Las Vegas
National Drive Electric Day
2015

September 12, 2015

Mark D Larsen


Made in the Shade
(Click to enlarge)


Readers of these web page will recall that I drove my LEAF to Las Vegas in 2012 and 2013 for “National Plug-In Day,” and last year for the renamed “National Drive Electric Week.” This year I made that pilgrimage once again, despite my LEAF’s deteriorating battery capacity. With two bars gone, and new tires that have lowered my LEAF’s energy efficiency, I had to plan more carefully than ever, foregoing any deviations from the most direct route down I-15. The Eureka Casino’s new EVSE in Mesquite helped, but I also needed to find a way to charge between there and Las Vegas.

I managed to pull it off, albeit not without a fair amount of frustration. Still, it was great fun to participate in this year’s festivities, again located at the Springs Preserve. Those who are curious about the specific joys and setbacks of this year’s adventure are welcome to peruse this annotated slide show:


Slide Show of the EV’ent
Click any thumbnail to open the photo in the slide show window


Here are the CarWings readouts of the miles and kWh for the entire three days, plus a table that summarizes the results:

As you can see, the CarWings tallies do not match my odometer’s readout. Regardless, there is no doubt that the new tires took their toll on my total miles-per-kWh, which was a half-mile lower that last year.

I really enjoy getting together with the EV enthusiasts in Nevada. This year’s celebration was much bigger than in previous years, as there are obviously more EVs on the roads. According to Stan Hanel’s post on the Nevada Electric Vehicle Accelerator website, there were approximately 40 plug-in vehicles and 140 attendees at the EV’ent. I would like to repeat the trip for the fifth time in a row next year, but... I fear that my dwindling battery capacity will make it impossible —unless and until a reliable public charging infrastructure finally materializes along I-15.