Is there a meter somewhere in one of the menus that shows the amount of kWh the car used during the most recent charging session? I'm trying to figure out an easy way to track my energy usage and reimburse my homeowner's association without the need for an actual meter on the circuit which apparently is quite costly to install.
Is there a kWh meter built into the car?
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I actually need one that shows how many kWh were used on the latest charge, so when I get in the car after unplugging it I can note how much electricity my last charge used. This way I can tally up all the charges each month and reimburse my home owner's association for the usage.
OP - I think you meed to change your terminology. The Volt doesn't use kWh while charging, except for a small amount in efficiency losses, battery cooling, preconditioning, etc. Most of the electricity is just transferred from the grid to the Volt's battery. I think you want to know how many kWh are transferred (& used) during a charging session, right?
The answer to your question though, is that there isn't a meter built into the Volt's information system. The best thing to do if you want to be transparent on your end is to install a meter. I don't think they're that expensive. Or if you're just using the 120V EVSE, maybe even a Kill A Watt device will work for you.
Correct, I need to meter how much is being transferred (and thus "used" as far as whoever paying the bill is concerned). Right now I'm using a Kill A Watt meter with the EVSE but am thinking about getting a L2 charger installed. Initially I was going to see if the electrician could add a meter to the new circuit but he informed me that the meter is fairly expensive compared to the $20 I paid for the Kill A Watt, so I was trying to see if there was an easier and cheaper way to meter the new circuit.
The MPGe figure combined with miles driven is the only in car metric I believe. This info might be available through third party and OnStar using Voltstats.net.
1 gallon of gas for MPGe is 33.4 kwh, so if you drove 100 miles and had 100 mpge, that would mean you used 1 gallon equivalent or 33.4 kwh electricity from the wall. However, this number shifts if you burn gas so the gas miles would also need to be recorded and factored out. Messy.
If you just want a ballpark figure, look at your kwh used display when you plug in, and divide by 0.8 to figure in charging losses.
The Voltstats method might be best if a power meter isn't an option at the charger.
1 gallon of gas for MPGe is 33.4 kwh, so if you drove 100 miles and had 100 mpge, that would mean you used 1 gallon equivalent or 33.4 kwh electricity from the wall. However, this number shifts if you burn gas so the gas miles would also need to be recorded and factored out. Messy.
If you just want a ballpark figure, look at your kwh used display when you plug in, and divide by 0.8 to figure in charging losses.
The Voltstats method might be best if a power meter isn't an option at the charger.
Thanks. I don't think looking at the "used" amount is good though because there may be times when I just charge for an hour or so and don't completely top off the battery. I really need a way to meter what's coming out of the EVSE rather than measuring what's been used by the car. I might have to just go the external meter on the circuit route after I research some pricing on those.
I looked around and found this gizmo. It's only availble in the US on eBay, as far as I can tell, but here's the manufacturer's website.
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While the car didn't show it directly, the my.chevrolet.com website used to allow you to download this data from OnStar. I believe it listed each charging session and kWh used. Unfortunately, with the latest website revision, they simplified the UI and removed the ability to download any data.
The JuicePlug might be able to do what you're attempting, once it comes out.
You might also call the GM Connections Center at (877) 558-8352 and ask them to bring back the ability to download charging data from the website. I doubt it will do any good, but maybe they'll at least realize people still want access to this data.
Good luck! If you come up with an easy solution, be sure to post about what you did.
The JuicePlug might be able to do what you're attempting, once it comes out.
You might also call the GM Connections Center at (877) 558-8352 and ask them to bring back the ability to download charging data from the website. I doubt it will do any good, but maybe they'll at least realize people still want access to this data.
Good luck! If you come up with an easy solution, be sure to post about what you did.
If you have OnStar active you can go to myvolt.com and download the history of the last 7 days, 30 days or a year, you will get soemthing like this:
Charge Start Charge End Total Charge Time Charge Result kW-hr
10/24/16 at 05:11 PM CDT 10/24/16 at 05:28 PM CDT 0 hours 17 minutes Partial 0.36
10/23/16 at 04:34 PM CDT 10/23/16 at 07:06 PM CDT 2 hours 31 minutes Full 3.22
10/23/16 at 09:18 AM CDT 10/23/16 at 10:54 AM CDT 1 hours 35 minutes Partial 2.03
If not and you are using 120v you can get a killawatt from harbor freight (or equivalent) and get reading for every 7 days.
Fred
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Charge Start Charge End Total Charge Time Charge Result kW-hr
10/24/16 at 05:11 PM CDT 10/24/16 at 05:28 PM CDT 0 hours 17 minutes Partial 0.36
10/23/16 at 04:34 PM CDT 10/23/16 at 07:06 PM CDT 2 hours 31 minutes Full 3.22
10/23/16 at 09:18 AM CDT 10/23/16 at 10:54 AM CDT 1 hours 35 minutes Partial 2.03
If not and you are using 120v you can get a killawatt from harbor freight (or equivalent) and get reading for every 7 days.
Fred
Siren Red 2007 Premium
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If you're going to install an L2 EVSE you can find one with a meter included. I purchased one from forum member vegasbrad. Google BSA Electronics and you'll get to his website. He's very good to work with and will build what you want. The meter gives a readout for the last session as well as a total overall Kwh. The total is pretty much like the meter on your house - make note of the current total and and check it again a month later; subtract one from the other and you know how much kwh you used for the month. Here's a couple of pics of my setup right after I installed it. The 72 Wh is the current charge session (I was basically at full SOC when I plugged it in) and the 7 Kwh is the total use sent through the EVSE (in this case the 7 Kwh is the result of his after build testing).
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There is no built-in meter in the car but you can log into www.myvolt.com and look at your charging history, if your OnStar account is active
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My OpenEVSE level 2 charger that I assembled has both a running total (lifetime) and per charging session kWh readings. So that's an option.
I logged into myvolt.com but it seems every section of the website says it failed to update or has some other kind of error for me. Is Chevy still supporting that site?
Unless it has been removed for gen2, there is a PID available over OBD - last charge Wh. It appears to be total energy that has gone through the charger during last charge event. Includes charging losses - reads about 12k for a ~10.5kWh gen1 charge. Note it resets upon full charge and initiating a new charge - so doing a full charge overnight and a remote start in the morning may erase it and only count the remote start energy.
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