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Gen 2 Figuring Out Cost to Charge

10K views 29 replies 18 participants last post by  microVOLT 
#1 ·
Hello. I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out the cost to charge my Gen 2 Volt. A neighbor is allowing me to charge using their outlet so I wanted to see if there is a "simple" formula to figure out how much I would owe them. If details helps, utility is SCE and I would only charge between midnight and 6AM using Level 1.

Thank you for reading and I hope someone is able to assist me.
 
#2 ·
#3 ·
ChargePoint has their "Home" charger which will record and store the information you need in your ChargePoint account. It makes it easy to print out a report and provide it to the owner with payment. Other than that, any of the available electric meters between the outlet and the EVSE.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the replies. I will look into a meter that keeps track of how much power I am drawing. However, in the meantime, is there a way to estimate the cost? For example, if I use 5 miles of EV range, how much money is that if the cost is 20 cents per kWh?
 
#5 ·
There are many variables that will determine your kWh per mile usage. For example, in winter, using the Volt's electric heat, your battery usage per mile could be double. I would keep track of how many miles you drive each week and month. The Volt's EPA electric range estimate is 53 miles; for the Gen2 Volt's 14kWh available to use battery capacity that is equivalent to 267 watt hours (Wh) per mile. So 5 miles X 267Wh/mile is 1.335kWh. At $0.20 per kWh that works out to $0.27 or a little more than $0.05 per mile. You did not state whether you are charging at the Level 1 default 8 amp charging rate or the 12 amp charging rate. The 8 amp rate works out to 960W (almost 1kW per hour) while the 12 amp rate is 1440W (almost 1.5kW per hour) when actively charging. In cold weather, while plugged in, the Volt will maintain the battery pack temperature within an acceptable range. This could add $0.25 to $0.75 per day to the electric bill but in all probability it would something closer to $0.10 to $0.25 per day on the coldest days.
 
#6 ·
The center console display in your Volt includes an energy usage screen, which tracks the electric miles/kWh Used and gas miles/gas used since the last full charge. The Gen 2 Volt has ~14.0 kWh of usable grid power in a full charge. Think in terms of cost per kWh Used, rather than per distance driven, because the kWh Used includes any electric power used for heat or a/c, as well as power used by the motors for propulsion.

To recharge the displayed kWh Used amount into the battery, you will pull from the wall ~120% of the kWh Used number. For example, if 3.0 kWh Used is showing, then ~3.6 kWh will be pulled from the wall to recharge it (charging losses account for the extra ~0.6 kWh as current flows through the charging circuits). Multiply that kWh from the wall number by the per kWh cost of electricity to obtain the cost of the charging.

The Gen 2 Volt is rated at 106 MPGe, 53 miles/charge, indicating each full charge pulls 0.5 Ge from the wall = 16.85 kWh (charging losses will be ~2.85 kWh, with ~14.0 kWh usable put back into the battery). If residential electricity in your area is $0.10/kWh, that’s only $1.69 for a full charge. If electricity is $0.20/kWh, that’s $3.37 for a full charge.

That might be enough info for you to calculate a rough estimate of recharging costs on any given day based on the kWh Used that day. For more accurate and longer term numbers, the metered reading solutions mentioned by others could be used. Note that L1 charging is slightly less efficient than L2 charging (longer charging time means slightly larger charging losses), i.e., the 120% number I use is only approximate. If you precondition the car at the start of the day before leaving, or if battery maintenance is performed while the car is plugged into the wall, that, too, may add to the power you pull from the wall.
 
#20 ·
THANKS, using your numbers I am using GAS and not Charging in Massachusetts #3 MOST Expensive ERATEs in usa=weak and wimpy. Electricity Supply $ 0.09403 KW*hr RE looks so CHEAP here, but ADD +++ Energy Efficiency Chg $ 0.02098 KW*hr ++ Transmission Charge$ 0.0313 KW*hr +++ Dist Chg $ 0.07423 KW*hr == RE inverters, Xformers, Transmission lines == Copper Cu. MASSACHUSETTS shut down 62% of Mass Non-Emission Egen = Pilgrim Nuclear in 2019. Mass grid is 2020 MORE Emissions. Yet Transmission Cost are the $$$ subsides Mass rate payers PAY for Renewable Energy Scam which is really METHANE BERNieing to replace prematurely closed Nuclear Power @ $$ 0.065 KW*hr . Nuclear Transmission Costs are LOW! New Boondoggle Hydro Quebec Transmission line ~~ $$ 1.5 Billion paid by MASS ratepayers ERATES GOING UP UP UP $$$!! Math== 0.09403 +0.02098 +0.0313 + 0.07423== $$$$ 0.22054 KW*hr . I bought gas for $1.99 /GAL Volt gets ~~ 38 MPG hybrid Your MATH= If electricity is $0.20/kWh, that’s $3.37 for a full charge. The numbers are from my EBILL SO WHY CHARGE IN MASSACHUSETTS??????
 
#7 ·
JCanoe's estimate of 267wh/mile is close enough to use to reimburse your neighbor. That works out the Volt traveling 3.74miles per kWh and, as he writes, works out to $0.27 for 5 miles.

The numbers above are sane, but to be nice to your neighbor, better account for the losses in charging ( the amount of power you pull from the wall is larger than the amount delivered to the battery), and basically round up the usage a bit, 3 miles perkWh is a decent value to use.
That has 5 miles of driving using 1 .7kWh, costing $0.33 if electricity is $0.20/kWh.
 
#9 ·
As jcanoe writes, "There are many variables that will determine your kWh per mile usage." Did you drive 5 miles using "1.335 kWh from the battery" or did you drive 5 miles using "1.607 kWh from the wall plug?" The cost of the electricity is the "from the wall plug" cost.

Why bother with any kWh per mile estimate at all when your Volt itself shows you the kWh Used on the same screen that shows you the number of electric miles you drove?

Multiply that "kWh Used from the battery" number by 120% to estimate the kWh you need to pull from the wall to recharge the battery. Multiply that number by the per kWh cost of electricity. There’s your cost for that recharging session for that many ev miles.

Not complicated at all. If you have a regular commute, it shouldn't take long to get an idea of your Volt's daily/weekly kWh consumption costs.

As I said above, the 120% number I use is approximate, based on the sticker ratings (14.0 kWh x 120.35714% = 16.85 kWh). L1 charging takes longer, so might have slightly higher charging losses. If you precondition the car at the start of the day before leaving, or if battery maintenance is performed while the car is plugged into the wall, that, too, may add to the power you pull from the wall.
 
#10 ·
Why so complicated? Ballpark it and you'll be close enough. The battery is 18.4kWh and is "empty" at about 20% still full. I see about 14.7 or thereabout "consumed" before I'm at 0 miles left. Electricity where I live is right at .10 per kWh. Therefore it's 1.47 to recharge. Multiply times 1.25 for 25% efficiency loss due to heat and you'll have $1.84 to fill er up. Close enough.
 
#11 ·
All I know is at my current electricity rate and charging the car to its Max given the 14 kw battery size it works out to $1.60 for me to go about 38 miles in electric mode on the highway. On the weekends in town it jumps to 65 to 70 miles for that much money on my electric bill daily.
 
#15 ·
My time of use off peak electricity rate is 15 cents / kWh. Seems cheap! $2.40 to charge a depleted battery (added a little for loss of energy). Got my Edison Bill and after taxes and all the stuff they add on and it averages out to about 20 cents / kWh in reality. So that’s $3.20 per charge for 55-60 miles, marginally better than my Prius could do on one gallon of gas. Thought I would be saving more $$ with the EV but it’s actually close to the same cost. Still a great car and much more fun and enjoyable to drive than my Prius was!
 
#16 ·
Too many people are under the impression that EV driving is "pennies per day". The reality is that you can't deny physics. It takes energy to acclerate mass be it produced from burning hydrocarbons or from a battery (that was charged from burning hydrocarbons). If you put all the costs into a spreadsheet, electric cars can be cheaper overall but it's not a free lunch. Now if you are coming from a big vehicle that gets 16MPG to a Volt (or any EV), then the difference is huge...
 
#19 ·
It depends. I get 2000kWh for $145 per month. In the summer with temps around 100F and my pool filter pump running, I might pay a .14/kWh excess rate. But, for at least 6 months per year - with the pool filter pump still running - it's essentially FREE. Once temps are cooler (below 85 or 90F), I have kWh to burn. In fact, since it's use it or lose it, I use less natural gas by running a pair of 1500W quartz heaters to heat my living space. Yes...I'm CHEAP.
 
#21 ·
THANKS, using your numbers MATH= If electricity is $0.20/kWh, that’s $3.37 for a full charge I am using GAS and not Charging in Massachusetts #3 MOST Expensive ERATEs in usa=weak and wimpy. Electricity Supply $ 0.09403 KW*hr RE looks so CHEAP here, but ADD +++ Energy Efficiency Chg $ 0.02098 KW*hr ++ Transmission Charge$ 0.0313 KW*hr +++ Dist Chg $ 0.07423 KW*hr == RE inverters, Xformers, Transmission lines == Copper Cu. MASSACHUSETTS shut down 62% of Mass Non-Emission Egen = Pilgrim Nuclear in 2019. Mass grid is 2020 MORE Emissions. Yet Transmission Cost are the $$$ subsides Mass rate payers PAY for Renewable Energy Scam which is really METHANE BERNieing to replace prematurely closed Nuclear Power @ $$ 0.065 KW*hr . Nuclear Transmission Costs are LOW! New Boondoggle Hydro Quebec Transmission line ~~ $$ 1.5 Billion paid by MASS ratepayers ERATES GOING UP UP UP $$$!! Math== 0.09403 +0.02098 +0.0313 + 0.07423== $$$$ 0.22054 KW*hr . I bought gas for $1.99 /GAL Volt gets ~~ 38 MPG hybrid Your MATH= If electricity is $0.20/kWh, that’s $3.37 for a full charge. The numbers are from my EBILL SO WHY CHARGE IN MASSACHUSETTS??????
 
#22 ·
So, from one perspective, if your electricity is $0.22054/kWh and gas is $1.99/gallon, and it takes 16.85 kWh of "from the wall" electricity to provide your Gen 2 Volt with "one full charge" (sticker ratings = 53 electric miles) and 1.40 gallons of gas to drive 53 gas miles (at your estimate of 38 mpg), then your cost for fuel for 53 miles of driving is $3.72 when using grid power and $2.78 when using gas.

You seem to be saying that for you, it’s not worth spending an extra 2 cents a mile on fuel costs to drive an all-electric car instead of a gas hybrid vehicle... but didn’t you purchase the car for that very reason, i.e., to experience the benefits of electric propulsion?
 
#23 ·
COST $$$$$$$ is #1 priority as an Engineer! PROBLEM=ISONE run EGRID is REGULATED to PROMOTE Inefficient UnReliable so Called "Renewable Energy" with NON Environmental Justice Subsides. IF lowering Costs AND lowering CARBON Footprint were ISONE Regulatory priority, Then New England would have a 100% Nuclear GRID with CHEAP Electrons to Power ECARS. NE Pols are Ruled by Fossil Fuels and Very Smart POLs that fear monger on NUCLEAR POWER and supported by $$$$ Fossil Fuels==DO THE MATH!!!
 
#24 ·
The fossil fuel industry (coal and oil) in the US is subsidized by the tune of $20 billion per year, every year so you are not paying the true cost of gas at the pump. You are not alone. Even here in BC where gas is expensive and hydro is cheap )come 2025 we will have enough generation to meet expected needs, what ever that is, for the next 100 years) we subsidize the fossil fuel industry. This coming election (Oct. 24), the Green Party says they will stop the subsidization of fossil fuels so everything is on a more level playing field. Not that they'll get in, they are a minor player but currently hold the balance of power in a minority government. In my area the cost of my Volt is 3 cents a mile while my Integra was 19 cents a mile (fuel only) so way cheaper to run on electricity than on gas. Money in Cdn funds. Multiply by .75 to get US funds for comparison. Your area may differ depending on who's paying for your politicians campaigns. Renewables are cheap. Fossil fuels are not (with being heavily subsidized by government). Oil companies have said, demand has peaked and are pulling out of the more expensive extraction areas, recognizing they are dead ends.
 
#26 ·
Wait, what? There are fossil fuel subsidies but 20B is not the NET. The U.S. govt does subsidize by helping declining fields and exploration and production, but taxas generate more than double that amount of money. Federal taxes are about 18 and 24 cents for gas/diesel and states add a whole lot more. Texas adds about 20 cents (pretty much the low end) and California about 63 cents/gallon (the high end). You have to look at both sides of the equation and all the moving parts.
 
#25 ·
I am using GAS and not Charging in Massachusetts #3 MOST Expensive ERATEs in usa=weak and wimpy. Electricity Supply $ 0.09403 KW*hr RE looks so CHEAP here, but ADD +++ Energy Efficiency Chg $ 0.02098 KW*hr ++ Transmission Charge$ 0.0313 KW*hr +++ Dist Chg $ 0.07423 KW*hr == RE inverters, Xformers, Transmission lines == Copper Cu. MASSACHUSETTS shut down 62% of Mass Non-Emission Egen = Pilgrim Nuclear in 2019. Mass grid is 2020 MORE Emissions. Yet Transmission Cost are the $$$ subsides Mass rate payers PAY for Renewable Energy Scam which is really METHANE BERNieing to replace prematurely closed Nuclear Power @ $$ 0.065 KW*hr . Nuclear Transmission Costs are LOW! New Boondoggle Hydro Quebec Transmission line ~~ $$ 1.5 Billion paid by MASS ratepayers ERATES GOING UP UP UP $$$!! Math== 0.09403 +0.02098 +0.0313 + 0.07423== $$$$ 0.22054 KW*hr . I bought gas for $1.99 /GAL Volt gets ~~ 38 MPG hybrid Your MATH= If electricity is $0.20/kWh, that’s $3.37 for a full charge. The numbers are from my EBILL SO WHY CHARGE IN MASSACHUSETTS??????
 
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