EV stats after 3 years
Very pleased with my Chevy Bolt’s range after 3 years. Recently traveled to Long Island and back on a single charge, using AC the whole time (mid Aug. so a bit hotter/humid outside)
Made it back w/ ~50 miles to spare, averaging ~5 mi/kWh (the car has a 65 kWh battery)
Lifetime, I’ve averaged 4.0 mi/kWh over 27,000 miles in 34 months (800 miles / mo)
The 2023 Bolt uses a lithium-ion battery with NMC (not LFP… coming soon) chemistry
“NMC” = nickle: manganese: cobalt in ~6:2:2 ratio. Returns ~80% battery capacity after 2000 charge cycles
LFP degrades slower (80% in 3000 cycles) but is also less energy dense & performs worse in cold temps.
To maintain the battery, I try to keep it within a 20-80% state of charge (w/ long drives the exception)
Currently charging 1-2x per week, I expect to reach 2000 cycles in 20-30 years…
Overall, these are great stats. The EPA projected range was 259 miles when I bought it, which has been spot on (4.0 miles / kWh * 65 kWh = 260 miles).
Still can’t believe Chevy discontinued the model the year after I bought it… think about how many potential customers were lost in the past 3 years with people craving an affordable, non-Tesla EV option…
Empirically, it seems like there have been more “hazy days” in NJ the past couple of years. Also, I don’t recall hearing about Canadian wildfires as a kid and now I hear about them all the time. Looking into it, there doesn’t seem to be any particularly alarming data, outside of 2023 when Canada experienced some particularly large wildfires. The 2023 NJ air quality report is the latest update (posted December 2024, not sure why it takes a full year to issue). I’m surprised there wasn’t a noticeable increase in unhealthy days in NJ in 2023 because I distinctly remember a week in early summer when the sky was orange every day because of wildfire smoke. Altogether, it shows how a single deviation (2023) can bring sustained attention to a subject. Will be very interested in the 2025 data…
From https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/airmon/nj-aq-report-2023.pdf
From https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ha/nfdb
Major league baseball
I’m amazed hits have so consistently remained at ~9/game while Ks have tripled…
9 hits / 27 outs = 1 hit every 4 “at-bats”, which doesn’t include walks (i.e. a .250 batting average)
9 Ks / 27 outs = 1 strikeout an inning
I originally thought the consistency was due to the design of the field with defensive players effectively covering ~70% of it, however, the fact that strikeouts (non-contact outs) have tripled means that balls put into play are now more likely to become hits…
Is this a Pareto front in the game: crazier pitches = crazier hits, resulting in a lower defensive efficiency?
Maybe not if players can change position based on hitter, pitcher, and even pitch being thrown but with MLB now limiting defensive shifts, maybe?
Lot going on in this graph…
From https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/mlb-hitters-strikeouts-cd09ac73?mod=hp_listb_pos1
Is Walmart fetch or are they just bringing their prices more in line w/ Amazon’s and vice versa? Reporting the avg. dollar amount of similar, common goods would have helped here to interpret where to go as a consumer. Still, the contrast in recent strategies of the different companies is interesting
From https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-price-hikes-essentials-60a7c7f3?mod=hp_lead_pos8Weekend solar
Turns out 2x200W portable solar panels fit nicely on the top of a small SUV. On a sunny, summer day in NJ, the panels produce 140W each (70% of theoretical, always a bit underwhelming) which I store in two LiFePO4 batteries* that can hold ~1 kWh each. This means, accounting for passing clouds and occasional technical difficulties (each battery brand has its own set of flaws), I can typically charge both batteries from low (20%) to high (80%) within 6 hours. This equates to a total of ~1.2 kWh saved in a day. I then use this energy throughout the week to charge my phone, laptop, and headphones and/or power a box fan, vacuum, toaster, electric kettle, blender, microwave, etc.** Residential electricity in NJ costs $0.25-0.30 per kWh in total*** meaning I save a whopping 33 cents each time I do this. Incredible savings aside, it’s just cool to collect energy directly from the sun and use it to power my daily devices.
*I’m careful to monitor the temperature of the batteries throughout the day to ensure they don’t overheat. You don’t want to mess with lithium, especially when stored on top of more lithium (the car battery).
**1 kWh of electricity is enough to charge my laptop 10-20 times or my phone 30-50 times by direct current (DC) or my box fan for 16hr or my vacuum for 45 min by alternate current (AC).
***PSEG breaks down the cost of electricity into “supply” (18 cents per kWh) and “delivery” (10 cents per kWh). This is dumb. I need both things to have usable electricity in my apartment so why break it up other than to deceive customers? If the argument is “for transparency”, then why stop there? Why not further itemize electricity into generation, transport, delivery, monitoring, maintenance, billing, and support? Let’s divide every part of the process into a separate charge so that when people ask how much electricity costs we can report the smallest number possible covering only one tiny part of the total service to obfuscate the impact of any price changes? This practice is the utility equivalent to surcharging and needs to end. Please provide a single, all-encompassing price for a single item or service. And don’t even get me started on “convenience” fees. @FTC
This is stark… market monopolization or a dramatic change in the methods of valuation? If the latter, caused by what? Investors playing it safe during the pandemic? A large increase in independent (“retail”) investors? AI hype? The article points to the latter but I think it may be a few things in combination
From https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/small-stocks-bargain-85034233?mod=hp_lead_pos10
Jan. 1999: $133,000 ($250,000 in today's dollar)
Jun. 2025: $435,000
So existing homes are now 1.75x more expensive than 25 years ago.
Great for homeowners, bad for new buyers. I wonder how much of this increase can be attributed to homes selling that are better built or larger (due to shifting societal standards, extensions/remodels, and renovations) than in the past? Perhaps it explains a small percentage of the 75% increase or none at all if overall build quality has dropped too (cheaper / fewer materials?) over this time…
Regardless, homes are expensive.
From https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/home-prices-hit-record-high-in-june-dragging-down-sales-aeda0cb9?mod=hp_lead_pos1My grandfather asked me to review an article from the NYT as part of an ongoing discussion between him and some colleagues on the current state of the world. Here’s a link to the article and my response…