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Adding a second battery
When Lightning Energy installed our Powerwall 2 back in December 2023 it was great. Paired with our 13 kW Enphase/Jinko solar system and 10 kW inverter, it's been handling our fully electrified home in Emerald pretty well — five reverse-cycle ACs, heat pump hot water, EV charging, and grid outages lasting up to nine days. But as we've added more loads, I've been thinking about expanding battery storage. There was a problem, though. The Powerwall 2 is no longer CEC-approved for new installations in Australia. Tesla stopped taking orders for it in late 2024/early 2025, and as of January 2026 it's no longer on the Clean Energy Council approved list. So you can't add a second one. And until very recently, the Powerwall 3 — Tesla's current model — was completely incompatible with the Powerwall 2. They couldn't talk to each other. That meant anyone with a Powerwall 2 who wanted more storage faced a painful choice: rip out the existing battery and start fresh with new hardware. For me, that…
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Heat pump testing — how fast does it heat?
In my December post about our heat pump installation, I mentioned that one of the reasons I chose Emerald was the integrated app. It shows the tank capacity, water temperature, outdoor temperature, and lets me turn it on and off or activate Boost Mode remotely. I've since used it to answer a question: how long does it actually take to heat the water, and does outdoor temperature make a difference? Over the past couple of months, I've been taking semi-random screenshots of the Emerald app at intervals through the day, tracking the water temperature as it heats from "Low" (around 25–30°C) up to the 60°C target. I did this on 11 different days, with outdoor temperatures ranging from about 14°C to 32°C. I then used AI (Claude, by Anthropic) to read all 87 screenshots, extract the data, and plot it on a chart. The chart shows each day's heating curve overlaid, with the lines colour-coded by outdoor temperature — red for hot days, blue for cool days. We might expect to see the warmer days…
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Why ducted air conditioning is inefficient
Ducted air conditioning (or heating) is inefficient. Let me explain, and see what you think. I am not a fan (pun intended) of ducted. It seems to be very inefficient. But only one in five air con sales reps seem to agree with my reasoning. At our previous home, in Saratoga NSW, we had a large (10kW) ducted air con system upstairs, which included all the bedrooms. When we just wanted to cool or heat one room, we tried to close the door of that room. But the door would slam shut and whistle, as the air would try to escape. The ducted air con had one or two outlets in each room’s roof. It had one shared return vent in the hall. Turning on the air con in a single room, the air needed to return to the hall to circulate. Closing the door blocked that path and made the pump work extra hard. The thermostat was also in the hall, as part of the control unit. We could set the target temperature of a room to say 22°C, but the room might cool down to 18° before the hall thermostat would register…
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Goodbye gas — disconnecting the ducted heating
Goodbye gas! I finally organised disconnecting the ducted gas heating at our home. If only we could see the burnt gas pouring into the air, all the time, and not just when the condensation highlights it (as in the photos). Pumping carcinogens and greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe. It’s nuts. It was costing us up to $528 per month to run the heating in winter. Our replacement air conditioning will be closer to free, thanks to our solar and battery. We recently also replaced our gas hot water with a heat pump. Our one remaining gas appliance is our stove top. Once that’s gone, we will save $35 per month just for the connection fee. And no more gas! We’re replacing the gas heating with some split air conditioners. For those who might say “what about in a blackout”? Note the power point connection on the old gas heating. Our old gas hot water heat pump had one too. They both needed electricity to run. In fact, in addition the gas consumed, the heating used about 1kW of…
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Multi-head air conditioning installation
The original plan was to install a multi head system, with five heads (one in each of five rooms), and one shared compressor, outside. Due to a change of plans (see “Problems” below), we end up with three heads on our multi-head system, covering our downstairs living area (lounge, dining, kitchen), master bedroom, and guest room. Configuration: Shared compressor: 18kW (though much lower in actual use) Head 1: Master bedroom: 2.8kW Head 2: Guest room: 2.8kW Head 3: Living area: 8.4kW Cost: The original quote was for a five head system, including two more 2.8kW heads and a slightly larger 20kW compressor. $14,776 Emerald 20kW with 5 x heads -$7,140 VEECS discount -$386 EOY Sale $7,250 Total inc GST Inclusions: Removal of Gas ducted system 1 (no duct removal) Double storey We paid about 20% deposit up front, and the rest on completion. As you can see above, the VEECS rebate/discount paid for about half of the system. As part of the project, we replaced the existing gas ducted heating. We…
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ICE vehicles also benefit from charging points
I’ve come across a few ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles that could benefit from charging points. Bear with me here. This ambulance, parked outside a nursing home, was running the engine, with no-one in it, I presume to keep the air con running, on what was a pretty hot day. Perhaps they were keeping the vehicle cool for a patient they were collecting. Fair enough. But, of course this leaks fumes (and noise) into the car park and reception, which isn’t great for health. I noticed that it has a power socket at the rear of the vehicle. I’m wondering if they could plug that into an electrical supply, if there was one at the parking spot (but wasn’t one handy here). This rental van I’m guessing has refrigeration, parked outside a butchers in Emerald. They made use of the external power socket, creatively plugging in from the shop. No noise or fumes. I wonder if it would be handy to have more accessible power points for these ICE vehicles? Or better yet, have electric vans that can…
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Creekside car camping in the Snowy Mountains
Car camping in my Tesla, beside a creek, off the beaten track in the Snowy Mountains. It took me a while to find the site. Earlier, in my search, I pulled off onto two tracks that ended up in someone’s property. At least it gave some local kids an excuse to run outside to see what the UFO sound was I did a three point just outside their gate. I waved and grinned. A cup of tea and a snack from my Teraglide drawer, sitting in my camp chair, watching the bush life. Until the bush life started eating me (just a few bugs), signaling time for bed. I again wished I had remembered to pack a collapsible stool, to help climb into the back of the car. Followed by the commando crawl to get on top of the Snuuzu mattress and Teraglide platform. This is the highest sleeping option, which gives lots of storage space and a very comfortable bed. The only down side is requiring more effort getting in and out. Once I’m in, it’s great with plenty of room to move. Please forgive the “Tesla Tripping – after…
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The best rest stop in the middle of nowhere
Wow, possibly the best amenities for a road trip, at this spot in the middle of nowhere (in the Snowy Mountains). Seats and tables, beautiful location, playground, water, toilets, WiFi. Even has a shower and laundry tubs. Oh, and a pizza oven. Hard to beat! Gotta love the various signs on the amenities (see photos). Thanks to Gippsland Climate Change Network and Chargefox for the destination EV charger here. It’s probably the only public fuel source (of and kind) for over 100km. There are no shops or food outlets here. Fortunately, I grabbed some supplies when passing through Bombala and Cooma, over the past few days. Instant kitchen: pop the Tesla tailgate, pull out the Teraglide drawer and table, flip up the lid to reveal the fridge in the sub trunk. After a couple of hours to eat and chill, off to find a campsite for the night, nearby along the river. I’ll come back in the morning to use the shower.
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Chasing a lone PlugShare pin to Tubbut
In search for a place to camp tonight, I gambled on the solitary green pin that appeared in the PlugShare app (see screenshot), west of me, way off the beaten track, across the Victorian border, in a little town named Tubbut. Plugshare showed no check-ins at that location, but the Chargefox app said it was functional. WikiCamps also showed some freecamp options around there, so it looked like a good option for the night. It was a beautiful drive, along some windy unsealed roads. I followed the navigation, but ended up in the middle of nowhere, I think due to the Apple Maps and Tesla map using different references. At this point, I wished I had Apple CarPlay, so I could show the PlugShare map on the big screen. Turning back a few kilometers, I found “the town”, which is basically just a community hall with add-ons. Fortunately one of the add-ons is the Chargefox EV charger. It exists! And it works! There’s a fuel bowser across the road (pictured), but I don’t think it’s been…
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I wish my Model Y had V2L
I wish my Tesla Model Y had a power point, where I could plug in my induction stove to make breakfast 😞. What I need is “V2L”, which stands for “vehicle to load”. Unfortunately, my Tesla Model Y RWD does not have it. This omission almost made us switch to BYD, Kia, Xpeng or one of the many other EV car brands that provide V2L. Tesla’s CyberTruck, new Model YL, and Model Y Performance all reportedly now provide V2L. The Cybertruck has built in power points. The other two require an adapter plugged into the charge port. I can only hope that in the near future Tesla offers some retrofit option for my car. In the mean time, I just have to find a power point, in order to cook. If I had booked a powered site at this location, that would work fine. This morning, I just used the camp kitchen. My car’s massive (by camping standards) 60kWh battery provided air conditioning all night, and has run my camp fridge non stop, via the 16V outlet. It powers other mod cons, such as the lights, wireless…
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Sleeping in the Tesla — does it fit?
Sleeping in the Tesla, on a Snuuzu mattress, on a Teraglide platform. The obvious question: can I fit? Short answer: plenty of room to sleep, rollover, look at the sky, out the window, or my phone. I never banged into the glass or support arch. But, getting in is a bit tight. I had to shuffle through, like a recruit in a commando course. I also forgot to pack a collapsible stool, to step onto, high enough at the back to crawl in. The Snuuzu mattress is super comfortable. It has a few layers of foam, supported by an inflatable layer. With the back seats down, the Tesla floor slopes down towards the back, with a kink where the seats hinge. This makes sleeping uncomfortable, and slides the occupants slowly down to the boot. One way to rectify this is to add a slightly elevated floor, that is truly horizontal. That’s where the Teraglide platform comes in. Teraglide also has a basic model, without the drawer, that isn’t as high as ours. And there are car mattresses that aren’t as thick as…
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Setting up the Teraglide bed in the Model Y
Setting up the Teraglide platform and Snuuzu mattress in the Tesla Model Y. Steps: 1. Folded back seats down, using the buttons in the Tesla. 2. Slid the interleaved top of the Teraglide platform onto the folded down rear seats. 3. Moved the front seats forward. 4. Unfolded the top hinged bit of the Teraglide. 5. Clipped on the side supports of the Terglide, near the doors. 6. Placed the Snuuzu mattress bag on the Teraglide platform. 7. Unzipped the bag, unrolled the Snuuzu mattress. Unclipped the mattress and opened it up flat. 8. Pressed the `Inflate` button on the mattress. Waited a minute for it to finish, then turned it off. 9. Added bed linen, blanket and pillow. Gotchas: 1. Teraglide (the business) had warned me, after seeing earlier photos of my installation a few months ago, that I had neglected to strap down the front of the Teraglide. With this in mind, I brought along the supplied straps, but I hadn’t yet installed them. When I fully extended the kitchen drawer without…
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Great chargers, sad site, at Coolac
Time for a break and a cup of tea. The navigation says that the next EV charger is at Coolac, just north of Gundagai, so we stopped there. Wow. It’s a pretty bad. The chargers are great, simple and fast. But the site is woeful. The hotel is closed or being renovated. The toilets are port-a-loos, but are disgusting . I don’t know how much of that is due to infrequent maintenance versus just being the busiest time of year. There is a service station nearby with some food and hopefully better toilets, but it’s a ten minute walk away in the heat, and not an option for Mum’s walker. Some people were sheltering from the sun under the three tall trees begging the toilets. Not a great spot. Tesla/government really needs to ensure better location for EV chargers. We enjoyed a cup of tea from our thermoses, and some Christmas snacks (thank you Krissy). Some way further up the highway, we pulled over into Bookham, for a conveniently located toilet and a bit of a stretch in some broken shade. In…
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New Superchargers and lunch at Batemans Bay
We checked out the new Tesla Superchargers in Batemans Bay. Super fast. The fish and chips shop next door didn’t have anywhere to eat. The Catalina Club, which hosts the Tesla chargers in the car park was the obvious choice for lunch. We needed shoes to get in 😉. And ID. What a great find. Good food, impressive facilities. Thank you Marie for showing us around.
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What to ask for in a battery installation
I suggest getting your installer to agree in writing that your battery installation will include: 1. Remote control via an app and/or website to monitor your battery and house power. 2. During a grid outage, the battery should provide backup for everything you need. 3. During a grid outage, solar continues to provide power. 4. The ability to curtail export of power to the grid when pricing is negative. 5. Compatibility with Amber Electric, if you might want to use them as your energy retailer. Let’s look at each in detail: 1. Using an app or website, you can: 1. Monitor power in and out of your battery, house and grid connection, instantaneous, daily and historical. 2. At any time, set your battery to a minimum charge percentage. 2. In the event of a grid outage: 1. The battery will switch over automatically. The installer should test it and show you. 2. The battery will power all of your home, up to the battery’s maximum power (which should be at least 5kW). 3. If you have three…
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Home battery introduction
Are you considering a battery for your house? Here is a basic introduction, based on our experience. I hope it’s helpful. Please comment about any errors, omissions or questions. 1. Why is there more talk lately about getting a battery for your house? 1. As of July 1 this year, the federal government will pay for 30% of your home battery purchase. This makes it 30% cheaper to buy one. 2. What’s the purpose of a house battery? 1. A battery provides power to your house, as electricity. 2. It can power anything in your home that runs from electricity, including your fridge, lights, power points, TV. 3. It can keep your house appliances running when there is a grid outage (a “blackout”). 4. If you have solar panels, a battery can store the excess power generated during the day, so you can use it at night to avoid paying for electricity. This is why it is often called a “solar battery”. 5. You can also charge a battery from the grid when electricity is cheap, and use it when electricity is…
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Solar, battery and electrification — series intro
A few neighbours and friends have asked us lately for advice about solar panels, house battery, EVs etc. Here’s our real life experience, starting a series of posts on different topics. We installed solar and battery when we moved into our house (Emerald, Victoria) about two years ago. We already had an EV (electric car). This week, we finally got around to replacing our gas hot water with an electric heat pump. Next month we’re replacing our gas ducted heating with a multi head split air conditioning system. Overall, our solar and battery provide more electricity than we use. We’re also connected to the electricity grid so we can import when we need more, or export when we have a surplus. We aim to produce all the power that we need. On the rare times that we import electricity from the grid, our retailer bills us. More often, we export our surplus electricity to the grid, for which they give us a credit. Overall, we have more credit than debits, so we don’t have to pay anything. All…
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Heat pump installation
We finally got around to installing a hot water heat pump, to replace our gas hot water system. We were paying about $40 per month for our instant gas hot water (plus $40 connection fee). Now we’re paying nothing, because the heat pump is just using our excess solar power. Without solar, I estimate it would be costing us $8 per month to power it from the electricity grid. There are a few incentive schemes around to replace gas (or other old inefficient systems) with a heat pump. An installer will factor these into their quote. The subsidies can be significant. In our case, the total price was $4480, but it was reduced to $1650 for us to pay, after subsidies were subtracted. A hot water heat pump uses the same principle as an air conditioner (which is also a heat pump). It “pumps” heat from one side to the other. In this case, it pumps heat from the outside air into the tank of water. The basic physics is that when you compress air in a confined space, it gets hot, and when you expand…
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Arriving early at Ayers Rock Campground
We arrived a day ahead of schedule at Ayers Rock Campground. We had booked a powered site, starting from tomorrow, but none were available tonight. The staff offered us the unpowered overflow campground area. Our original plan was to charge the car at our powered site, while also running the air conditioning and accessories. Without a powered site tonight, we had to charge up the car a bit first, so we could just run it off the giant battery. We used the auto inflate button on our Snuuzu mattress, added pillows and doona. We moved the baggage to the front seats, so the bed wasn’t obstructed. While car camping in Coober Pedy a few days ago, we discovered that even with our portable wheel ramps the car’s bed floor still leans backwards too much. So, we backed the car up a small hill as well. We used our fold up spade to fill in a couple of holes from previous campers. We set the Tesla to “camp mode”, so we could sleep in the back of the car at 20°, while it was 3° outside, overnight.…
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On our way to Coober Pedy — first Glendambo stop
On our way to Coober Pedy, the plan was to stop here at the Glendambo Roadhouse for lunch and top up “fuel” for the car. Glendambo seems to consist of three main buildings: on the left, an old run down, decommissioned service station. In the middle, a roadhouse/pub, with access to motel rooms and camp ground behind. On the right, a newer service station with simple hot food options. I heard the service station staff saying that they had run out of diesel fuel, awaiting a delivery in an hour or two. A truckie reported to say he had thousands of litres parked outside, but he couldn’t give it up, since it was bound for Coober Pedy. If there’s no fuel, there’s no plan B. You just have to wait and hope. We chatted to one of the guys towing the rally car with skulls, appropriately named “Numb Skulls”. They’re headed from home in Katherine, NT south for the Variety Bash near Adelaide, then back home. That’s a lot of towing.
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Charging confusion at Spud's Roadhouse
Although it’s in the middle of nowhere, Spud's Roadhouse is a great place to stop on the way to Uluru. For one, it has a few EV charging options. Now, charging should be simple, like it was for the two EVs that were here when I arrived. They each plugged into one of the two DC charging cables, walked over to get some food at the roadhouse while their cars charged. Then off they went – one towards Adelaide and the other to Roxbury. But life isn’t always so simple. I plugged into the remaining charger, which is a slower AC station. It’s only 7kW, compared to the faster DC adjacent chargers at 80-150kW. But, that’s fine – I’m staying here overnight, so I have the time, or I could have just used a fast charger when one of the other drivers disconnected. This AC charger requires your own “Type 2” (technically “Mennekes”) cable, which we have, so I plugged it into the car and EV charger. To my surprise, it immediately started charging, without using an app or tap card. I left it connected…
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Walking the Murrumbidgee levee in Wagga
Out for a walk along the levee bank along the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga. Beautiful day, warmer now with the sunshine. Lots of people camping by the river, I presume as their homes. Must be so cold at night.
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A fluid swap at Oliver's Real Food, Gundagai
Quick stop for a fluid change (hot chocolate in, wee out) at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai.
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A cafe opposite the Yass Superchargers
Stop for a late lunch, in Yass, at Kaffeine 2582. We picked this place, because it’s opposite the Tesla Superchargers. I wonder if the cafe realises how many EV drivers now eat at their cafe 🤔.
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Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs
Imagine driving an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for the first time, coming from EVs. April 5: We drove in a couple of ICE cars around town (Airlie Beach and Cannonvale) for a few days. It reminded me of a couple of years ago, hopping back in our Mazda CX-5, after owning an EV. Here are my observations: 1. You can’t charge it up while parked at home, or at a shopping center. You have to go to a special “fuel station” to recharge the car. You can’t just leave the car to recharge – you have to stay with it, holding the recharge nozzle. 2. It smells. And the fumes are carcinogenic. The fumes come from the nozzle, but also out of the back of the car while driving. 3. When the car has enough charge (fuel), you put the nozzle back in the pump. But then you have to walk into the service station to pay at the counter. It’s not automatic at the pump, or it’s too complicated for most people to bother that way. 4. There’s a possibility of fire. The fuel is highly flammable. And the car…
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Why NRMA Airlie Beach is a shining EV light
The NRMA Airlie Beach Holiday Park is a shining light. EV destination chargers at each of the new cabins. Fast chargers out front for the public. Efficient electric hot water heat pumps. On site cafe and coffee. E-bikes. Walk to nearby Coles and shopping center. This is the future. Well done, The NRMA! Missing our own EV right now, still parked back in Melbourne airport.
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A foodie treasure hunt in the Macedon Ranges
Off to The Macedon Ranges today, for a Mystery Adventures Picnic. It’s basically a foodie treasure hunt. Great Christmas gift, thank you Helen 😋. First stop at 3 Little Pigs Gisborne cafe, for coffee. Then, on through Watt's Fresh Woodend, Kyneton to Malmsbury, stopping along the way for a food platter, chocolates, bits, drinks and bread. Picnic at Malmsbury Botanic Gardens, with a walk to the Malmsbury Railway Viaduct.
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The final stretch of a 4000 km road trip
The final stretch of this 4000km road trip, to get home. We stayed last night in Gobbagombalin (near Wagga Wagga) with our grandson (oh, and his parents 😉). Just a couple of bakery stops, in Holbrook and Yea. The first cafe in Holbrook was closed, so we looked through the window like lost puppies. While parked, we kept the car in Camp Mode, with the air con on, to keep our camp fridge going and our food cool. No exhaust or additional heat.
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Crepes for breakfast at Botero Cafe, Maclean
Crepes filled with chocolate mousse, banana and cherry sauce is a perfectly legitimate breakfast, according to Botero Cafe, in Maclean. Onward north towards Coollum Beach in Queensland.
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Arriving in Venice
We arrived in Venice! I’ll let the photos speak to the beauty and hustle bustle of the place. Best to view them in landscape, full screen, and zoom in. It’s gorgeous. The chaos and fumes of narrow roads is gone – replaced with similar in canals. The walks through town are delightful. So many shops and things going on. It was supposed to be an easy transition for us today, with a one hour drive from our previous night’s stay near Verona. But it ended up being a big day. Here’s a list of our challenges and goofs today: 1. The police escort through Verona. That deserves its own post. Stay tuned. 2. We searched Booking.com for accommodation in Venice that included parking. We were aware that you can drive to Venice but not into Venice. We hoped to find accommodation that provided some parking so we wouldn’t have to arrange a shuttle, repack and lug bags too far. It was a long shot, but we found a match. It wasn’t until after we booked it that communication with the coordinator revealed…
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Walking the Aare Gorge, then donkeys
We spent the afternoon exploring the Aare Gorge, along the elevated board walk. Beautiful. Lunch on site. We couldn’t leave the area without patting a donkey and Shetland pony. So much beauty all around. Delivered spaghetti and pizza for dinner, back at our hotel. We’re in training for Italy in a few days 😉.
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Preheating the house from John's Hill Lookout
After a beautiful morning drive in the Dandenong Ranges, with our last stop at John’s Hill Reserve Lookout, we decided to head for home, about 20 minutes away. It was 6°C outside but warm and toasty in the Tesla. Our house was going to be cold 🥶. If only there was a way to heat it up remotely, before we got home, like we can with the Tesla 🤔. Fortunately, there is! We bought a Sensibo remote control. It communicates with the air conditioner via infrared, and communicates with our phones via the Internet. It even works with our ten year old Panasonic air con. So, we can be in bed, or many kilometres away and say “Siri, turn on the air conditioner”, to have a warm lounge room waiting for us. We can also control the temperature, fan speed, schedule and so on. We could even set it up to turn on the air conditioner automatically when we’re within 20km from home, via geofencing. Nice 😊 We opted for the “Air Pro” version, which also monitors air quality. I’ve noticed that it sometimes shows…
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Dog Mode, for Clare the visitor
Dog Mode engaged. We’re minding our sister Helen’s dog, Clare, for a few days. Our cat, Archie initially hissed a few times at the interloper, but seems to have now accepted (or at least tolerated) her. We took this fine old doggie out for a drive to Loch. We limited the G forces of acceleration and cornering so as not to plaster her on the back seat. We had a delicious lunch with friends at the Loch & Key cafe, while Clare slept in the car, in air conditioned Dog Mode comfort. We checked on her a few times using the in-cabin Sentry Mode camera. Then out for a long walk around the town of Loch.
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A 3.5 °C breakfast in Bombala
The bare feet were feeling the 3.5°C this morning as we packed the car in Bombala. First stop 100m away for coffee and an egg and spinach roll at Kitchen Eightyate. Tom spotted Bombala Lookout on the navigation a few minutes away, and couldn’t help himself for the photo opportunity. Then onward south towards Cann River, past the “no fuel” sign.
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A Seven Hills stretch on the way to Newcastle
On our way today from Goulburn to Newcastle. Time for a toilet stop and stretch in Seven Hills. I tapped the charger icon on the Tesla screen and one of the options it showed was 10km ahead along our route, in Seven Hills, which seemed likely to also have toilets. I tapped that location, added it to our route. The Tesla realised it was a charger and started preconditioning the battery (for faster charging on arrival). Lots of road works out here on the highway. I found it difficult to determine which of the lines on the road were removed and which were the new ones, in the glare of the sun on the road. At one point, a ute in front of us was straddling two lanes until some other cars behind alerted them to the misalignment. Somehow our Tesla’s Autopilot managed to make sense of it all and kept us in the correct lane. Super impressive. Mum’s Apple Watch didn’t charge last night in the motel, so we plugged it into the USB-C port in the car. Onward to the NSW Central Coast, then Cessnock,…
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Ice-cream mode, in 36 °C heat
The challenge: In the middle of the hottest three day stretch in Victoria in decades, bring home double ice cream cones without them melting all over the car. Solution: Set the Tesla to “ice cream mode”. Well, it’s really just the “keep” setting in the air conditioner. It keeps the car cool, without running an engine, while I exited to buy ice cream cones at Bam Bam Italian. Mission successful! 🍦😋
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A ventilated jacket, vs the heat up north
In preparation for starting our road trip tomorrow to NSW, I want to protect my new found Victorian sensibilities against the harsh heat and humidity up north 😉. Fortunately, Helen bought me a great Christmas present for the job: a ventilated seat cover! I know the Tesla Model 3 new “Highland” 2024 model comes with built in ventilated seats. But our 2022 Model 3 does not. Installation was fairly simple. I just looped the hole over the headrest, spent several minutes pulling it down hard, far enough to pop in under. I pushed the back of the cover under the plastic back of the seat. I couldn’t find something under the seat for the hooks to grab. It is powered by the 12V outlet in the centre arm rest. It does the job well, preventing my back from getting sweaty and sticking to the seat. I wish I had this for our earlier Queensland trips. The mini fans in the seat cover keep my back and bum ventilated and cool. The buttons allow setting the different fan speeds. The seat feels a bit…
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Tesla battery and wall charger installation
The team from Lightning Energy installed the undercover pieces today, while it’s raining, and deferring to tomorrow the installation on the roof of the solar panels, if the sun comes out. We had originally scheduled this installation for December 11 and 12, but rain on December 11 saw it canceled. We had this Tesla wall charger at our last house in Saratoga NSW, a year ago. The new owners there didn’t have an EV, so we modified the contract for us to remove the EV charger. It has sat in storage until the removalists delivered our belongings here a few days ago. It wasn’t really practical for us to bring the Tesla “Powerwall” battery with us from the old house, so we bought a new one for this house. It costs about $15k, which is a lot. There are cheaper battery options, but we know the Powerwall has a large capacity compared to cheaper batteries, and works well with the app, scheduling, blackouts, etc. We have heard from a few people in Emerald and the Yarra Ranges in general that…
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Our planned solar installation
Here’s an update on our planned solar installation, in Emerald Victoria, since some have asked. We were hoping to fill the sun facing part of our roof with solar panels. Lightning Energy has been great (Hi Andrew 👋). They put together a detailed initial proposal for us that would have given us 15kW of electricity from 34 solar panels (0.44kW each panel). The plan was to use that to charge the EV (7kW) and house battery (5kW), hot water, air conditioning etc. If/when we couldn’t use it all, we would export 5kW back to the grid. In a disappointing turn, we learned today that AusNet has rejected the proposal and capped it at a max of 11.9kW solar panels and 1.5kW export. So, our installation will be restricted to match 😢. The 11.9kW max solar production would only happen in full sun, in the sunny months of the year. On cloudy days, or in the middle of winter, solar panels only generate a fraction of the max power. For example, we might only generate 50% or 6kW on a sunny day in winter.…
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Final leg: Holbrook to Melbourne
The final leg of our return trip from Airlie Beach in Queensland, to the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. We left our accommodation at The Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, then a brief stop at Chiltern Rest Stop. At lunch time we grabbed a couple of salad sandwiches from Mawsons Bakery Cafe, in Euroa, and ate them in Seven Creeks Park while the car charged and kept Archie in “cat mode” (shh, don’t tell him the proper name for it) air conditioned comfort. Then on to Croydon Vet Clinic and Lou Lou's Cattery and Small Animal Boarding Pty Ltd, and finally our last temporary accommodation at our generous sister Helen’s house in Knoxfield. In the pantry, we found our last bag of Brookfarm Granohlaah for breakfast the next morning!
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Picking up Archie from Cat Utopia
November 19 - 20: Today we finally picked up our cat, Archie, from Cat Utopia Resort & Spa in Doyalson. He’s been there all the time that we’ve been road tripping and searching for a new home. He was very chilled in the Tesla, snoozing for most of the trip. When we stopped for a brief lunch at Campbelltown Catholic Club and dinner at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai, Archie stayed in the car set to “dog mode”, which keeps him in air conditioned comfort. When we arrived at Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, Archie checked the perimeter a few times in our room, peering out the window. Tomorrow, we complete our migration to Melbourne, taking Archie to Croydon Vet Clinic, and a brief stay at Lou Lou's Cattery in Bayswater North, while we get our house ready in Emerald Victoria.
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Glamping our way through Ballina
We woke in our Ballina Glamping tent at Ballina Beach Nature Resort. It’s a great setup. Hot shower, four post bed, dishwasher, swing chair, stove, power points to charge phones and car. Yeah, we know how to camp! Not sure about the efficiency of the air con in the tent, but maybe not much worse than many uninsulated houses. Lovely staff and setting. We set off south along the south bank of the river, towards our next night’s stop near Kempsey.
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Mackay to Rockhampton, the long quiet stretch
We’re driving from Mackay to Rockhampton today. It’s one of the longest stretches of “not much here”, with signs along the Bruce Highway like “Still a long way to go, kids” and trivia questions/answers. We stopped for lunch at one of the few options along the way: Flaggy Rock Cafe. It’s a great little place with good food. The cars jostle to find parking in the shade. We moved the car out to the RV section to park under a tree, and kept the air con running to keep our food cool. A bit further down the road, we stopped briefly for the toilet at the Marlborough Service Station, with a reminder that we’re not paying $2/L for petrol 😮.
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Furniture-trying at Fantastic Furniture, Rockhampton
After three days in and around Yeppoon, we headed back inland to Rockhampton. We parked next to the library and grabbed lunch and a coffee at The Two Professors cafe. We found Fantastic Furniture to try out some lounge options, much to the amusement of other customers. The lounge is not for the Tesla, but for our soon to be new home in Emerald, Victoria. Not enough boot space to transport it from here, though 😉. Next, Capricorn Caves.
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A scorching day at Eumundi markets
What shall we do on this stinking hot day? I know, let’s walk around in the sun, buy hot food and drink hot coffee! Well, we did! Highly recommend Eumundi markets. We visited on a Wednesday and it was absolutely packed, visitors hoping for a bargain, a “completely organic” ointment that cures all or some gadget they didn’t know they needed in their life. Delicious arancini balls and the obligatory Dutch poffitjes (kind of mini pancakes) were devoured, Fran bought us two candle holders made from Australian banksia seed pods. Many visitors meant many cars. We parked in the $9 grass car park right next door, with everyone else, in the baking 36° heat. We had perishable food in the car, so we put up the windscreen shade and turned on the air con for a few hours while we wandered the markets and had morning tea. No hot engine or fumes. The best part was pre-cooling the Tesla and revelling in it at the end of our wanderings.
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From Wellington Point to Mudjimba
October 23-25: At the top end of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Lunch (veg nachos and corn fritters) at High Tide Bar Grill & Cafe. A walk on the beach, as we watched a few jumbos descending to Sunshine Coast Airport. We booked a room, last minute (as always), down the road at Ramada Marcoola Beach Resort. Nice place, with pool, bistro, bar, gym, beach. The staff are nice, but we did get a cold sales call asking if we are interested in time share. We took a swim (more of a float, really) in the pool. After the hot day, the pool was warmer than the air above, so we didn’t want to get out. Dinner at the bistro (veg curry and Thai salad). A morning walk up the road to get coffee from Cuba St. Coffee Roasters. They have two branded old cars. The rust has actually fallen in piles under the cars. Cool look, though. We briefly sat on the chair outside the cafe, until we realised that the BMW parked there was pumping fumes at us, in order to keep the air con going for the owner. How did we…
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Lunch at Pac Fair with Vincent and Rika
We popped into “Pac Fair”, as the locals call it, in the Gold Coast, Queensland. Huge place. Even had its own moat and bridge in the middle 😉. Vincent and Rika (a couple who have been following our Tesla travels) generously invited us to dinner at Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant - SeaWorld Resort, and later to the local Tesla meetup, back at Pac Fair. The meet up consisted of several other Gold Coast Tesla lovers parking in the shopping centre carpark, like a bunch of newly licenced P platers, swapping Tesla knowledge and our experience on road trips. The most entertaining was Vincent who is a walking encyclopaedia of Tesla knowledge. Thank you to all who joined us. Fun time! Next morning, we checked out of our hotel, and drove north to Blue Bungalow, near Brisbane. Fran exchanged some clothes while Tom put the car in “husband mode” (which was just air con and YouTube 😉), to watch Chris Vanderstock explain the details of the Supreme Court decision throwing out the Victorian EV road tax.
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Glamping in a giant tent in Bulahdelah
October 13 - 15: It’s essentially a giant bathroom (with walls) with a huge deck and heavy duty tent over it, containing a studio room with bed, kitchen, dining and lounge. The first night, we had dinner at this understated restaurant (it looks like a fish and chips shop) called Warung Peri, which serves some of the best food we’ve eaten. Indonesian. We did most of our eating on our outside deck, watching the birds, cows and greenery. I had a fair bit of work to do, so the deck became my office while I wrestled with Xcode and SwiftUI. Francis sent me out for coffee the first morning. It was only a couple of hundred meters to town, so I thought it best to walk. Loved the sign on the counter at Cafe on Main 🦸 ☕️. On the second morning she had the Red Parrot on-site coffee, after a lot of fun in the (also on-site) petting zoo. Great place. Friendly staff.
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A burger and a boardwalk in Urunga
Time for a late lunch, in Urunga, just south of Coffs Harbour. We split a burger between us, just before the town shops finished closing. Then a beautiful walk along the 1km (each way) boardwalk. Hot in the sun today, and no shade for the car in the car park near the beach. I just used the Tesla app to turn on air con in the car, to keep our food fresh, and prepped for us to drive on. Tonight we’ll stay at a B&B in Emerald Beach.
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A few days back on the Central Coast, with family
October 8 - 13: We stayed a few days in our old home of the NSW Central Coast, and exited through the Hunter Valley. We grabbed some meals with all of our local family: We checked out Patonga Beach Hotel for the first time (surprisingly). We thought it very busy, for a Wednesday, but the waitress said it was “dead” compared to normal. Stunning place. It used to be a corner shop when I lived there as a kid. In Terrigal, we ate at 4 hands pizza. Another day, we grabbed some pasta from a cute little express Italian place “Il Toscano” and ate on Terrigal Beach as the sun went down and the local life savers practiced their wedgies while rowing. Erina Fair for the Snap Car Wash and lunch at Sage Cafe. We popped in to visit Fletcher, who is one of the biggest fans of our Tesla. In a few minutes he had used the console to change the colour of the car, the air con fans, and composed a funky beat. I got a chance to show him the newly added summon feature (he “drove“ the car using my iPhone app)…
Formerly: Tesla Tripping
Come along on our EV road trips around Australia and Europe, and follow as we progressively electrify our home in Emerald, Victoria.
Join us on the road. We set off in late 2022 and drove eastern Australia in our Tesla Model 3 — Sydney, Dubbo, Armidale, Brisbane, Cape Tribulation, then down through Queensland and back. We've since upgraded to a Model Y.
We've kept exploring — Uluru, the Snowy Mountains and Gippsland, and a longer run through Europe in 2024. There's plenty more on the map, so come along for the next leg.
At home in Emerald, in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, we're progressively electrifying everything: rooftop solar, a home battery, a hot water heat pump, air conditioned heating and cooling, and EV charging straight from the sun. We're going fully electric, off the gas.
Got questions, or insights of your own? We'd love to hear them — please drop a comment on any post.