By @edent · car charging electricity ev NaBloPoMo · 2 comments · 1,100 words · read ~230 times.
Back when nuclear power stations were first proposed, we were promised "energy which is too cheap to meter". That is, the cost of electricity would be so low, invoicing for its use would be prohibitively expensive. Well, that didn't exactly turn out that way! But as our electronics have become more efficient, the cost of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · car ev kia NaBloPoMo review · 700 words · read ~273 times.
I'm now on my third EV. You can read my thoughts on the BMW i3 and the Renault Zoe. This review is primarily focussed on the tech included with the car. Bluetooth Connects quickly, and no glitches with streaming audio. Call quality was clear, but didn't show caller's photo - which is a shame. Doesn't […]
Continue reading →By @edent · car electricity ev · 2 comments · 300 words · read ~340 times.
I've been driving EVs for a few years now - and people often ask me about running costs. I can't tell you what your insurance, maintenance, or leasing costs will be - but I can show you how much it costs to drive. Here's a fairly recent trip in my Renault Zoe: That's a mixture […]
Continue reading →By @edent · car dashcam gadget review · 700 words · read ~532 times.
The good folks at BlueSkySea have sent me their 1080p dashcam to review. It's a sub-£50 dashcam with built in WiFi and a 150° field of view. Let's take it for a spin! Unboxing and first use Video Samples Video resolution: 1920x1090 formatted to play back at 1920x1080. Audio: 16KHz AAC stereo - although seems […]
Continue reading →By @edent · api car ev hacking NaBloPoMo renault · 1 comment · 550 words · read ~751 times.
Last year I reverse engineered Renault's Electric Car API. One of the curious omissions was mileage - it just doesn't appear there. However! All is not lost. If you log in to your Renault Account - https://www.renault.co.uk/my-account/my-car.html - you'll get details back about your car including its make, model, date of next service, and mileage! […]
Continue reading →By @edent · car electricity ev hack hacks · 34 comments · 1,450 words · read ~8,082 times.
Last year I published details of the BMW i3's API. I've now swapped my i3 for a Renault Zoe - so I thought I'd perform the same exercise. edent's Car@edent_car🔋 100%🚗 76 miles🔌 Plugged in⚡ Not charging⚠ Secured and Locked#RenaultZOE❤️ 1💬 0🔁 020:18 - Sat 15 October 2016 All these API calls can be found […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bmw car i3 review · 1 comment · 1,600 words · read ~1,607 times.
I've spent an entire year driving the BMW i3 Electric Car. This is a long-ish term review which is intended to reflect my experience with the car and the UK's charging infrastructure. I spent three days a week commuting between Slough and Oxford, on a mix of motorways and quieter streets. I drove all the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bmw car GPL i3 Open Source · 7 comments · 550 words · read ~10,708 times.
I accidentally caused a little brouhaha last week - for which I would like to apologise. In my blog post about BMW's unencrypted software updates, I said: Judging from the files, it would appear that the infotainment system is made by Magneti Marelli with components by Wind River, AutoSAR, and Nvidia Tegra. Looking at the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bmw car i3 security · 7 comments · 950 words · read ~15,653 times.
The BMW i3 is an amazing electric car - let down by very shoddy software. That's a huge problem - software runs our lives and, if it is defective, it can ruin us. We used to have separate categories of device: washing machines, VCRs, phones, cars, but now we just have computers in different cases. […]
Continue reading →By @edent · car i3 solar · 4 comments · 700 words · read ~622 times.
(To the tune of the popular Mary Poppins song.) How much does it really cost to drive an electric car? Well, I've had my BMW i3 for a few months, so I thought I'd crunch the numbers. As part of the UK Government's OLEV scheme, there's a subsidy for installing car charging points at home. […]
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