Author Archives: lukefrugalev

We return to Grundy lake for a lovely weekend of (mostly) emission free camping. Located about 350 km North of Toronto, its about the right distance for a weekend trip. The nearby Grundy supply depot, conveniently delivers a Canoe (or any other paddle-craft you may desire) right to your campsite. The kids had a lotContinue reading “Grundy Lake”

A number of nature conservation areas dot the region around Toronto. One such is the Bill Fish Forest Stewardship Center, which is a part of York region trail system. A lovely way to a pass an afternoon is to go for a stroll along the Hollidge tract which sits adjacent to the Bill Fisch ForestContinue reading “Bill Fisch Forrest Stewardship Center”

The limelight in the world of smarter greener transport is often hogged by the many wonderful (and yes expensive) electric cars that are now available. Turns out, for personal transport, particularly in urban cycling friendly cities, that shiny big crossover EV is not necessarily the fastest way to get to work. We look at aContinue reading “My other zero emissions vehicle”

We recently found a dog friendly golf course, Lynbrook Family golf center. This required a through investigation, so we put all four sets of clubs, the dog and some snacks into my 2018 Nissan Leaf, which had no problems with all of this, and scooted off to the links. Four sets of clubs takes upContinue reading “Nissan Leaf: The family golf monster?”

Last fall, I wrote a short market survey looking at inexpensive electric cars. Back in November 2021, a EV shopper in the Toronto area could have had their choice of gently used Nissan Leaf’s, Hyundai Ioniq, or a Kia Soul for less than $30 000. While there is still some selection, the market is tight.Continue reading “What happened to the used EV market?”

The environmental benefits of EV’s are greatly enhanced if they can be charged using renewable energy. However, the cheapest energy rates are often at night, not exactly peak solar power production time. All is not lost, the humble laundry-line is a very inexpensive way to increase the share of renewables in your energy mix, inContinue reading “More Wind and Solar energy?”

I recently had a wonderful chat at a dinner party with a friend. Briefly, my friend was convinced that EV’s would take off immediately once an EV could be had for $25 000. While automakers can certainly build one (in fact the Nissan Leaf in some parts of Canada comes in at just about $25Continue reading “The $25 000 EV is just about here!”

About an hour out of Toronto sits Hilton falls, a sawmill from the 19th century. Thankfully the sawmill is long gone, although some of its structure remains. The fall are quite a wonder to explore in all seasons, and its only 70 km, hence close enough so that one need not worry about charging althoughContinue reading “Hilton Falls”

A recent opinion post in the Edmonton sun suggested it was impossible to drive from Grand Prairie AB to Winnipeg MB in January. Setting aside why anyone would choose to drive the 1800km or so between the two when reasonably priced flights are available. I wondered as I read the column if Gunther (the nameContinue reading “The Gunther challenge: Can you drive an EV from Grand-Prairie AB all the way to Winnipeg MB in January?”

To extend the life of your EV battery, most EV manufacturers do not allow you to use the full rated capacity of your battery. For example, my 2018 Nissan Leaf is usually at about 36 kWh usable, which dips down to about 34 kWh when it gets really cold. In my leaf, this appears toContinue reading “Accessing the top battery reserve”