CA drivers with solar

[dethman]

what rate plan do you use?

I'll be getting my MX soon, looking for the most efficient plan. Currently i'm with southern california edison, have a 5kW PV system and am on NEM 1.0. My electricity bill for the last 12 months was $35 for the year (plus the mandatory $10/mo connection fee.)

Will prob drive 15000 miles/yr, so that's probably an additional 400-500 kWh per month charging.

Was looking at time of use rates so i could charge cheaper at night, but for these the daytime rates seem kind of exorbitant. currently i pay or get credited 16 cents/kwh for tier 1 across the board whether day or night. The TOU EV-1 plan is 13 cents at night but 37cents/kwh during the day! seems high. not even sure if i can do TOU with NEM 1.0.

anyway just wanted input as to what other tesla owners with solar do. thanks.

 

[Need]

Most of your MX's 500 kWh per month will probably be in Tier2 rate at 25 cents. If you don't switch to ToU or charge at night, your first month bill will probably be $80 to $100 extra.

I don't have solar, but I looked at my bill and saw that if I didn't switch, my MX will be charging at High Usage of 35 cents/kwh. The day time usage (AC in the summer) is going to be a problem. So I am considering getting solar to offset the day rate.

BTW, when I called last year to switch to ToU rate, the girl on the phone told me that most customers under SCE will be switched to ToU rate starting 2018 whether they want it or not. So you probably won't have a choice soon.

Also the ToU-EV1 is used with a separate meter, so I don't see why you can't keep your existing system working as-is and just use the new EV meter for your MX. You just don't charge the MX during the peak hours.

 

[Blup85]

We are setup a little different up in northern California, but it absolutely makes sense to go to the EV rate once you start getting in to Tier 2 and 3 up here. Sounds like you would be in a similar situation driving 15k/year. I think our EV peak rate is something like 47 cents! But since I have solar, I get some massive credits during the shoulder months of the summer (now and the fall) when my AC isn't running and my PV system is pumping power back to the grid @ 47 cents per KW (NEM 1.0 as well). I believe your climate is much milder than mine, our evenings don't cool down and our AC is running thru the night during many nights in the summer. If you can keep the nem 1 and go to the EV plan I'd do it before it goes away

 

[outie]

I have a X and 5.4kW solar w/ NEM 1.0. I switched to TOU-D-A after getting the X as the tiered rate was getting expensive since I also had a single speed pool pump. I am pretty much net zero after going TOU. The bill accumulates to few hundreds in the winter down to getting credits in spring/summer. Can't be happier with the set up as we are home all day. AC in the summer only on the hottest days (not that many where we live). We try to shift laundry and dishwasher after 10PM (turned out to be not much difference but good practice nonetheless).

 

[Need]

I have a X and 5.4kW solar w/ NEM 1.0. I switched to TOU-D-A after getting the X as the tiered rate was getting expensive since I also had a single speed pool pump. I am pretty much net zero after going TOU. The bill accumulates to few hundreds in the winter down to getting credits in spring/summer. Can't be happier with the set up as we are home all day. AC in the summer only on the hottest days (not that many where we live). We try to shift laundry and dishwasher after 10PM (turned out to be not much difference but good practice nonetheless).

Do you drive the MX rarely? Or you meant net zero not counting the MX charging? I am on Tou-D-B because I am WAY over the baseline and the ToU-D-B is much cheaper when I won't see any of the credit for under baseline.

 

[Obsoletion]

Southern California Edison here - We have 2 S's and 18kW solar w/ NEM 1.0 and are on TOU-D-A. We have 3 central AC units on the house and a pool. We pay nothing (or the minimum fee which is $1 to $9 month and I can't figure how they come up with that some months) We charge at night starting at 10pm, we have the pool run from 10 pm until 8 am and other than that we don't adjust our electric use. We keep the house very cool in the summer and just ended our 12 month accounting with SCE and had a credit of around $1100 and the was wiped out and they gave us a check for $51.

each car gets about 13000-15000 miles per year

 

[outie]

Do you drive the MX rarely? Or you meant net zero not counting the MX charging? I am on Tou-D-B because I am WAY over the baseline and the ToU-D-B is much cheaper when I won't see any of the credit for under baseline.

I drive about 12k miles a year Net zero including MX charging. I am not sure what you mean you won’t get any credit for under baseline. I am always over baseline and I still get the baseline credit under TOU-D-A. Basically about 20-30$ per month discount from that credit.

I am a net e- consumer. All charging is done in super off peak.

 

[Mokuzai]

or the minimum fee which is $1 to $9 month and I can't figure how they come up with that some months

Are you a net consumer some months? We're on NEM with SCE and it seems if we're a net generator for a month we get the standard ~$10 charge but if we are a net consumer at all then the charge is $1-$2. For example on our December bill we were a net consumer of 97.07kW and got a bill of $1.97 and in January we were a net generator of 193.15kW and got a bill of $10.48.

 

[Need]

I drive about 12k miles a year Net zero including MX charging. I am not sure what you mean you won’t get any credit for under baseline.

I mean, for me, I won't see any "under baseline credit" as I am over the baseline and I don't have solar. I am at about 100 on peak, 280 off peak, and 800 super off peak without AC. So I will be over my baseline 700; I think that means I won't get any credit if I am on ToU-D-A.

But thanks for posting your bill. So if you are on ToU-D-A rate AND have solar, they credit you at the rate of ToU-D-A peak rate. So if you have a negative peak use, you want to have the rate as high as possible because they are paying you at that rate. Interesting. I thought they would just subtract out the kwh net and pay you at a low rate, but they actually pay the rate they charge you. Now I am really interested in getting solar.

 

[outie]

I mean, for me, I won't see any "under baseline credit" as I am over the baseline and I don't have solar. I am at about 100 on peak, 280 off peak, and 800 super off peak without AC. So I will be over my baseline 700; I think that means I won't get any credit if I am on ToU-D-A.

But thanks for posting your bill. So if you are on ToU-D-A rate AND have solar, they credit you at the rate of ToU-D-A peak rate. So if you have a negative peak use, you want to have the rate as high as possible because they are paying you at that rate. Interesting. I thought they would just subtract out the kwh net and pay you at a low rate, but they actually pay the rate they charge you. Now I am really interested in getting solar.

You will still get baseline credit under tou-a for the first ~300kWh at ~.10/kWh as shown on the last line.

It’s important to know that the peak rate for solar generation is NOT a true payout. It’s just a credit used to apply in the annual true up under Tou and to offset those positive super off peak usage. I could have 400$ in bill credits due to high peak rate but as a net consumer i’d never get a check from them for that credit. It just resets to $0. Even if I was a net producer I remember they’d pay the excess in wholesale rate, but others please correct me if I am wrong.

This is why a powerwall doesn’t make sense for me other than as battery backup. The credits I get from selling energy during on peak do not translate to dollar value.

 

[Obsoletion]

Here is my 12th month bill if that helps - I am a net consumer of power but have a $1058 credit for the year - which gave me about $67 in real money as a refund.

 

[dethman]

very informative postings. based on this TOU-D-A seems very attractive given they credit you the rates they charge you when solar is producing. though i don't like that peak is 2-8pm as my family is home around 6pm and we use a lot of energy at that time.

i am home during the day probably about 15 days out of 30 of the month so unfortunately i will have to use some morning/peak energy but hopefully that will be offset by the solar. will move my pool pump to off peak hours and charge at night, hopefully should work out ok.

 

[Need]

Here is my 12th month bill if that helps - I am a net consumer of power but have a $1058 credit for the year - which gave me about $67 in real money as a refund.

That's cool. Heh from the bar graph, you got your P100D June or July last year.

 

[outie]

very informative postings. based on this TOU-D-A seems very attractive given they credit you the rates they charge you when solar is producing. though i don't like that peak is 2-8pm as my family is home around 6pm and we use a lot of energy at that time.

i am home during the day probably about 15 days out of 30 of the month so unfortunately i will have to use some morning/peak energy but hopefully that will be offset by the solar. will move my pool pump to off peak hours and charge at night, hopefully should work out ok.

Another thing to keep in mind is the direction of the solar array. It's well known that arrays facing south produce the most electricity. However, with the on peak at 2PM-8PM it might be more beneficial to have the array face west. Of course SCE could change the on peak time. I believe when they introduced the TOU-D-A few years ago many solar owners were complaining they did this to screw up their south-facing arrays, moving most of their generation to off-peak. Just something to think about.

 

[Obsoletion]

Mine are facing West and that and East were my only options. I can definitely see a day when they tweak peak times due to the amount of solar that is being generated. At that point I will look harder at a larger system and batteries.

 

[bakerboy]

Is there any benefits of being on TOU-D-T?

I had solar installed at my home June of last year, my solar installer recommended to jump on TOU-D-T due o the higher "payback" rate during the day while no one was home and we are producing. We have a 7.35kw array that faces South & West facing, I normally charge my car after 8pm over night, we also have a single speed pool pump that runs from 12am-6am daily. We do use the A/C during the summer, but not heavy, I have changed about 90% of my light bulbs to L.E.D.

Would we benefit from TOU-D-A? We are rarely below 700kWh a month, our 1st true-up looks like its gonna be around $700.

 

[Obsoletion]

The TOU-D-T has much higher super off peak which is when i charge my cars and run the pool pump (I also drop the AC even lower starting at 10pm to allow the house to stay cool most of the next day)

With my setup i want the highest rates possible during the day and the lowest super off peak (so i get a large credit during the day for the solar i generate, the i get billed at 25% of the price for the power i take from the grid at night) i am a net consumer but wind up with a credit at the end of the year of over $1000. I need to use more power!!

 

[hill]

we found time of used to be a complete rip-off extraordinaire. that said, we have home based business usage that means customers come over and want to be comfortable, mid day, high time of use. That means 72° AC running during hot So Cal summers. Prior to our 8kW ac-rated system (10yrs ago) our average bill for the prior 24 months was over $250. between the 2 Ev's, we total around 24K miles. But of course the X gets free charging about ¼ of the time. So, all that factored in - over the last 10 years, (exen w/ the tesla during the past 2 years) we averaged less than ½ a dollar a day for electricity.
ymmv.
.

 

[jboy210]

we found time of used to be a complete rip-off extraordinaire. that said, we have home based business usage that means customers come over and want to be comfortable, mid day, high time of use. That means 72° AC running during hot So Cal summers. Prior to our 8kW ac-rated system (10yrs ago) our average bill for the prior 24 months was over $250. between the 2 Ev's, we total around 24K miles. But of course the X gets free charging about ¼ of the time. So, all that factored in - over the last 10 years, (exen w/ the tesla during the past 2 years) we averaged less than ½ a dollar a day for electricity.
ymmv.
.

Wow. That is impressive. We also have a home office and it gets over 100 regularly, so we are running A/C in the summer. We went to a zone systems, but last summer there were a couple of months that we close to $500. Here in NorCal we are on tiered rates or EV plan, but the EV looks like the SCE ToU. But since we use power throughout the day does not work for us. Also, we don't drive much, probably less than 8,000 miles/year.

I have been thinking about getting solar to try to get out of tier 3 (most expensive). The issue is we have a 60 foot tall heritage Oak tree in our back yard, so their is only one of the 3 south-facing roof areas that is not shaded most of the day. Would a 10' X 15' array make a big difference to my power bill?

 

[GarrickS]

SCE tou-d-a here with 8kw rooftop pv. The higher price during the day with solar and cheap charging at night is great! We got a $700 credit last year. I'm not even sure what do with all this credit!