I'm paying double for my electricity bill since last month, am I doing something wrong?

[SSedan]

There is certainly truth in your point but I live in a cold climate and do not see "huge" increases in Wh/mile. I would not expect Tesla to spend too much effort in publicizing what is a ymmv.

Using Denver as a baseline January average high is 46F low 17f.
Chicago January average high is 31F. Green Bay is 24F which is near where I am average January low is 9F not missing a digit.


Use patterns matter too, parked in an insulated garage with a few hours of errands is going to be different than outdoor temp garage and a 10hour day fully exposed in a work parking lot before heading home.

If I do not preheat the S aggressively I can see my wh/mile average go over 500 easily when September October it is 279-280. Even with preheating at home connected as much as possible mine is still in the 400range and it isn't even cold yet.

Since I preheat in the morning connected to the house that doesn't affect the displayed wh/mile but leaving work on lunch or at the end of the day spikes use even though I do preheat from app just not aggressively usually just 5 minutes. Car is parked wide open exposed so the battery will chill somewhat quickly.

I know my case is more extreme than most as I said at the top of the post January average low here is 9F. I would just prefer to prepare folks for the worst. A new owner is a lot happier to have the bill go up $75 when they were told to expect $120 than the other way around.

 

[Atari2600]

This misses the point that people are told they will save huge amounts on "fuel" cost driving electric but we are not told that those of us in cold climates will see the car energy use double or more come winter. That takes a big bite out of "savings" that are one of the big angles used to get people to spend $50k+ on these cars.

That is your choice. Set the temp to 60-65 and make sure the air is not blowing on you or don't turn it on at all. Leave your coat on and optionally use seat heaters. I used to hate wearing my coat in my ICE car because I would be way too warm. Now I just leave it on and drive my 120 mile trip and it doesn't bother me. If the windows fog up I have no choice but to run it but if you keep the temp down it doesn't use nearly as much power.

 

[SageBrush]

That is your choice. Set the temp to 60-65 and make sure the air is not blowing on you or don't turn it on at all. Leave your coat on and optionally use seat heaters. I used to hate wearing my coat in my ICE car because I would be way too warm. Now I just leave it on and drive my 120 mile trip and it doesn't bother me. If the windows fog up I have no choice but to run it but if you keep the temp down it doesn't use nearly as much power.

Yep.
I mostly use the car for my 45 mile each way work commute and have been averaging 250 Wh/mile so far this winter by using seat heating and defog (no defrost.) I don't pre-heat and my car lives outside. We have owned the car 6 months and over ~ 13,000 miles the lifetime Wh/mile is 220.

Will Green Bay, WS be worse than average ? No doubt
Of course so will ICE vehicles as their owners run around at 10-15 mpg waiting for the engine to warm up; or they neglect to mention the 15" of letting the car idle while it pre-heats.

 

[Atari2600]

When I drove my WRX around in 35F or less I had city trips average under 15 MPG. The RPMs would run really high at idle so the system would heat up the catalytic converters, at least that's what the manual said. That really killed the MPG for me. I could get 36 MPG on the highway if I didn't go over 65 MPH. If I drove 80 MPH I took at 12% hit. So yes the cold and speed affect both ICE and EV. The difference is you can avoid the cold hit for the most part with an EV if you want to. Keep in mind I'm only speaking for 25 F and above as I have no experience with lower temps yet.

 

[SSedan]

That is your choice. Set the temp to 60-65 and make sure the air is not blowing on you or don't turn it on at all. Leave your coat on and optionally use seat heaters. I used to hate wearing my coat in my ICE car because I would be way too warm. Now I just leave it on and drive my 120 mile trip and it doesn't bother me. If the windows fog up I have no choice but to run it but if you keep the temp down it doesn't use nearly as much power.

65f is where the heat is set and I use the seat heater with jacket on, but with a 7mile each way drive it is always working to warm up, pack and cabin. Yes a long drive and you will hit a point where the heating tapers down to a maintenance level, but pack and cabin heating are still going to jack your total use, and much of it is never reported by the car but is still on your electric bill.
I agree ICE use a lot more fuel in winter especially given the slow engine warming before you get cabin heat which leads to prolonged preheating. I am just saying nobody tells the new folks EVs spike energy use in winter too and even worse all those in warm climates seem to want to downplay how bad it can be and blindly dismiss it as excessive cabin heating.

 

[Oldschool496]

Seriously. I wish I can get $0.15 a kw.

So Cal ediosn. Is crazy expensive. Tier 2 is like $0.27 and tier 3 is $0.34! Any charging puts the whole house in tire 3 rates. Sucks.

I also imagine no TOU rates either?
Now that the electric car world is becoming a reality, generation of power and buying of excess power is going to be more of reality and force those rates even higher in your market.

I feel for you. Using an electric car in that structure has little advantage from saving $$$ if at all. That tier 3 rate is 3 times the rate we are on here minus the taxes.

 

[jim08449]

You should also research alternative sources for your electricity. Here in Maryland I found a supplier that had a flat (no TOU) rate that was 1 cent lower that then the lowest TOU rate provided by the utility company.

W

BruceW: Would you mind sharing your electrical provider?

 

[gaM3changer]

Seriously. I wish I can get $0.15 a kw.

So Cal ediosn. Is crazy expensive. Tier 2 is like $0.27 and tier 3 is $0.34! Any charging puts the whole house in tire 3 rates. Sucks.

SCE does have TOU rate plans. I'm currently charging my car at $0.13/kWh overnight during the super off peak rate. I downloaded my previous usage history and figured out that I'd save $60-$75 a month over staying on a tiered plan. This is also taking into consideration of the higher peak rates between 2-8pm .

Electric Vehicle Rates

 

[SageBrush]

I agree ICE use a lot more fuel in winter especially given the slow engine warming before you get cabin heat which leads to prolonged preheating.

Do any of the ICE manufacturers inform their customers in the way you expect of Tesla ?

2, you may have noticed that I do not live in CA.

 

[cityberty]

I think we also have to remember that the transfer of what you pay per kwh is not what the car gets. its not 100% efficient. I beleive it is approx .90-.95 depending on what you do. ie amperage, charging setup, temperature etc

 

[ebmcs03]

SCE does have TOU rate plans. I'm currently charging my car at $0.13/kWh overnight during the super off peak rate. I downloaded my previous usage history and figured out that I'd save $60-$75 a month over staying on a tiered plan. This is also taking into consideration of the higher peak rates between 2-8pm .

Electric Vehicle Rates

I know they do but $0.28 and $0.47 a kw to run the rest of the house during the dayis absurd.

 

[aspec818]

Also debating if I should go on a TOU plan over my current Tiered plan. I only drive about 5 miles a weekday and 100 or so on weekends. The TOU plan in California is in line with what some of you are reporting. $.48 per kWh peak (summer), $.26 part peak, and $.12 off-peak. With low charging needs, I'm not sure if it's that beneficial to switch to TOU. My current Tier 1 rate is $.21.

 

[gaM3changer]

I know they do but $0.28 and $0.47 a kw to run the rest of the house during the dayis absurd.

I agree that the peak rates are absurd. I was in the same boat as you when I first looked at the rates and scoffed at the idea of paying more during peak hours vs flat tiered. But after running the numbers from my actual hourly usage history, the TOU plan came out cheaper. I can even keep my same usage pattern as before and still come out better than staying on the older tiered plan. Ymmv as my usage before getting an EV was somewhat low as I mainly stayed in tier 1 most of the year even with AC running all the time.

 

[gaM3changer]

Also debating if I should go on a TOU plan over my current Tiered plan. I only drive about 5 miles a weekday and 100 or so on weekends. The TOU plan in California is in line with what some of you are reporting. $.48 per kWh peak (summer), $.26 part peak, and $.12 off-peak. With low charging needs, I'm not sure if it's that beneficial to switch to TOU. My current Tier 1 rate is $.21.

My daily commute is 100 miles, so switching to TOU was the cheapest way to charge. For your low daily commute, it may not make sense to make the change. The only real way to tell is to look at your actual usage. If your usage during peak hours are low, who cares if it's $.48/kWh as long as you can get a lower rate during the times that you're actually consuming more energy.

BTW, I have no affiliation with SCE... Just a guy who did the homework.

 

[Matt L]

This misses the point that people are told they will save huge amounts on "fuel" cost driving electric but we are not told that those of us in cold climates will see the car energy use double or more come winter. That takes a big bite out of "savings" that are one of the big angles used to get people to spend $50k+ on these cars.

Who exactly do you think should have told you that? Seems like that’s fairly general knowledge.

 

[Atari2600]

65f is where the heat is set and I use the seat heater with jacket on, but with a 7mile each way drive it is always working to warm up, pack and cabin. Yes a long drive and you will hit a point where the heating tapers down to a maintenance level, but pack and cabin heating are still going to jack your total use, and much of it is never reported by the car but is still on your electric bill.
I agree ICE use a lot more fuel in winter especially given the slow engine warming before you get cabin heat which leads to prolonged preheating. I am just saying nobody tells the new folks EVs spike energy use in winter too and even worse all those in warm climates seem to want to downplay how bad it can be and blindly dismiss it as excessive cabin heating.

Why bother blowing all that energy away for such a short trip? Try using the seat heater alone... unless you have fogging issues.

 

[SageBrush]

Why bother blowing all that energy away for such a short trip? Try using the seat heater alone... unless you have fogging issues.

He would like to portray his location, driving and heating habits as representative (whatever that means) of the winter penalty as 2x consumption compared to a temperate climate but he is just an anecdote. As am I, averaging about 250 Wh/mile in the winter. His post should be read to say that it is possible to use 500 Wh/mile in the winter. It is not inevitable; the driver has choices and the trip length has a huge effect.

ymmv.

 

[Moose408]

It's certainly not difficult math.

It is for me because the electric company doesn't give their rates for the various plans. I can look at my bill to see what rates I was charged (there are 4 of them so there is a fair amount of math involved), but I can't compare to other plans.

 

[SageBrush]

It is for me because the electric company doesn't give their rates for the various plans. I can look at my bill to see what rates I was charged (there are 4 of them so there is a fair amount of math involved), but I can't compare to other plans.

I have always been able to see rate schedules at the utility website. I think this is required by PUCs

 

[stevemc]

My area doesn't have an EV-specific plan so if you go TOU you really need to study your usage. The more you drive the easier it probably is to figure out since your EV would represent more (as a %) of your total power use.

Current standard (non-TOU) rate:
July-Oct: .10 (rounded figures per kWh)
Nov-June: .09 (rounded figures per kWh)

TOU rates:
TOU costs $3 extra per month off the bat (base service charge).
April-Sep peak: .23, shoulder peak .12, off-peak: .07 (rounded figures per kWh)
Oct-March peak: .21, shoulder peak .12, off-peak: .07 (rounded figures per kWh)

All weekends off-peak.

Spring/Summer peak= 1PM-6PM
Spring/Summer shoulder= 11AM-1PM, 6PM-8PM
Spring/Summer off-peak= 8PM-11AM

Rest of time peak= 6AM-9AM
Rest of time shoulder= 9AM-12PM, 4PM-8PM
Rest of time off-peak=12PM-4PM, 8PM-6AM

If you have electric heat (water or house) and people are home during the day you could easy pay more with TOU.
Controlling other stuff (laundy) is easy.

My electric water heater keeps chugging along so that alone (plus a teacher who is home summers) probably makes it a non-starter for me (especially with cheap NC electricity). The fall/winter schedule would probably save me a little, but the rest not so much.

My state simply doesn't offer an attractive off-peak rate when compared to the standard rate.

Have you looked into having a separate TOU meter just for your EV? My electric company SCE will rebate up to $1500 for a separate TOU meter.