800 miles and counting

Good news!  The Volt survived Hurricane Sandy!

It was charging at the house for most of the day yesterday when the power went out, prompting the car alarm to go off.  Why does this happen?  Luckily, the power outage did not harm the charge or the car.

Someone stopped to ask me some questions as I was unplugging my car from my favorite ChargePoint station this afternoon.  I think I need to start understanding exactly how this car works so I can better answer questions.

Here are some of the questions:
- How long does it take to charge?  Depending upon the power source, it could take 4-12 hours.

- How many miles does each charge last?  Around 36 miles, depending on weather and driving      
   conditions.

-When you are at a stop sign is the battery being used?  Umm, I guess?  I am assuming that some battery power has to be used because the car is still on, but I am not really clear on that answer.

-Do you just leave your car on the street charging by itself?  This question was asked as I was unplugging my car and the alarm started to go off.  My answer was a little smart "Well, the alarm goes off when you unplug it in a public station, so I guess that deters people."


I found this last question very amusing because I was worried about leaving it the first time too!  I think the car looks so venerable when charging, but it really is no different that just parking your car on the street.

Does anyone reading this blog drive a Volt?  If so, does your car alarm go off when you unplug in public?  What happens to the battery when you are at a stop sign?

Here are my recent stats according to my recorded ChargePoint charges:
Number of charges: 3
Gallons of Gas saved: 4.8
GHG gasses saved: 40.602
28.573 kWh energy

P.S. It was raining pretty hard on my drive home and the car handled the slick roads very well.