EV World publisher Bill Moore with Pedego Trail Tracker.

Shai Agassi cutting ribbon at official Better Place launch in Israel.

Darthmouth students push their Formula Hybrid racer onto track.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer at rollout of i3 electric car.

NEWS

WED

28-Nov-2012

PHOTO CAPTION:

Chevy Volt, Meet Our Solar Home

Kevin Tofel and his wife live in a solar-powered home and have now have added the Chevrolet Volt electric hybrid.

After a full year of using solar electricity in our home, my family took the next step over the holiday weekend and bought a plug-in electric vehicle. While running errands, we passed a local dealer to test-drive the only 2013 Chevrolet Volt (GM) on the lot and ended up driving it home a few hours later. Earlier this month, I noted that we were considering such a move because our 41 rooftop solar panels had generated 6207 kilowatt hours of excess electricity.

My wife and I both work from home, so even though we can certainly rack up miles on our vehicles, most travel is short-range. Still, we didn’t want to go completely electric for our next car because we occasionally like to take trips to New York, Baltimore, and Washington, all of which are at least 100 miles away.

How much did our Chevy Volt cost? I shared the details and costs of our solar panel project, so it makes sense to cover the Volt financials, too. The car still qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which can help offset some of the expense. That’s good because the base 2013 Volt starts at $39,145. Our particular vehicle has a few options—alloy wheels, a rear camera, sensors for front parking assistance, and a forward collision alert camera—bringing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price to $41,935, including destination charge.

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