Community Corner
What's Under Your Hood?
Bethany resident drives electric truck to and from Yale each day
When Mike Okrent does something, he does it all the way. Two years ago, the Bethany resident converted a 1997 Chevy pickup truck into from a gasoline powered vehicle to an electric truck. He gets 50 miles per charge and has driven to work just about every day since he built it. Okrent will be driving the truck in this weekend’s Memorial Day Parade in Bethany.
“Most days I drive it work, it’s about 11 miles each way,” says Okrent. He’s an ITS Project Manager at Yale University. “I do minimal maintenance, usually a lube-job after 3,000 miles, and I have to put distilled water in the batteries every once in a while.”
To charge the truck, he plugs it into something similar to a dryer plug every night. Okrent’s electric bill has gone up about $10 a month, but he saves on gasoline.
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“At one point I was spending something like three cents a mile. It was originally designed so I could go round-trip from my house to work,” Okrent explains. Yale now has an outlet for charging in the parking garage Okrent uses.
The benefit, according to Okrent, is clear: “The lack of pollution coming from the vehicle.”
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Okrent is chairman of Bethany’s Clean Energy Task Force. The task force did one round of canvassing through town for the home energy program. Through a lighting program, the task force will replace all of the light bulbs in a resident’s home with CFL light bulbs.
“We’re focusing right now on conserving energy as opposed to clean energy. The best energy is the energy we don’t use,” he says.
The task force will conduct a survey on a home to determine where energy leaks are. The check includes water flow, the home heating system, checking air ducts for leaks, and coupons for significant reductions in the cost of appliances.
“If you have a refrigerator that’s over 10 years old, chances are it’s not very efficient. That is the single biggest use of electricity in your house, and If you can replace that with an Energy Star version, you will see an immediate impact in reducing your electric bill every month,” says Okrent.
The Clean Energy Task Force holds its next meeting on June 11.
