Kilowatt usage from home charging

[jwdbond]

At our condo we have access to a slow-charge 110 volt outlet. But the electricity is billed to the Association. I’d like to know how many kilowatts I use so that I can reimburse the Association for my use. I can estimate the cost and by the miles added, but I’d like a more definitive source. Tesla tracks the charging history on its Superchargers. 3rd party apps, like Nikola and EEVEE seem to be able to get that data.

 

[brkaus]

Teslafi can track usage per location.

 

[jmaddr]

Due to power inefficiencies in the AC/DC conversion, unplugged sleep vs things that cause idle loss like cabin pre conditioning, update downloading, map downloading, etc, the only real way to measure that power consumption at the outlet is with a meter. If your only charging at 120V, there are a ton of them on Amazon for $20 to $100.

 

[RandyS]

Just a clarification for the OP. You want to measure energy consumption (since that is what the utility bills for), not power consumption in kW...So if you're looking at meters, you want to get one that measures kWh...

 

[kishkaru]

Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor.

Rated for up to 15A, but I've only used up to 12A continuous. Tesla can only pull 12A anyway.
Share a picture of its display to the HOA (which shows kWh consumed), and then reset it monthly. It also has a built-in battery so stats aren't lost in case of power outage. Works great, and is accurate. I used one for years in a shared location.

There may be other devices that are fancier with apps and auto-reporting of stats, but sometimes the simplest thing gives the least amount of headache.

 

[Midnightsun]

There are better and cheaper versions of the Kilowatt. https://www.amazon.com/Electricity-...=1&keywords=power+meter&qid=1618823177&sr=8-5

Here is a more elaborate one if you prefer. Does bar graph of daily consumption and quite a bit more. 45.0US $ |ZHURUI PR10 E US15A power meter plug / home power metering socket/ watt meter/2.4 inch TFT color LCD/0.5FS|power meter|socket power meterwatt meter - AliExpress

 

[RickCRNA]

Personally, I would not worry about reimbursing a condo HOA for the electricity I use to charge my vehicle. I can't imagine a requirement to do so would be stipulated in the covenants or bylaws. There are all kinds of reasons why condo owners might use more or less electricity in any given month and to specifically target EV charging for required reimbursement would indeed be opening a huge can of worms for the HOA. Save yourself a lot of headaches and don't bother worrying about reimbursement. There is absolutely nothing to be gained.

 

[wwu123]

Due to power inefficiencies in the AC/DC conversion, unplugged sleep vs things that cause idle loss like cabin pre conditioning, update downloading, map downloading, etc, the only real way to measure that power consumption at the outlet is with a meter. If your only charging at 120V, there are a ton of them on Amazon for $20 to $100.

I'll add regarding Teslafi that it does report a charging efficiency number for L2 charging, and probably L1 (120V) (though I've never bothered to try L1 charging). Teslafi does get all it's data from the car, but what efficiency losses are included in that charging data I've never figured out. I'm sure it includes some of the AC/DC conversion, since that is happening inside the car. It probably does not include the efficiency and line losses in the UMC (i.e. between the wall outlet and the car's charge port), since I'm not sure the car can measure that. It may or may not include consumption by the car electronics during charging that is not going directly into the battery first.

But it may be "close enough for government work" for the OP's purpose...

 

[GtiMart]

And just for a reference point, V * A = 120 * 12 = 1440W. While plugged in and charging, you consume 1.4kW from the wall. Plugged in for one hour, that's 1.4kWh. Plugged in 10 hours, 14 kWh, etc... Voltage varies a little bit but that's a rough indication.