sold the huge RV & looking to downsize. Drove a model 3 & really liked it but the getting in & out tuff on the knees. Seems like the X may be easier to get in & out
Agreed...model 3 is a fine car, but for me the Model Y is more comfortable to get in/out and has a better view of the road with a higher seat position. Also, the model Y is a lot less money! Drive the Y before you decide. Good luck.
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 oh geez I meant the model Y . I don’t know why EV’s especially Teslas are triggers for some? Your total set up is great. My dad farmed 1000 acres as a kid & young man. He is in his 80’s now & still works the soil albeit much smaller garden & hand tools. Keep farming
Very interesting and informative video! One question not mentioned, and that I have heard of happening, is a concern that an EV driver might find all of the charging stalls in use and has to either wait hours, or chance carrying on to the next location in the hope that they make it, and then hopefully find a free stall there. I'm sure it depends on the area one is travelling in, something a person would need to research before striking out. Here in central Ontario we have much colder temperatures, of course, so mileage would suffer & need to be taken into account. I'm sure our first foray into the EV market will be a hybrid, but that won't be for several years as our current vehicles are quite new. Another concern we have is that electrical grids in general in North America are in serious need of upgrades, so hopefully our governments will ease us into compulsory EVs while being sure infrastructure keeps pace, as most owners will not likely have the home solar capabilities that you have.
Great questions. Congestion does happen, but Tesla takes it into consideration when directing you which chargers to stop at, and they use all that data to determine where new sites are needed (and the rest of the industry is also waking up to the fact that they need to do that as well). As far as the grid is concerned, electric utilities are used to growing. From the day Nikola Tesla opened the first power plant in Niagara in 1895 they've grown the electric grid at a blistering speed. The fact that they haven't grown much in the past few decades is very odd to them. And even after America added 1.4 million EVs to the grid last year electricity consumption still decreased in 2023 (I don't know where to find the data for Canada but I suspect it's not too disimilar). The real concern is, how can the grid survive without the extra revenue EVs will provide them?
Yes, your questions strike the central issues. Our son Alex offered a more informed commentary....all that i can contribute is our experience at Tesla super chargers. I have only had to wait one time and it was just a few minutes to charge. Remember that superchargers are only in use 15-25 minutes and charged cars leave quickly. No wasted time with payment and no wasted time with drivers leaving unattended cars that have full charges. No one leaves cars in the stalls because they are surcharged. Juice up and go. Thanks for engaging with great questions. Don
For me, (Brenda) the best part is that I never have to get gas ... just pull in the garage and plug it in. I'm completely sold on it. (plus all of the cool sounds.... 😄)
@@carolkantner1770 our son's had us laughing for quite a while. We've had a lot of fun with our grandkids too. It can also make the sounds on the outside of the car and is good for pranks. 😁 I never knew a car could be so funny.
Just wanna say I’m new here and love all your videos! Wish we were neighbors. I saw on one of your videos about the butterfly hutch. Do you have another video more about that? I would love to make one!
Thanks so much! We're glad you found us. This video has a little bit about the building of the butterfly hut at around 12:00. ruclips.net/video/3EfFsRZSW6Q/видео.html I hope to do a video about raising monarchs this summer. Hopefully there will still be enough eggs for me to be able to raise....the monarchs are in serious trouble.
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 I did a lot of reading on that! So sad. We live in Missouri and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen native milkweed. I plan on starting milkweed from seeds and making a pollinator garden to try and help the monarchs and get some eggs
@@Tayheiman We planted a TON of milkweed at various places around the farm and have an entire pollinator field around the perimeter of the fields. I'm hoping it's not too late for the monarchs and will continue to do my small part to help them. Thanks for planting milkweed...the more, the better. 🙂
As an EV owner you know that no one drives their battery down to zero, so you are correct. However, I drive my model Y on rural roads in "chill" mode (always) at speed limits 25, 35 and 45 and I use 200 watts per mile. That usage rate gives me higher than window sticker mileage.
To each their own! We'll help keep gas prices low for you by cutting our demand ☺️. You can drive your gas car in confidence knowing if there were another oil embargo it wouldn't be as bad because people would have an alternative to gas, which would leave more gas for your gas car. Plus, OPEC has to keep prices under control because for the first time in their history they actually have to worry about losing customers!
My car charges by the sun. It doesn't charge me a fee. Its price doesn't change based on the barrel of oil prices set and regulated by foreign entities. I don't want to be a slave of OPEC or Exxon. Since not everyone wants these things or just don't care we all are allowed to make our own choices.
Lol...What a joke. I mean, not everyone has a dedicated charging barn at their disposal...Or the capital to invest in multiple vehicles for various needs.
Yes, we feel blessed to own a farm and it does make it easier to set up solar panels. However we bought our first EV when we lived in a neighborhood with no solar. We both worked full-time for a full career so that we could retire on a small farm and then work our tails off. So these are our golden years. I really hope that EVs continue to drop in price so that EVs are a good choice for young families. Thank you for watching. PS we installed our own solar panels to make it affordable.
People who retire with a 401k instead of a pension don't really have great investment options that are both low risk and have decent yield. So, they typically put their retirement savings into low yield bonds because they are low risk and use rather measly yield to pay for gas and electric bills and grocery bills. And while the investment itself is low risk the strategy is still deceptively risky because of volatile energy and commodity prices. What you're seeing here is a plan that instead invests in solar and an EV, and other investments in self sufficiency. This investment strategy has comparatively higher yield and lower risk. Trying to make your retirement savings last you through retirement is scary, and a lot of retired folks have to go back to work because they didn't plan for certain risks. The method used here mitigates more risks than most retirement investment plans.
@@AlexWaardenburgHuh. That's an interesting perspective. While certainly not perfect, couldn't they eat directly into the savings rather than just using excess yield, if and when needed? Clearly you guys are still working pretty hard in your retirement (for fun) + the big unknown is healthcare costs later in life. But either way, seems like you guys are literally living your dream! That's far better than most, I think
@@Cyrribrae you'd think you could, but people on my family have a history of living to 1000, so we have to be conservative. In fact, most retirement planning professionals will tell you that you shouldn't even spend all of your yield, because you actually need your principal to grow to keep up with inflation, that way your yield can keep up with inflation so that your income can keep up with inflation. Prices are likely to be a lot higher on 2060 than they are now! The generally accepted practice is to spend no more than 4% of your savings, the assumption being that your yield is 6%, and the leftover 2% grows your principal to keep up with inflation. So $20,000 can provide you with $800 a year for electricity bills, or a $20,000 solar pavilion can make you $2,000 a year's worth of electricity, and be shielded from the risk of, say, electricity prices doubling, which they did!
@@AlexWaardenburg Yea fair enough haha. Makes sense. Prices have been unpredictable in various sectors, and that trend may only get worse. Side thought on the topic of electricity prices: Over in that part of the country, how does selling back to the grid work? Don mentioned opportunity cost, but out here if we sell excess energy back, we're just getting credits to spend on any energy we do take from the grid. Useful, but not really much benefit to overproducing. We recently installed solar and are oversized, in case we want to get an EV. Though, we have no home battery, so it's not the most optimized operation (I'm kinda hoping to hold out for bidirectional charging to the home and/or grid on the EV to do that - though seems that might be a year or two out at least).
Yep, our Hyundai Kona 64kW EV has been performing flawlessly for the past 4 years now and has payed for itself in those 4 years. Of course, having our own solar system and charging station does add up to the experience. We do occasionally drive 600+ mls a day from our place in the Southwest of the Netherlands to Berlin Germany but it only adds an hour of charging time, in which we have time to eat and drink and stretch our leggs. Cheers from the Netherlands, where some Waardenburg family roots must be. I really enjoy your channel. Thanks.
Hello to our friends in the Netherlands! Yes, our roots are in Friesland, Netherlands. I visited the Amsterdam area and loved the cycling roads as well. I heard that the Kona is a fine EV. It looks like the European drivers are embracing EVs! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Such a different perspective than the typical video about Teslas. I really appreciate it!
Thanks. I'm not interested in performance, speed or tech...I just appreciate a well engineered car and ease of use. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Well done. I am thinking of getting a model Y before March 1st. Looking forward to charging on solar at home. :)
We think you will enjoy the model Y. Take care.
Great video. It was pleasantly informative with a good message at the end. This is the future and it should not be blindly rejected for political motives. Its the Horse Vs Model T, situation all over again.
I am so happy to read your comments, because that was my goal. Let's have a civil conversation in this country about the pros/cons of EVs and sustainable energy options. There is so much misinformation placed in the public space by industries that have huge investments subject to loss/gain by changes in our use/production of energy. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Great content. Thanks for making the comment about your children's future. I wish the anti-EV crowd would understand our responsibility to future generations. We should listen to the facts science is telling us and be willing to act accordingly.
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there about EVs. Given that billions of dollars are invested in petrol energy, the move toward EVs and solar energy is a threat. And yes, our generation has a duty to care for the environment that we hand off to the next generation. Civil discussion for real solutions is needed.
Another EV driving farmer here (Chevy Bolt)! Enjoyed the video. How easy is it to get service for the Tesla? We looked at a 3 when we were car shopping, but there aren't any service centers in our state (Kansas). Love our car except when road tripping, ha ha.
Wow, we are Bolt fans here too! I had one for 4+ years and loved it. No issues...just wanted faster supercharger times. We are fortunate to have a Tesla store in our town (4 miles away). I have had zero issues in the first year so I have not been back to the Tesla store! My son has a Bolt so we have 2 or 3 EVs in our driveway many days. Wishing you and your farm good weather and great crop prices for the upcoming growing season! Take care. Don
Fun watch. Looks like the topic itself brings in the automatic controversy (or inauthentic users, always hard to tell). I'm still using my ICE car (which I do still enjoy greatly), but I'm quite excited to get an EV when the time to replace it comes.
How rural are we talking here, practically? Is it a long journey to get into town and the grocery store or something like 20 minutes? How often are you using anything more than the lowest level plug charger at home? Do you have to make any adjustments to your habits when winter hits?
We live in a rural township with mostly farms, but we are situated close to a metro area with shopping, restaurants, hospitals all within 10 miles. I can drive round trip with no charging to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. I charge in the garage with the 220 20 amp option most of the time. If I need a faster charge I use the guest charger outside (40 Amp). Our extended family has EVs as well and we provide a no cost guest charger outside to encourage our kids to visit. And to be fair, our son designed the solar panel setup and our extended family constructed it so they all have lifetime free charging. Thanks for engaging in conversation. When the time is right, have fun with the jump over to EVs!
I have saved around $15k not driving a gas car in the last 5 years. Before I had a Subaru Forester XT that was breaking down after 55k miles. I have 105k miles on my model 3 performance and only changed out the front control arms, which I was able to do at home in my garage.
Have you noticed any changes in your battery over the first 100k?
Not all EV's are as convenient as yours, but they are quickly catching up, and soon everything you said about your Tesla should be true of all EVs.
All true. The consolidation to a single charger connection will help as well .
Don't count on it. The "big three" will never stop cutting corners until they stop being bailed out.
@@Beezo-2099 Unfortunately I can't really disagree with you, with the exception of Ford. I will always think highly of Ford for being the first to join Tesla in adopting NACS!
If I had the land of a farmer I'd so take advantage of a tiny portion for solar generation and use it for a every thing possible. Because why not. This is like videos from the 80s of a teacher or classroom using a computer for the first time. Hopefully it becomes totally the norm where it makes sense and is practical to do so.
Right....here in the US we are still in the early adopter phase for EVs and many people are not comfortable making the change. Also many of the EVs are performance cars or luxury with not many lower cost family cars. That will be changing over the next few years. Thanks for sharing your insights!
I have 100's of acres and you are absolutely right. Solar is easy and works really well. Current solar systems are incredibly simple to wire up. I am entirely off grid and I never suffer from power outages. My home is almost entirely electric and soon will be all electric. I can't wait for electric trucks and tractors. Why the hell should I pay for energy when I can so easily produce my own.
@@jemezname2259 I'm excited for electric tractors too, because most tractors actually have weights added to them, so battery energy density doesn't really matter! They could easily take advantage of cheaper and more robust but less energy dense chemistries. Maybe if there enough comments my dad could be persuaded to let me convert his tractor to electric. It would be fairly easy to do since it uses hydraulics for everything.
I bought a used MS P85 with 100.000 km. Quite a lot of german Autobahn speed driving 100mph+ and frequent supercharging. Now it's almost 10 years old and has 303.000 km on the dashboard and still runs fine.
How much battery degradation?
I'm looking at used model 3's with 80k+ miles and curious.
@HenryBabcock I never really measured it as it's almost not noticeable in everyday driving and only use battery percent display instead of remaining kilometers. I guess it's something like 15%. What "degraded" really quickly was the charging speed with one of the earlier updates, but as that seems to prolong battery life and massively reduces fire risk, I'd say it's worth the 10 minutes extra time when supercharging. Later models don't have this issue AFAIK. Especially the M3 and MY with LiFePO battery seem unaffected. The drive unit has been exchanged once on warranty, and I renewed the suspension bars and stabilizers after 250TKM due to a knocking sound. Even the original set of brake pads lasted 250TKM. Suspension also seems a problem in the newer M3 and MY, but improved aftermarket parts are available.
@@dirkvornholt2507 thanks so much for the informative reply! I wonder if you can see battery degradation by checking what "full charge" range says it is, compared to what it was new.
@HenryBabcock That might have worked with older software versions which calculated the remaining range based on the standard consumption of around 200Wh/km. In one of the later updates, this was changed to the previous consumption based on your driving style. At least, that's what seems to happen when the remaining charging time at a supercharger on a longer trip is calculated for the next leg of the trip based on the previous leg. As mentioned, I have a lead foot syndrome, and my average consumption is around 260Wh/km. German Autobahn, no speed limits in lots of sections, so I usually do 200 to 250 kilometer legs at higher speeds and accept the longer charging time. As my driving didn't match the originally assumed consumption, the calculated remaining kilometers were pretty off, and I got used to using the battery percent display mode. With that, I can easily adjust my speed to be sure to reach the next supercharger. Worst case at top Speed of 213 km/h is around 1.5 kilometers per percent, best case in snail mode tailgating trucks is around 4km/percent so I usually calculate around 2km/percent in normal Autobahn traffic conditions and lead foot mode "light". This enables reaching the SC with +/- 1% precision. Once you know your car, there is no need for range anxiety.
@@dirkvornholt2507 I drive a Rivian R1T, am quite familiar with it's capabilities now in both hot and somewhat colder weather. I tend to want to drive fast which of course uses a LOT more power, but driving an EV has helped me learn to drive a bit slower generally and overall I'm very impressed with Rivian's stated range being quite close to actual if I'm willing to drive slower like 60-65mph. But I'm looking into a Tesla M3 for a friend who needs a car, they can be found for such a good value right now at the $20-28k range, depending mostly just on mileage. So I'm trying to figure out exactly how much he'll really be getting by paying several thousand more for one with lower say 40k miles vs say 80k. I know there will also be more wear on the other components but I figure they should still be fine (looking at 2022 model years mostly). Though your mention of the drive unit has me a little concerned. Thanks again for the response and info.
Have a 2011 f250 diesel w low miles for 13 years. Sold the huge RV & looking to downsize. Drove a model 3 & really liked it but the getting in & out tuff on the knees. Seems like the X may be easier to get in & out
Agreed...model 3 is a fine car, but for me the Model Y is more comfortable to get in/out and has a better view of the road with a higher seat position. Also, the model Y is a lot less money! Drive the Y before you decide. Good luck.
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 oh geez I meant the model Y . I don’t know why EV’s especially Teslas are triggers for some? Your total set up is great. My dad farmed 1000 acres as a kid & young man. He is in his 80’s now & still works the soil albeit much smaller garden & hand tools. Keep farming
We have a 2016 GMC with 28,000 miles on it. I bet we would meet the criteria for an EV.
Well, don't tell anyone, but we also have a RAM pickup that is ICE V8.
Very interesting and informative video! One question not mentioned, and that I have heard of happening, is a concern that an EV driver might find all of the charging stalls in use and has to either wait hours, or chance carrying on to the next location in the hope that they make it, and then hopefully find a free stall there. I'm sure it depends on the area one is travelling in, something a person would need to research before striking out. Here in central Ontario we have much colder temperatures, of course, so mileage would suffer & need to be taken into account.
I'm sure our first foray into the EV market will be a hybrid, but that won't be for several years as our current vehicles are quite new. Another concern we have is that electrical grids in general in North America are in serious need of upgrades, so hopefully our governments will ease us into compulsory EVs while being sure infrastructure keeps pace, as most owners will not likely have the home solar capabilities that you have.
Great questions. Congestion does happen, but Tesla takes it into consideration when directing you which chargers to stop at, and they use all that data to determine where new sites are needed (and the rest of the industry is also waking up to the fact that they need to do that as well). As far as the grid is concerned, electric utilities are used to growing. From the day Nikola Tesla opened the first power plant in Niagara in 1895 they've grown the electric grid at a blistering speed. The fact that they haven't grown much in the past few decades is very odd to them. And even after America added 1.4 million EVs to the grid last year electricity consumption still decreased in 2023 (I don't know where to find the data for Canada but I suspect it's not too disimilar). The real concern is, how can the grid survive without the extra revenue EVs will provide them?
Yes, your questions strike the central issues. Our son Alex offered a more informed commentary....all that i can contribute is our experience at Tesla super chargers. I have only had to wait one time and it was just a few minutes to charge. Remember that superchargers are only in use 15-25 minutes and charged cars leave quickly. No wasted time with payment and no wasted time with drivers leaving unattended cars that have full charges. No one leaves cars in the stalls because they are surcharged. Juice up and go. Thanks for engaging with great questions. Don
Lol. Love the laughter.
I'll stick to my gas and diesel .
For me, (Brenda) the best part is that I never have to get gas ... just pull in the garage and plug it in. I'm completely sold on it. (plus all of the cool sounds.... 😄)
Ya the putting gas in would be a plus not to do. How long did you sit in the car playing with sound. 😆 🤣
@@carolkantner1770 our son's had us laughing for quite a while. We've had a lot of fun with our grandkids too. It can also make the sounds on the outside of the car and is good for pranks. 😁 I never knew a car could be so funny.
my boyfriend has a cupra then he has a ford capri that runs on ethanol. rebuilt with some horsepower and turbo. it's nice to have variation.
Wow...I love to see innovation! Thanks for sharing your story.
An interesting topic Don.
Thank you. We are all learning what works for our families.
Just wanna say I’m new here and love all your videos! Wish we were neighbors. I saw on one of your videos about the butterfly hutch. Do you have another video more about that? I would love to make one!
Thanks so much! We're glad you found us. This video has a little bit about the building of the butterfly hut at around 12:00. ruclips.net/video/3EfFsRZSW6Q/видео.html I hope to do a video about raising monarchs this summer. Hopefully there will still be enough eggs for me to be able to raise....the monarchs are in serious trouble.
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 I did a lot of reading on that! So sad. We live in Missouri and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen native milkweed. I plan on starting milkweed from seeds and making a pollinator garden to try and help the monarchs and get some eggs
@@Tayheiman We planted a TON of milkweed at various places around the farm and have an entire pollinator field around the perimeter of the fields. I'm hoping it's not too late for the monarchs and will continue to do my small part to help them. Thanks for planting milkweed...the more, the better. 🙂
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 what variety of milkweed do you all plant?
@@Tayheiman Common Milkweed and Swamp Milkweed
2:17 he cannot get more than 350 miles out of his tesla. ever. source: i own a MY.
As an EV owner you know that no one drives their battery down to zero, so you are correct. However, I drive my model Y on rural roads in "chill" mode (always) at speed limits 25, 35 and 45 and I use 200 watts per mile. That usage rate gives me higher than window sticker mileage.
That man is not old 😒😅🤣he looks like those sexy reporters byeee ya funny
Ha...my wife tells me that all the time...LOL
@@waardenburgfamilyfarm4764 very, very handsome, you need to be covering sports with that angelic voice 🙌 or my morning news 🥰
Nope I’ll keep the gas car and enjoy it
To each their own! We'll help keep gas prices low for you by cutting our demand ☺️. You can drive your gas car in confidence knowing if there were another oil embargo it wouldn't be as bad because people would have an alternative to gas, which would leave more gas for your gas car. Plus, OPEC has to keep prices under control because for the first time in their history they actually have to worry about losing customers!
My car charges by the sun. It doesn't charge me a fee. Its price doesn't change based on the barrel of oil prices set and regulated by foreign entities. I don't want to be a slave of OPEC or Exxon. Since not everyone wants these things or just don't care we all are allowed to make our own choices.
Lol...What a joke.
I mean, not everyone has a dedicated charging barn at their disposal...Or the capital to invest in multiple vehicles for various needs.
Yes, we feel blessed to own a farm and it does make it easier to set up solar panels. However we bought our first EV when we lived in a neighborhood with no solar. We both worked full-time for a full career so that we could retire on a small farm and then work our tails off. So these are our golden years. I really hope that EVs continue to drop in price so that EVs are a good choice for young families. Thank you for watching. PS we installed our own solar panels to make it affordable.
People who retire with a 401k instead of a pension don't really have great investment options that are both low risk and have decent yield. So, they typically put their retirement savings into low yield bonds because they are low risk and use rather measly yield to pay for gas and electric bills and grocery bills. And while the investment itself is low risk the strategy is still deceptively risky because of volatile energy and commodity prices. What you're seeing here is a plan that instead invests in solar and an EV, and other investments in self sufficiency. This investment strategy has comparatively higher yield and lower risk. Trying to make your retirement savings last you through retirement is scary, and a lot of retired folks have to go back to work because they didn't plan for certain risks. The method used here mitigates more risks than most retirement investment plans.
@@AlexWaardenburgHuh. That's an interesting perspective. While certainly not perfect, couldn't they eat directly into the savings rather than just using excess yield, if and when needed? Clearly you guys are still working pretty hard in your retirement (for fun) + the big unknown is healthcare costs later in life.
But either way, seems like you guys are literally living your dream! That's far better than most, I think
@@Cyrribrae you'd think you could, but people on my family have a history of living to 1000, so we have to be conservative. In fact, most retirement planning professionals will tell you that you shouldn't even spend all of your yield, because you actually need your principal to grow to keep up with inflation, that way your yield can keep up with inflation so that your income can keep up with inflation. Prices are likely to be a lot higher on 2060 than they are now! The generally accepted practice is to spend no more than 4% of your savings, the assumption being that your yield is 6%, and the leftover 2% grows your principal to keep up with inflation. So $20,000 can provide you with $800 a year for electricity bills, or a $20,000 solar pavilion can make you $2,000 a year's worth of electricity, and be shielded from the risk of, say, electricity prices doubling, which they did!
@@AlexWaardenburg Yea fair enough haha. Makes sense. Prices have been unpredictable in various sectors, and that trend may only get worse.
Side thought on the topic of electricity prices: Over in that part of the country, how does selling back to the grid work? Don mentioned opportunity cost, but out here if we sell excess energy back, we're just getting credits to spend on any energy we do take from the grid. Useful, but not really much benefit to overproducing.
We recently installed solar and are oversized, in case we want to get an EV. Though, we have no home battery, so it's not the most optimized operation (I'm kinda hoping to hold out for bidirectional charging to the home and/or grid on the EV to do that - though seems that might be a year or two out at least).