Cost of installing second Meter?

[jcaspar]

The console trip meter is not truthful when the clock runs from "last charge" but is not metering the charge. Is not truthful when they know full well the Trip Computer's numbers will be quoted as, "I only used 2.5 kWh to get here!" not counting all consumption, not counting vampire consumption. Know full well those numbers will be used to compare same as gasoline pump numbers.

The console meter shows the amount of energy consumed by the car, not the amount to charge it. How could it possibly know the voltage drop in your supply lines? Meters can only measure the electricity that flows thru them. Put a meter on your outlet if you want that. When I compare eMPG I factor in a 15% loss. This means my 333 WHr useage at .06KWHr gives me 170 eMPG not the 200 eMPG at 4$ per gallon I would have otherwise.

 

[N4HHE]

The console meter shows the amount of energy consumed by the car, not the amount to charge it. How could it possibly know the voltage drop in your supply lines? Meters can only measure the electricity that flows thru them. Put a meter on your outlet if you want that. When I compare eMPG I factor in a 15% loss. This means my 333 WHr useage at .06KWHr gives me 170 eMPG not the 200 eMPG at 4$ per gallon I would have otherwise.

Not asking anyone to account for "voltage drop on (my) supply lines". Said nothing about voltage drop. I want it to account for what comes in the charge port, not what goes out the battery. I want it to account for energy exactly the same as a gas pump.

 

[miimura]

Not asking anyone to account for "voltage drop on (my) supply lines". Said nothing about voltage drop. I want it to account for what comes in the charge port, not what goes out the battery. I want it to account for energy exactly the same as a gas pump.

That is simply not what the car does. If that is the information you want, you need to put your own meter or home energy monitoring system.

 

[jcaspar]

Like a gas pump, put a meter on the "pump" not the car. Not hard to do and used meters are very cheap. I
don't know of any car that measures the rate of gas that goes into the car.

 

[KalS]

TurboZo,
I live very close to you in Newport so I struggled with these same issues a few months ago. My experience was very similar to what Tommy said in his reply, the quotes from various electricians was anywhere for about $4000 to $6000 for the installation of a second meter.

I've been on the whole house TOU with SCE for the past 4 months or so and I've seen my overall bill slightly drop. There were a couple of reasons for this, 1) much greater awareness of energy consumption in our home (we use to run the AC all the time -- even though it was 70 degrees outside....), we now open our windows -- we had a revelation!!, Newport weather isn't that hot 355 days out of the year, 2) we switched to LED lights throughout our whole house and turned off a MacPro that wasn't really being used during the day. You get the picture....

In my case, the advice I got from the electricians that came out to give me quotes, is that I should instead go solar. This would allow me to save much more by harvesting energy during peak time and buying lots of cheap super offpeak kW. I didn't do that because there's a chance I might move in the next few years but if I didn't, then I think going solar is a no brainer.

Bottomline, give it a try with whole house TOU, there's a good chance that will work out for you.
By the way, my wife stays home during the day and so far hasn't spontaneously combusted without the use of AC.

Hi,
I just switched to the PG&E EVA plan from the Tiered Plan coz our electricity bill was really huge last billing cycle.
We own a Tesla Model X and on an Avg use 50 KWH to charge the battery. However, this means that we are off the allowance plan and this would increase the price for electricity usage during the day (mostly peak and partial peak).
I was considering the option of installing an additional meter only for EV charging. Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost?
We just finished the remodel work in our home and had upgraded the amps and extra panel needed. I am not sure if there is any city permit needed for that. This work was done by our licensed general contractor who was also doing other mechanical remodeling work.

Considering that we already have the necessary upgrades and the Tesla charger, how can we get the additional meter installed ?

 

[KalS]

I'm in Orange County as well. Was told that the second meter installation runs anywhere from $3000 to $7000! You get the $0.11/kwh price but the MOST you will pay at Tier 4 in the dead of the summer is $0.31/kwr. In the winter when our SCE bill is usually under $100 we'd be paying around $0.18/kwh so I figured year-round I'd be paying an average of $0.24kwh which is thirteen cents more per kwh than the second meter rate. Since I work from home, my wife is a homemaker and we drive around 6000 miles per year it made absolutely no sense for us to have the second meter installed - the break-even was years.

We're having a local electrician that is licensed install the 14-50 NEMA in our garage on Monday. $190 total.

Did you get the second meter installed ? How much did it cost you ?

 

[Merrill]

Hi,
I just switched to the PG&E EVA plan from the Tiered Plan coz our electricity bill was really huge last billing cycle.
We own a Tesla Model X and on an Avg use 50 KWH to charge the battery. However, this means that we are off the allowance plan and this would increase the price for electricity usage during the day (mostly peak and partial peak).
I was considering the option of installing an additional meter only for EV charging. Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost?
We just finished the remodel work in our home and had upgraded the amps and extra panel needed. I am not sure if there is any city permit needed for that. This work was done by our licensed general contractor who was also doing other mechanical remodeling work.

Considering that we already have the necessary upgrades and the Tesla charger, how can we get the additional meter installed ?

The second meter is something I did because I cannot install anymore solar and I'm all electric and when I added the Tesla's I went into the 5th tier. It cost $100 for the permit and $1000 for the meter.

 

[aaroninsan]

I have solar but not enough to charge the car. I understand the difference between the tiered rate program vs the time of use plan but I am not clear on the advantage of a second meter. Other than knowing how much of your power useage goes to charging the car. What are the advantages of a second meter?

Thanks.

 

[mrElbe]

In my case, the second meter is strictly for my information about the car charging consumption.

 

[Merrill]

I have solar but not enough to charge the car. I understand the difference between the tiered rate program vs the time of use plan but I am not clear on the advantage of a second meter. Other than knowing how much of your power useage goes to charging the car. What are the advantages of a second meter?

Thanks.

See above, for me it is a better rate off peak and it takes the car charging off the tiered home meter.

 

[miimura]

I have solar but not enough to charge the car. I understand the difference between the tiered rate program vs the time of use plan but I am not clear on the advantage of a second meter. Other than knowing how much of your power useage goes to charging the car. What are the advantages of a second meter?

Thanks.

If you want to get an EV rate and don't want to change your house rate plan, you can join the Sub-Metering Pilot program. This also works if you have a small solar system that can only offset your house usage. If your solar covers most of your EV charging, don't join the pilot because you have to pay for the sub-metered usage and can't use solar credits for it.

EV Driver Pilot Program: Separately meter your car’s electricity | San Diego Gas & Electric

 

[aaroninsan]

Thanks miimura. I was unaware of that pilot program. Is it billed at time of use rates? The link was not clear on that.

Aaron

 

[aaroninsan]

See above, for me it is a better rate off peak and it takes the car charging off the tiered home meter.

Thanks Merrill. I guess it really depends on how much of your usage you can do during the off peak hours.

 

[aaroninsan]

In my case, the second meter is strictly for my information about the car charging consumption.

Thanks mrElbe

 

[miimura]

Thanks miimura. I was unaware of that pilot program. Is it billed at time of use rates? The link was not clear on that.

Aaron

On the linked page, there is a link "Additional Pilot Information for Customers" which links to this PDF document which is the Pilot Phase 2 tariff:

http://regarchive.sdge.com/tm2/pdf/ELEC_ELEC-SCHEDS_PEVSP2.pdf

In that document it says that normal residential customers will be billed on the Schedule EV-TOU for sub-metered usage. The main meter may use any otherwise applicable residential rate schedule.

 

[Ali’sMax]

Hi, I'm trying to figure out options for charging in my garage. fortunately, the NEMA 14-50 needs to be in the wall right behind where the current meter is

I can either:

1. Keep the same plan i am on (tiered)
2. Change to a time of use structure
3. install a second meter.

for options 1&2, installing a NEMA 14-50, I got a quote of about $300-$400.

I called my electric company about the second meter. They said they will provide the meter and an electrician would need to install it. They said it costs $2000-$3000 to install. Does that sound right? We rent our place and the landlord accepted to pay up to $400.

I'm thinking of getting the NEMA plug installed and using my current rate plan for a month or two then see if I should make a change.

My wife and kids will be home during the day so that is a consideration.

Here are the rate plans:
Southern California Edison - SCE

Any advice?

Thanks

I just changed my plan with SCE from a tiered plan.
I have solar installed couple of years back and current usage without charging the car is in the break even point.
It cost $3500 to have a meter installed plus $200 permit cost to get the EV plan thru SCE.
I changed my plan from tiered to Residential Plan of Use. ( it would actually benefit me more since my solar panels will be able to sell back energy at a higher rate depends on time of day vs old tiered plan it's at 18cents regardless when energy was generated)

 

[Ampster]

I cannot install anymore solar and I'm all electric and when I added the Tesla's I went into the 5th tier. It cost $100 for the permit and $1000 for the meter.

I am also in Sonoma and have solar and am reconfiguring my home to be all electric. Before I hit the second tier I went to Time of Use rate and saved money.
For those who are not sure about choosing Time of Use rates in California you should know that the PUC has told the utilities that in 2019 they must begin transitioning everyone to TOU rates.

 

[jay2]

I'm in Orange County as well. Was told that the second meter installation runs anywhere from $3000 to $7000! You get the $0.11/kwh price but the MOST you will pay at Tier 4 in the dead of the summer is $0.31/kwr. In the winter when our SCE bill is usually under $100 we'd be paying around $0.18/kwh so I figured year-round I'd be paying an average of $0.24kwh which is thirteen cents more per kwh than the second meter rate. Since I work from home, my wife is a homemaker and we drive around 6000 miles per year it made absolutely no sense for us to have the second meter installed - the break-even was years.

We're having a local electrician that is licensed install the 14-50 NEMA in our garage on Monday. $190 total.

I'm also in Orange County and deciding on having a second meter installed. Wondering if it's really worth the TOU-EV-1. I do plan on getting another Tesla in the near future. I average about 24kWh a daily.

 

[jay2]

Second meter installed. I cn share detail if interested.

Please do share. I'm on the fence to do or not to do.