Electricity costs more than Fuel (well, not really)

[ShadowR55]

[Moderator edit (bmah): During this thread, a review of computations showed the initial conclusion to be incorrect, so by request of one of the thread participants I've edited the thread title to not be misleading.]

Last year I used $3000 more in electricity compared to what I used the two prior years before. I bought a Model S delivered in January and an X delivered in April. Together, my wife and I drove about 25k miles, used the supercharger probably around 15 times for an average 70% charge. Our electricity usage has skyrocketed at home, nearly double what we usually pay, $6300 vs $3300.

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Fuel average for 2017 was $2.50/gallon

25/2.50= .10 cents/mile for Gas


Blended average of Car and SUV fuel efficiency = 25mpg

25,000/25= 1,000 gallons X $2.50= $2500

So I spent $600 more in Electricity than I would have in Fuel.

 

[MurrayJimW]

I'm not sure you have enough info here to blame it all on the cars. You need a monitor on the charging circuit for your cars rather than just blaming the Tesla's for the entire increase in your bill.

My bill increased too after getting a Tesla - as is to be expected, but I have a device on the charging circuit and though my bill increased, I keep a close eye on it and I'm averaging what would be about .70 per gallon of fuel when compared to a gas vehicle that gets 25 mpg.

 

[brkaus]

Utility rates didn’t change? What are the rates? Your Tesla’s on a seperate meter? What does the trip meters in the car say for electricity used?

My electric bill went up $60/mo. I drive about 13k miles per year. My previous gas bill was around $180/mo.

 

[Olds442]

.13 is over twice what we pay in illinois. the problem here is florida.

consider going solar?

 

[outie]

Here's something to think about - you used 25mpg as fuel efficiency. What are you using for the EV efficiency? What's your average Wh/mi?

Using your number of 0.13/kWh and $3,100 for 25k miles, that translates to .95kWh/mi or 950Wh/mi, which is really high (like 3x higher than average) and you would be comparing that to 8mpg or something.

 

[2012MS85]

Depending on driving style and climate, a Tesla will go 2-3 miles for each kWh. Your math is showing only 1 mile for each kWh, so I think something else is causing the spike in your electric bill. Two items come to mind:

1. Did your electric utility have a recent rate increase (this year vs last year)?

2. Was it hotter this year vs last year? If your A/C ran more, that is a huge variable that can eat up literally 2-3 kWh of electricity EVERY HOUR that your A/C is running. So if you had a hotter summer, your electric bill would spike compared to the year earlier.

 

[ArizonaP85]

Something's very wrong with your math. $3,000 divided by $0.13/kWh means your $3,000 should have bought 23,000 kWh. Even figuring a high usage of 333 Wh per mile, you should have driven 69,000 miles.

Are you sure your electricity isn't billed on a peak/off-peak basis? Or with a demand component like most commercial accounts? Those can dramatically increase your electricity cost beyond $0.13.

Somewhere along the way you've tripled your electricity cost per mile and we can't help you figure out the error without more information.

 

[cwerdna]

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

FWIW, 13 cents/kWh is cheap compared to living in PG&E (Pacific Gouge & Extort) land esp. with the terribly low baselines that apply to some plans.

And, for me, my ICEV is an 06 Prius. I can average about 43-46 mpg w/o too much difficulty in mixed driving and 50 mpg, if I do all highway driving and keep my speed below 70 mph.

 

[woof]

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh...

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Something isn't adding up.

The Model S uses approx 333 Wh/mile (0.333 kWh/mile). So with your electricity costs of $0.13 / kWh, the cost per mile should be around 0.13*0.333 = $0.04/mile for the S, a tad higher for the X.

At your reported operating cost of $0.124/mile, with energy at $0.13/kWh that implies the cars are averaging 950 Wh/mile! Unlikely in temperate Florida!

 

[fren]

strange...
in France 0.156 € / Kwh ( rounded .16 )
petrol about 1.5 €/ Liter , usual car 8L/100 Km
so if 1Kwh = 4Km in a EV easy to see that electric car costs much less ( 25*.16= 4€ electricity compared to petrol 12€ ) ...

 

[mcbarnet007]

do you have flat rate or tier electricity cost?

 

[davecolene0606]

Last year I used $3000 more in electricity compared to what I used the two prior years before. I bought a Model S delivered in January and an X delivered in April. Together, my wife and I drove about 25k miles, used the supercharger probably around 15 times for an average 70% charge. Our electricity usage has skyrocketed at home, nearly double what we usually pay, $6300 vs $3300.

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Fuel average for 2017 was $2.50/gallon

25/2.50= .10 cents/mile for Gas


Blended average of Car and SUV fuel efficiency = 25mpg

25,000/25= 1,000 gallons X $2.50= $2500

So I spent $600 more in Electricity than I would have in Fuel.

No it doesn't.

Fire Away

 

[Pentium2004]

Last year I used $3000 more in electricity compared to what I used the two prior years before. I bought a Model S delivered in January and an X delivered in April. Together, my wife and I drove about 25k miles, used the supercharger probably around 15 times for an average 70% charge. Our electricity usage has skyrocketed at home, nearly double what we usually pay, $6300 vs $3300.

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Fuel average for 2017 was $2.50/gallon

25/2.50= .10 cents/mile for Gas


Blended average of Car and SUV fuel efficiency = 25mpg

25,000/25= 1,000 gallons X $2.50= $2500

So I spent $600 more in Electricity than I would have in Fuel.

Is the 25,000 miles combined for the S and X? The figures you are showing almost sound like you drove 25,000 miles per vehicle. I live in Central Florida and my electric cost is pretty much the same as yours and my bill only went up about $35/month. I drive around 1200-1500 miles a month.

 

[Reciprocity]

.13 is over twice what we pay in illinois. the problem here is florida.

consider going solar?

This is false, you are not reading your bill right. Supply cost is half as much, but you are not including delivery and taxes. In many cases, delivery charges are more then the electricity. If I'm wrong, prove it be posting you Bill. Just divide the total bill amount by the total KWh. Probably more like 11c/KWh.

 

[Reciprocity]

Last year I used $3000 more in electricity compared to what I used the two prior years before. I bought a Model S delivered in January and an X delivered in April. Together, my wife and I drove about 25k miles, used the supercharger probably around 15 times for an average 70% charge. Our electricity usage has skyrocketed at home, nearly double what we usually pay, $6300 vs $3300.

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Fuel average for 2017 was $2.50/gallon

25/2.50= .10 cents/mile for Gas


Blended average of Car and SUV fuel efficiency = 25mpg

25,000/25= 1,000 gallons X $2.50= $2500

So I spent $600 more in Electricity than I would have in Fuel.

Your are getting robbed, get solar. Should payoff in 2 years with two EVs. Not to mention the instant increase in the value of your home.

 

[ShadowR55]

Sorry you are correct, electricity is 9.5 cents/KWh. I was going off of an old electricity cost.Trying to upload a picture of my bill but it’s stuck at 0%.

Nonetheless, my bill has been consistent over the past few years. I am trying to upload that spreadsheet as well.

I do a ton of highway driving and I drive an average of 80mph with my X. My wife does a local commute and drives the S. My X will usually use ~70 miles of rated range for a 50 mile trip.

 

[dhrivnak]

Last year I used $3000 more in electricity compared to what I used the two prior years before. I bought a Model S delivered in January and an X delivered in April. Together, my wife and I drove about 25k miles, used the supercharger probably around 15 times for an average 70% charge. Our electricity usage has skyrocketed at home, nearly double what we usually pay, $6300 vs $3300.

The cost of electricity is $0.13 kWh here in Florida and adding the charging stations to my bill ~$100 means I spent $3100 for 25,000 Miles.

3100/25= .124 cents/mile for electricity

Fuel average for 2017 was $2.50/gallon

25/2.50= .10 cents/mile for Gas


Blended average of Car and SUV fuel efficiency = 25mpg

25,000/25= 1,000 gallons X $2.50= $2500

So I spent $600 more in Electricity than I would have in Fuel.

Something is amiss. $3100/.13 = 23846 kWh. That is 953 watts/mile about 3X what it should be. I would do an energy audit as something is not right.

 

[brkaus]

Thanks for the post. I speculate more is going on.

How about checking the trip meters in the car? If I remember correctly : controls -> settings -> trips

If you haven't reset anything, that would be lifetime energy consumption (less charging overhead)

 

[Wes3]

Sorry you are correct, electricity is 9.5 cents/KWh. I was going off of an old electricity cost.Trying to upload a picture of my bill but it’s stuck at 0%.

Nonetheless, my bill has been consistent over the past few years. I am trying to upload that spreadsheet as well.

I do a ton of highway driving and I drive an average of 80mph with my X. My wife does a local commute and drives the S. My X will usually use ~70 miles of rated range for a 50 mile trip.

View attachment 273836 View attachment 273837

It looks like your total on the spreadsheet for column E is also adding the '2017' from the first row. All the monthly charges added up is about $4363, then the added '2017' gets to the $6381 total.

 

[MP3Mike]

Sorry you are correct, electricity is 9.5 cents/KWh. I was going off of an old electricity cost.Trying to upload a picture of my bill but it’s stuck at 0%.

Nonetheless, my bill has been consistent over the past few years. I am trying to upload that spreadsheet as well.

I do a ton of highway driving and I drive an average of 80mph with my X. My wife does a local commute and drives the S. My X will usually use ~70 miles of rated range for a 50 mile trip.

View attachment 273836

Check the formula for column E, it appears that you are including the column header, 2017, in the calculation.