You’ve Wondered About Electric Cars, Now Come Check Them Out

[Published June 4, 2015, in the Denver Post's YourHub sections for all of Jefferson County and in four Jeffco weekly newspapers.]

By JIM SMITH, Realtor ®

Regular readers of this column know of my commitment to electric cars. Over the past decade, Rita and I did what so many car buyers do, first buying a couple Toyota-made hybrids, then a Chevy Volt, and finally a Tesla Model S.  Just last week we took delivery of a second Tesla, shown here, one of the all-wheel drive models with “Autopilot” technology.

On any given day, you will find four electric cars in the Golden Real Estate parking lot, now that broker associate Carrie Lovingier has traded in her Jeep for a Chevy Volt.  Several other broker associates may make their next car an electric one, too having experienced driving the Tesla and Volt.

 

Golden Real Estate is fully committed to sustainability, and electric cars are a big part of that commitment. Solar photovoltaics are another element of that commitment, and our 10 kW solar system has resulted in a monthly electric bill of under $100 even with our four EV charging stations. We’ll be adding additional solar panels over time as our EV “fleet” expands further.  (We also offer free EV charging to the public.)

This Saturday is an opportunity for you, too, to catch the electric vehicle bug. We are holding an Electric Vehicle Roundup in our parking lot on South Golden Road. In addition to our four EV’s, you will find many other makes and models of electric vehicles. If you own a plug-in electric car, we invite you to bring it.  The Denver Electric Vehicle Council, of which we’re a sponsoring member, had made this one of their June events.

With tens of thousands of EV miles under my belt in various vehicles, I’ve become a bit of a resource on the topic.  I have developed a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation which I deliver to service clubs and other audiences.

 

I’ll be delivering that presentation next Wednesday, June 10th, at the JeffCo Innovators’ Workshop, 6:30-8:30 at Golden City Hall.  If you have an organization where this presentation would be of interest, please invite me.

 

This Saturday’s Electric Vehicle Roundup in our parking lot takes place from 2pm to dusk, during the monthly “Supercruise” event. Please come and see the EV’s and ask the owners about their operation. Many of us will be giving free rides. See you there!

Here Are Some of Golden Real Estate’s Other Sustainable Practices:

¨ We accept block Styrofoam for recycling—bring it with you on Saturday! (must be white, clean and unprinted — no food containers or packing peanuts)

¨ Our office has “sun tunnels” (aka Solatubes) for daylighting, to reduce electrical lighting

¨ All our agents are Certified EcoBrokers

¨ Our building is “super insulated,” reducing our consumption of natural gas to under $50 per month during winter’s coldest months.