One Month Review: Energy Consumption & Costs of Tesla Model 3 AWD

[Kermee]

TL;DR version: Before the Tesla Model 3, I averaged about $500-600 USD in petrol costs. Last month, I paid about $55 USD in charging/electric costs and $0 in petrol.

Longer version...

• Approximately 3,500 miles (5,632 km) driven in Tesla Model 3 AWD over the past month.
• 875 kWh calculated consumption @ 250 Wh/mi.

250 Wh/mi is what I have been averaging according to my trip meters for the Model 3. For the comparison to my ICE vehicles, I'm using an '08 Lexus IS250 AWD (4GR-FSE, V6 2.5L, naturally aspirated) which gets 23 MPG on the same comparable trips running on 91 octane, required per manufacturer. I have another vehicle which is a Lexus GX (2UZ-FE, V8 4.7L, naturally aspirated) which although runs on cheaper 87 octane, only gets about 17 MPG and at $3.45 USD/gal, makes it $0.203 USD/mi. The long stretches of 75-80 MPH (120-130 km/h) really kills MPG efficiency. At 60 MPH, the IS does much better at 27 MPG and the GX gets close to 20 MPG.

• $0.167 USD/mi (Tier 1, 91 octane) (23 MPG @ $3.85/gal for '08 Lexus IS250 AWD)
• $0.026 USD/mi (Electric) (250 Wh/mi @ $0.1032 USD/kWh) ('18 Tesla Model 3 AWD)

About 85% cheaper per mile driven by Model 3 vs. '08 Lexus IS250 AWD of consumables if I charged up solely from home charging.

• The $0.1032 USD/kWh is my current residential rate by Snohomish [County] PUD (SnoPUD).
• Home charging is done with UMC2, NEMA 6-20 with 16A at 245V which is approximately 4kW.
• My average spend on petrol per month is usually between $500 to $600 USD.
• Amount of petrol spent last month: $0 USD.

NOTE: I do start up the ICE vehicles once a week and drive around for short errands to keep the car battery charged and to not let the engine/oil sit idle too long, but haven't needed to top off with fresh petrol.

Tesla Model 3 Consumption & Energy Costs

Tesla Supercharging (From Receipts):

• US: 75 kWh - Total: $18.75 USD @ $0.25 USD/kWh
• CA: 80 kWh calculated approximation (Sadly, I did not record the kWh and kWh not specified on receipts)

Power Tier 1 - 48 mins @ $0.20 CAD/min - $9.60 CAD
Power Tier 2 - 31 mins @ $0.40 CAD/min - $12.40 CAD
Total: $22.00 CAD ~ $16.92 USD
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ChargePoint (Only used FREE Level 2 Charging Stations):

• US & CA: 400 kWh - Total $0.00 USD

Tesla Destination Charging:

• CA: 140 kWh (Mostly at malls in Richmond & Vancouver, BC which have 12kW Tesla HPWC) - Total $0.00 USD

Home Charging (UMC2 @ 4kW):

• US: 180 kWh @ $0.10321 USD/kWh - Total: $18.58 USD

Total Spend: $54.25 USD — Savings of between $450-$550 USD per month in petrol costs.

Pretty pictures and charts, because... We all like pictures and charts. Any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. welcomed.

Obligatory Trio of Tesla Model 3's "I'm On A Boat" Picture

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[Eno Deb]

Great post, but it looks like the free Chargepoint stations played a big role in the low costs?

Also, what kind of utility plan do you have? By California standards, 10c/kWh is super cheap and only off-peak rates on TOU plans even come close to that (at the cost of very expensive rates during the day). I guess all that hydro power in the NW pays off. <*jealous*>

 

[Kermee]

Great post, but it looks like the free Chargepoint stations played a big role in the low costs?

Thanks! — Yes, the free ChargePoint stations played a huge role. The free ChargePoint stations just happen to be located in the parking lot of my office so typically I charge up when I'm at the office. Otherwise, I set my SOC to 50% when I get home before I plug into my UMC2.

Also, what kind of utility plan do you have? By California standards, 10c/kWh is super cheap and only off-peak rates on TOU plans even come close to that (at the cost of very expensive rates during the day). I guess all that hydro power in the NW pays off. <*jealous*>

Yes, we're very lucky up here in Washington State and in British Columbia. Least in the general area where I live, residential is just a single rate with no TOU's (Peak/Off-Peak). Not so long ago, I remember when rates were still $0.069/kWh but they've slowly crept up.

There's a bit of irony for Seattle City Light (my neighborly electric PUD in the county over) are raising rates 30% by 2024. There's a long story behind it, but the short version is basically that they didn't budget for electricity conservation (and debt mismanagement which is an even bigger story). Customer consumption of electricity has actually been declining even with the huge growth the city has had causing less and less revenue per customer generated. So it's not a lack of power generation... It's a lack of power consumption for revenue.

 

[North75]

I realize it’s not a large portion of your energy supply, but I’m pretty certain you can’t use the in car reported 250 Wh/mi as the basis for what came out of your wall. There are charging inefficiencies, plus I think the car can draw some amount of shore power when plugged in but not actively charging. Finally I don’t think the 250 Wh/mi counts phantom losses when not driving.
I think if you measured power delivered on the wall side it could be significantly higher (on a % basis)

 

[Kermee]

I realize it’s not a large portion of your energy supply, but I’m pretty certain you can’t use the in car reported 250 Wh/mi as the basis for what came out of your wall. There are charging inefficiencies, plus I think the car can draw some amount of shore power when plugged in but not actively charging. Finally I don’t think the 250 Wh/mi counts phantom losses when not driving.
I think if you measured power delivered on the wall side it could be significantly higher (on a % basis)

You're absolutely correct. I thought about that after I posted and the assumptions are based on 100% charging efficiency with no phantom drain, which of course, is impossible nor realistic.

I have yet to properly account for actual charging efficiency and phantom drain, which will definitely affect the numbers, but it would take some set-up (i.e. measuring power on the wall side) in order to see what the actual is. But yes, it would definitely be higher. (If there's a 240V 6-20P version of the Kill-A-Watt, that would be awesome!)

Also, I've noticed now when the temperature has dipped under 50F overnight, if I go into the car while it's still connected to "shore" power, the Green/Black "Regen/Consumption" bar under the Gear/Speed indicator will show power consumption being used while the car is "Off/Idle". My guess is the car is using the motor to generate heat for the battery pack.