Electricity bill cost
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Here in northwestern Oregon our electric rates: calculated by total bill divided by KWH used. With an average of 1250-1500 KWH per month our rate is .117 per KWH. This is the true rate with all costs, fees and taxes included.
With a fully depleted battery in our 2016 Volt it takes 16 KWH to fully charge so; 16 X .117 = $1.872. There is a charging loss associated with charging as the KWH usage from a full to depleted battery when driving is about 14.1-14.3 KWH.
With a fully depleted battery in our 2016 Volt it takes 16 KWH to fully charge so; 16 X .117 = $1.872. There is a charging loss associated with charging as the KWH usage from a full to depleted battery when driving is about 14.1-14.3 KWH.
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The reply you already have is spot on. The Volt is incredibly predictable on how much electricity it will use. This increase you are incurring is from some other source like an AC or HVAC UNLESS you have a crazy tiered structure with your utility and you are bumping up against some extra charges because of it.
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If you are doing a full charge (~15kW) every day then you must be paying about 65 cents per kWh. If your cost per kWh is less than this or you are not doing a full charge every day then you have something else sucking up electrons.
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My cost is from 5-7 cents for electric only, then works out about 11 cents once other charges are figured in here in NE Ohio. I don't think my bill went up more than $20 if that. 2012 maybe uses around 10kwh to fully charge I think.
$300 increase seems impossible.
$300 increase seems impossible.
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Here in southern Illinois I pay 11.5 cents per kWh so with a fully depleted battery in our 2017 Volt it takes 16 KWH to fully charge so; 16 X .115 = $1.84
I seldom fully discharge my battery (I average about 25 miles a day as my DD) which takes about 6 kWh so my daily average cost is closer to 69 cents (6 X .115 = .69).
Of course in the winter I will use more of the battery to go the same distance, but you get the point.
I seldom fully discharge my battery (I average about 25 miles a day as my DD) which takes about 6 kWh so my daily average cost is closer to 69 cents (6 X .115 = .69).
Of course in the winter I will use more of the battery to go the same distance, but you get the point.
I wouldn't use full charge since that is often unrealistic. Just figure that you'll use 1 kWh to go 3 miles. So 300 kWh for 900 miles of electric driving. Then just multiply your kWh cost by 300 or whatever number of kWh you think you're using.
Lots can vary depending based on your local utility rate. Very difficult to generalize. However, $300/month isn't realistic under any situation I'm aware of. Even $150/month would be highly unusual.
Lots can vary depending based on your local utility rate. Very difficult to generalize. However, $300/month isn't realistic under any situation I'm aware of. Even $150/month would be highly unusual.
If you are charging a huge battery everyday, your bill has to go up unless you've changed your power rates somehow (time of use, solar). That said, $300/month seems like a lot. I've got pretty high electric rates ($0.20/kwh). Assuming I drive about 1000 miles a month, that's easily $60-70 more on my bill.
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Mine costs me nothing other than the purchase of the L2 charger. As of this year, our photovoltaic system has paid for itself in power offset and we now have only the minimum $18 monthly utility bill.
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We're on an overnight charging program that allows us to buy otherwise wasted wind power for 4.4c per kWh. That brings the cost down to about $.01 per mile, or about $10 per 1000 miles. We're on a separate meter, and our Volts pull exactly what they say they should -- just enough energy to fully charge the 10.9 kWh batter.
If you're plugging into the wall, presumably you could use a device like the Kill A Watt (https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU) to measure the actual amount of power used.
If you're plugging into the wall, presumably you could use a device like the Kill A Watt (https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU) to measure the actual amount of power used.
My monthly bill went down when I added a Volt and changed to Time of Use billing. As empty-nesters we weren't using that much during peak anyway, and it was easy to time-shift some of what we were using.
To OP, look at any other use changes. Compare the recent monthly bills and see if a small increase landed you in another tier. As others said, it's hard to get a Volt to use more than 300 kWh without charging multiple times per day. You could try the Kill-a-Watt, but the Volt couldn't be drawing enough to make that change without burning something up.
The only other thing I can think of is that you were already on a Time of Use plan and you're charging the Volt at the worst possible times.
To OP, look at any other use changes. Compare the recent monthly bills and see if a small increase landed you in another tier. As others said, it's hard to get a Volt to use more than 300 kWh without charging multiple times per day. You could try the Kill-a-Watt, but the Volt couldn't be drawing enough to make that change without burning something up.
The only other thing I can think of is that you were already on a Time of Use plan and you're charging the Volt at the worst possible times.
Find your cost of electricity, for example I used 856 kwh last month at a cost of $100 (not total bill, just electricity cost) which works out to be 11.6 cents per kwh, but there was a 1.6 cent per kwh adjustment bringing me down to 10 cents per kwh.
If you are on a tiered plan, check the last tier, as that is where your EV usage will fall. Might be more expensive in AC season and less in heater season if your area uses gas heat.
Add maybe 30% to battery capacity to figure kwh used to charge an empty pack, so my gen 1 Volt takes about $1.30 to charge (last month), maybe more or maybe less. It adds less than $30 to my electric bill. I average maybe $110 for my monthly bill year round after charging is figured in.
You aren't telling us enough info if your bill is going up $300.
If you are on a tiered plan, check the last tier, as that is where your EV usage will fall. Might be more expensive in AC season and less in heater season if your area uses gas heat.
Add maybe 30% to battery capacity to figure kwh used to charge an empty pack, so my gen 1 Volt takes about $1.30 to charge (last month), maybe more or maybe less. It adds less than $30 to my electric bill. I average maybe $110 for my monthly bill year round after charging is figured in.
You aren't telling us enough info if your bill is going up $300.
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'when' did it go up? Both months? $300 each month?
Something smells fishy.
Maybe if you posted a pic of 3 separate electric bills while standing in front of your new Volt we could figure out the problem better.
You haven't provided sufficient information for anything more than speculative answers. Most importantly:
- How many electric miles did you drive during the period of the bill(s) in question? $300 to drive 50 miles would be ridiculous, but $300 to drive 50,000 miles would be cheap.
- What are you paying, per kWh, for electricity? Note that some plans, particularly in California, are tiered -- you pay more at some times than at others. If you're charging at high-priced times, that could explain at least part of the high price you're seeing.
Note also that some EVSEs have meters you can access to see how much power you're feeding your car. Getting one of these, or an EVSE that can do advanced charge-timing optimizations so that you charge when rates are lowest, may be worthwhile in some cases.
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My electricity currently costs about 9¢/kwh. In 11/2015 we used about 862kwh, or about $76 of electricity with no EV in the driveway. In 11/2016, we used 865kwh, or about $78 with 2 EVs in the driveway. I can accept that. I'm charging both vehicles overnight off of 110v L1 chargers. One is only a partial charge. The other is almost a full re-charge every night.
Unfortunately, the Ca mandates for clean energy make power a lot more expensive. I don't know exactly how they control the power in the western grid, but the decision was made not to purchase power from any outside utility that uses coal.
You likely used just enough charging your Volt to get you into a top tier. Most companies use 3 tiers, but some use only 2. Top tier with most is well over .40 a KWH, and may be closer to .50 once you add in all the various fees.
Sucks if you're in an area where you need to run A/C much.
TOU will make the average bill higher for LADWP customers, since about the only thing you can schedule in the wee hours would be vehicle charging. Trouble is, that arrangement makes daytime rates a lot higher, and most don't need A/C much at night.
A couple perks like discounts on chargers aside, the average customer gets penalized for having an electric car if you're an LADWP customer.
PG&E does have some sort of discount for electric car users, but I'm not sure exactly what that is. I have a house on the Central Coast in their territory where my electricity is really cheap because I don't use enough to get out of the first tier (A/C not needed up there), but the couple times I had the Volt up there, just a few charges put me into the second tier.
If I were going to be in the LA area much longer I would go solar, but just like any other investment, it takes a while to pay off.
You likely used just enough charging your Volt to get you into a top tier. Most companies use 3 tiers, but some use only 2. Top tier with most is well over .40 a KWH, and may be closer to .50 once you add in all the various fees.
Sucks if you're in an area where you need to run A/C much.
TOU will make the average bill higher for LADWP customers, since about the only thing you can schedule in the wee hours would be vehicle charging. Trouble is, that arrangement makes daytime rates a lot higher, and most don't need A/C much at night.
A couple perks like discounts on chargers aside, the average customer gets penalized for having an electric car if you're an LADWP customer.
PG&E does have some sort of discount for electric car users, but I'm not sure exactly what that is. I have a house on the Central Coast in their territory where my electricity is really cheap because I don't use enough to get out of the first tier (A/C not needed up there), but the couple times I had the Volt up there, just a few charges put me into the second tier.
If I were going to be in the LA area much longer I would go solar, but just like any other investment, it takes a while to pay off.
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