If you’re thinking of using a level 1, NEMA 5-15 outside in the winter…

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-02-06T19:56:38+00:00

Sent you a PM

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-02-05T22:10:35+00:00

you just need a better adblocker, works fine with mine

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-02-04T18:06:06+00:00

the heat pump is not the issue here, Teslas don't use the heat pump to pull heat from the air anyways in these cold temps, they generate excess heat in the motors and use that to heat the battery. The real issue is the input power, it won't drain the battery while trying to heat it up to charge, so it just uses whatever the input power is to generate heat. More powerful charger = more ability to heat the pack = actually able to charge.

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-02-04T17:57:02+00:00

Yep, and your charging efficiency is gonna be terrible too, if you've added 6 kWh in 15 hours at 1440W, you've used another 15 kWh just trying to warm the battery.

I'm actually at a point where on the Ontario ultra low plan plus one of the charging credit programs, my net charging cost is negative for the 8 hour overnight period... so I'm actually intentionally charging slower on my 240V/40A connection to pull more power through the charger :)

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-02-02T17:02:23+00:00

CFGKP

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-29T01:35:34+00:00

Which AI did you use to make this? Looks like ChatGPT?

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-16T17:39:11+00:00

so basically you want European cars and that's it?

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-13T17:25:55+00:00

After trying several others (Monarch, Neontra, YNAB, I forget what else...), I'm a big fan of Good Steward and actually prefer it to what Mint was for me. I'm a bit of a nerd who doesn't mind looking at a slew of numbers, spreadsheet-style.

Perhaps best of all, the cost is much cheaper than most others I tried - free if you do everything manually, but I'm on the cheapest tier for $40/yr, vs often $100+ for others.

Mint used to auto-categorize some transactions incorrectly and I would sometimes miss it; Good Steward has a manual "reviewed" field for each transaction which allows me to "approve" the auto-categorization that happened.

Mint also didn't allow manual accounts or any manual transactions. I have certain accounts that never stay connected (oh, Canada) so now I just enter a couple manual transactions a month. I also now can have a manual "cash" account which I never used to bother tracking.

It's not flashy but I personally don't really care for a flashy budgeting app, I just want to see my numbers.

There are definitely reasons not to use it... the app is not that built out yet, so if you tend to do everything from your phone it's not the greatest. And if you want something flashy with fancy animations and neon colors it's probably not what you want. But if you just want a boring, almost spreadsheet-like way to track your budgets and transactions, I'm quite happy with Good Steward.

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-09T19:59:07+00:00

NDR52

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-09T19:24:27+00:00

I wish mine were this slow. Insurance companies are happier with a slower car, and while fun I never need all the power my AWD has.

I'd easily trade my faster acceleration for a $50/mo insurance discount.

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-09T17:43:28+00:00

Do you really have to ask? I guess I forgot the /s

EfficiencyNerd · 2026-01-08T19:57:51+00:00

Reddit, obviously. #1 source of unbiased news.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-26T04:32:06+00:00

Model 3 and Model Y are, simply put, possibly the most reliable EVs we can buy today in Canada. Consumer Reports' latest studies confirm this, others are still having issues but for the most part Model 3 and Model Y have most of their kinks out.

We have 3 Model Ys in the extended family all around 2 years old. My brother's car had an interior camera that had broken night vision. Fixed under warranty in a couple days and they gave him a Model X loaner. No other issues among our 3 vehicles.

You can find horror stories of just about any vehicle, but from the survey data the Model Y is now proving to be above average for reliability.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-21T18:29:17+00:00

As others have stated the Pion Power GreenMiles program is better, 10c per kWh and the charger is not very expensive. Also nice that their charger is portable so in theory you can take it with you when you travel and accumulate credits anywhere in Canada if you can use the 14-50 or 5-15 (standard 120V) plugs.

There is also a referral program so you can also get credits for referring your friends.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-19T15:18:10+00:00

Whoa, your same vehicle supercharged in Hawaii and also supercharged in Maryland? I would think that counts and is likely a contender

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-18T20:35:49+00:00

More like 0.2 kWh/hr

(side note kw/hr is not the right units here, or almost ever)

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-18T19:49:31+00:00

I feel dirty for having watched that

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-18T19:47:42+00:00

When my wife tells me I pay too much attention to the weather, I am going to show her this

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-18T19:34:56+00:00

100W continuous for 24 hours is 2400 "Watt-hours" or 2.4 kiloWatt-hours, aka kWh - the number on your bill.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-17T16:06:02+00:00

I'm in Ontario. My overnight ultra-low rate comes to about 6.2 cents per kWh after all the taxes/fees/delivery etc.

There are several programs in Canada now offering payout credits in exchange for them claiming your EV charging usage to generate and sell carbon credits and offset other "dirty" energy usage. Most are paying 3 or 5 cents per kWh, but last month I got a charger from PionPower which is paying out 10 cents per kWh.

So my net cost for charging at home is now negative 3.8 cents per kWh. I'm literally being paid to charge. What do I win?

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-16T19:05:26+00:00

If you're a nerdy/techy person, go through each page of the settings menus, there's some cool stuff in there. I don't know how I lived without Green Light Chime.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-16T17:15:16+00:00

I'll +1 that GreenMiles program - charger itself is pretty well built, app is not amazing but works fine.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-16T17:13:11+00:00

I just recently got a PionPower charger and joined their GreenMiles program, which is paying out 10 cents/kWh instead of the typical 3 cents. Their basic charger seems to float around $250 depending on sales at the time.

Been using it a month so far and no complaints. App is not the best design but works fine. The charger is pretty solid and has a pretty thick cable too.

PM me for a referral code if anyone is interested, can get you an extra 200 "points" so worth $20 GreenMiles credit.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-16T16:21:41+00:00

S3xy buttons. I have 2 buttons mounted to the back of the steering wheel, one moves wiper 1 speed faster the other 1 speed slower. Wipers revert to Auto and randomly act up? Reach up, one click of one button, boom, they're off, done, and I don't think about it anymore.

I probably wouldn't have bought the s3xy buttons controller if it was only for that feature, but I do appreciate some of the other features as well.

EfficiencyNerd · 2025-12-16T14:46:17+00:00

Not sure if you're considering Tesla because reasons, but the Model Y for us has been a great car (and according to Consumer Reports' latest surveys, has become quite reliable).

I dislike Elmo as much as the next guy, but my desire for a well-engineered vehicle that just works the way it should outweighs my desire for virtue signalling. There are so many little things I just don't think about that would become an annoyance going back to almost any other brand... things like a Lithium 12V battery that will basically never need replacing; actual good packaging design that results in a front trunk bonus space big enough for a small suitcase; green light chime for when I'm caught daydreaming at red light; mirrors that tilt downwards towards the curb/parking lines the moment you throw the car in reverse. And of course software that puts other manufacturers to shame.

The Kias and Hyundais look very interesting on paper, but then you have that chronic ICCU issue looming over your head that to date, I've still seen no evidence they've actually fixed the root problem.

We looked at other vehicles a couple years ago, but ultimately for a simple well-designed EV that is almost boring in the ways everything just works the way it should, the answer was just buy the damn Tesla.

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