For those who live in BC, off-peak charging may become a thing

[johnny_cakes]

BC Hydro's new proposal for time-of-use rates: Residential rate design

 

[BrandX]

Does charging the car and running the dishwasher overnight use enough electricity to pay for the hit we'll take for the 4 - 9 pm period? I already use scheduled departure with departure in the early morning.

 

[MacNeil]

Does charging the car and running the dishwasher overnight use enough electricity to pay for the hit we'll take for the 4 - 9 pm period? I already use scheduled departure with departure in the early morning.

Presuming that the existing BC Hydro smart meters have been capable of collecting time of use consumption all along, will BCH be able to provide past use information and potentially even indicate whether or not the customer would benefit from opting into the new rate plan.

 

[johnny_cakes]

I have the Rainforest Gateway and based on my historical usage, I probably can net a benefit from the time-of-use plan with careful planning.

 

[wayner]

We have had time of use pricing here in Ontario for a long time. Here is what my usage pattern looks like - it is about 60%+ off-peak. But off-peak includes weekends and holidays. Of course, everyone will be different. I have a swimming pool, hot tub and AC.

 

[richrootes]

1192 pages in the proposal. What the hell is wrong with these people?

 

[richrootes]

Presuming that the existing BC Hydro smart meters have been capable of collecting time of use consumption all along, will BCH be able to provide past use information and potentially even indicate whether or not the customer would benefit from opting into the new rate plan.

Quite

Though many times, I’ve called to see if Hydro were aware of outages in my area only to be told they weren’t, I don’t think these meters are being used to their full potential

 

[johnny_cakes]

1192 pages in the proposal. What the hell is wrong with these people?

4 bullets is all they needed :

• 4pm to 9pm: +5 cents / kWh
• 11pm to 7am: -5 cents / kWh
• All other times: no change
• Applies every day (i.e., weekdays, weekends, and holidays)

But I guess someone had to earn their consulting fees .

 

[brulaz]

In summer here in Ontario we use off-peak (7pm to 7am) scheduled charging routinely.

But in the winter, especially when the nights are much colder than the days, I'll plug in and start charging immediately. Otherwise the energy required to heat up a cold soaked battery can negate some of the cost advantage of off-peak and challenge my poor 5.7kW charger.

 

[johnny_cakes]

In summer here in Ontario we use off-peak (7pm to 7am) scheduled charging routinely.

But in the winter, especially when the nights are much colder than the days, I'll plug in and start charging immediately. Otherwise the energy required to heat up a cold soaked battery can negate some of the cost advantage of off-peak and challenge my poor 5.7kW charger.

That's a good tip, thank you

 

[wayner]

In summer here in Ontario we use off-peak (7pm to 7am) scheduled charging routinely.

But in the winter, especially when the nights are much colder than the days, I'll plug in and start charging immediately. Otherwise the energy required to heat up a cold soaked battery can negate some of the cost advantage of off-peak and challenge my poor 5.7kW charger.

I have always gone with the theory that you want charging to end just before you leave home - that way you will have a warm better able to do regen braking when you leave in the morning.

But what you say makes more sense if you aren't driving as far. I wonder what the optimal strategy is?

 

[brulaz]

I have always gone with the theory that you want charging to end just before you leave home - that way you will have a warm better able to do regen braking when you leave in the morning.

But what you say makes more sense if you aren't driving as far. I wonder what the optimal strategy is?

The other day I took off without preheating after a very cold night and was surprised at the effort required to brake. Regenerative braking, one pedal driving, has certainly spoiled me. But after a about a half an hour of driving, the battery was warm enough to charge and regenerative braking returned.

An Optimal strategy is way too complicated for me: Ambient Temperature, wind speed, battery cooling rate, variable electricity rates ... I'm just sorta winging it