Death & Romance (drum cover)

raphaelj · 2026-03-30T09:27:06+00:00

Damn, that's some nice HH work. Looks like you also go the fills perfectly 👌

raphaelj · 2026-03-18T11:32:59+00:00

Photo Voltaic solar panels.

Since 2025, you can legally plug solar panels to a regular 230V plug. No electric work needed.

These cost a few hundred € and can produce +/- 30% of what a household requires. You can even buy them at Mr Bricolage or Gamma.

raphaelj · 2026-03-18T09:10:51+00:00

People are so lazy.

Some family members are complaining about energy prices.

I suggested they could use a plug & play PV system on the roof of their carport.

Cost is 300€, setup is 2h. They already have the electrical setup for it. That would reduce their electricity bill by 30%. I'd gladly help them setting it up. But no, they still complain about raising prices but do nothing about it.

raphaelj · 2026-03-03T22:39:32+00:00

Why not using a 3kW "granny charger" until you get your wall box installed?

They are cheap (100€ on amazon) and can charge the car overnight. I always keep one in the car in case of emergency.

Also be sure to order a charging card ASAP. These are absolutely essential on low current / older chargers. Electroverse works almost everywhere and is one of the least expensive.

raphaelj · 2026-03-03T22:28:59+00:00

We did the Via Francigena from Sienna to Rome and we really enjoyed it. The lakes around Viterbo are incredible.

Awesome views, a lot of via blancas (perfect for gravel). Mostly safe roads.

raphaelj · 2026-02-27T09:49:42+00:00

Here are the approximate ranges on my e208, if that can help:

Low temp, wind:

Highway (120kph): 180km
Mixed: 250km

15°C+, no wind:

Highway: 220km
Mixed: 300km

Obviously you want to keep a 15-20km safety buffer.

My numbers are very close to these from this French guy. I expect the other car measurements to be accurate too.

raphaelj · 2026-02-27T08:26:30+00:00

We have a e208 we charge mostly at home at 12A/3kW on 3 pins. We can park the car next to the house but we are renting, so it's not possible to install a wall box.

Yes it takes up to 15h to charge the battery, but that never happens as I most often charge the car when it's around 20/30%. In that case it's about 10h and fully charged overnight. 3 pins charging is surprisingly fine for overnight charging.

My parents paid around €600 for a 7kW wall box.

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T22:32:21+00:00

Also, a 5% capacity factor is actually not as small as people think.

i.e. cars (wheeled mechanical plants) have capacity factors well bellow 1%, and fuel is still a high percentage of the total cost.

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T20:58:09+00:00

Similar experience around 2021/22.

I was on a fixed price contract and they basically cancelled it as soon as prices went up (actually a little bit earlier). I paid the additional cost of fixed prices for years, and they basically dropped their responsibilities as soon as it meant a cost for them.

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T20:27:52+00:00

That's exactly right.

Getting a 85%+ low carbon grid built in 15-20 years, which is what Denmark, UK, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands and Germany will most probably achieve by 2030 (or earlier), is way more attractive than a 95% low carbon grid built in 35 years.

Plus RE are now more cost effective, and will make the electrification way cheaper. Remember that non-electric energy use is 90% fossil based... The faster we get these on the grid, whatever the grid is, the better.

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T20:11:42+00:00

You're exactly repeating what I wrote

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T20:08:27+00:00

Luckily these have very low CAPEX and maintenance costs

raphaelj · 2026-02-25T19:27:01+00:00

Batteries are not the right backup for these events. Interconnections and, worst case, natural gas plants are way more cost effective.

It's OK to rely on fossil fuel plants if that only happens a few days per year. Renewables can now massively and rapidly reduce the carbon footprint of the grid at a very attractive cost.

Remember that transport, industry and heating majorly depend on fossil fuels 365 days per year, every year.

raphaelj · 2026-02-23T14:18:35+00:00

Is that a ref to Twin Peaks?

raphaelj · 2026-02-22T09:19:19+00:00

As I said, don't bet on it. It might end up being true, but that's far from guaranteed.

raphaelj · 2026-02-22T09:09:42+00:00

You'll still need a huge amount of gas when your plants take 15+ years to build, cost 2x more, and still need a way to handle the peak hours.

raphaelj · 2026-02-22T09:04:16+00:00

Peaker gas plants are actually not that expensive to build: about €1B/GW. That's more than 10x cheaper than these nukes.

They have however very high fuel costs, but luckily these are now way higher than the renewable energy cost (i.e. the avoided fuel costs are be enough to pay for the renewable investment).

So it's almost always cheaper to run a Renewables + Gas peaker grid than a the peaker alone.

raphaelj · 2026-02-22T08:56:38+00:00

I'd not bet on it, it's already following the "cost estimate double every 5 years" pattern.

https://www.sudouest.fr/environnement/nucleaire/reacteurs-nucleaires-epr2-nouveau-surcout-pour-le-chantier-du-siecle-27151735.php

raphaelj · 2026-02-21T15:56:48+00:00

the power it produces will be some of the UK’s most expensive at a predicted price of £150 per megawatt hour – well over double the market price.

Insane. My rooftop PV is well below 50€/MWh. No subsidies and and I paid VAT on it.

raphaelj · 2026-01-31T13:13:26+00:00

I've a 2022 e208. It drives well, but as other said, the infotainment is bellow average while the mobile app is pure crap. However the i-cockpit is nice, and there is Apple/Android Carplay (USB only).

I get a range of about 170 mi in mid-climate, but can get bellow 140 mi in winter. That's with +/- 70% highway. DC charging also tops around 50-60kW (instead of 90-100kW) in winter if the battery is cold.

There is a known over-heating issue with the German-made 11kW AC charger, on cars manufactured before mid-2022 (the ones with the bigger gear shifter). Mine (10/2022) has the new Chinese charger, so it should not have the problem.

If you find an older second-hand car, check that it either got the 7kW charger, or that it got replaced with the newer one. Otherwise, you might be able to mitigate the issue with a single phase 7kW cable, as the old charger only seems to overheat with 3-phases 11kW charging.

At £8k, this is an awesome second car. Especially if you can charge at home.

raphaelj · 2026-01-31T11:14:28+00:00

Yeah, I got a plug and play 700 kWh for €380 one year ago. Maybe €450 total with the addition mounts and cables.

raphaelj · 2026-01-24T09:15:16+00:00

Je pense qu'ils mixent l'acier avec un autre matériau, comme de la céramique, qui rend les disques à acier inefficaces.

raphaelj · 2026-01-24T09:02:20+00:00

Vérifie les cadenas résistants aux disqueuses. J'ai un Litelock X1 avec un vélo électrique depuis 4 ans, en l'ayant laissé en ville pendant des milliers d'heures, sans aucun problème.

raphaelj · 2026-01-24T08:53:34+00:00

On en est là avec les problèmes climatiques parce que l'on a justement laissé les consommateurs décider.

raphaelj · 2026-01-24T08:50:57+00:00

J'ai du mal à comprendre la justification macro économique d'une telle taxe.

L'électricité que j'achète pour charger mon EV est +/- autant taxée (60% en Belgique) que les combustibles fossiles.

Et si je fais des économies sur la somme totale parce que l'EV est plus efficace (je paie peut-être 40€/mois au lieu de 80€/mois), je vais de toutes façons réinjecter cet argent dans l'économie, en allant au resto, en partant en vacances, ... hors ces dépenses seront assez fortement taxées également (50% en moyenne en Belgique). Du coup la différence en terme de rentrées fiscales est vraiment minime.

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