TOU plans make a world of difference!

[xdms]

I first got my Model S in November 2018, I did not immediately switch to a TOU plan. This was a HUGE mistake.

It has made a world of difference to my bill. This cycle was the first with the TOU and it dropped my bill from $248.87 to 95.86.

I am sharing for new owners that haven't yet changed their plan. In the previous plan (tiered plan - domestic) I was going over Tier 1 most days into the more expensive tier 2. With the TOU, most of my EV charging is set to begin at midnight when the super off peak hours kick in.

This made a huge difference in my monthly bill.

For those who still haven't, TOU plans are essential! Unless you are home on the on peak hours, it makes the most sense - especially when charging at night. It only really takes us 2 hours to get the Model S to 90% for daily driving.

P.S. - this is in SoCal (SCE/Edison)

 

[tranzndance]

I was skeptical that switching to ToU would actually save money so I didn't do it for almost a year. After I switched to ToU, the electricity bill went down to less than the cost before I got the car, comparing the same month of the year. Talk about free refueling!

 

[ewoodrick]

In general, TOU plans are at their most efficient in the winter. This is when low amounts of electricity is being used. Wait until the middle of summer to see what the worst case looks like before proclaiming TOU as the king.

Also, remember, you are in SoCal, energy is much more expensive.

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

I was skeptical that switching to ToU would actually save money so I didn't do it for almost a year. After I switched to ToU, the electricity bill went down to less than the cost before I got the car, comparing the same month of the year. Talk about free refueling!

Can you tell us how much you save? I did some comparison with PG&E on ToU and did not find much savings (a few dollars not going to make me do anything), did you find savings for more than 10 dollars a month? I mean I do not want to do my laundry after 11:00PM to save a few dollars. I drive less than 2000 miles a year so it is not like I need to charge it everyday. I definitely would switch if the savings is meaningful like more than 20 dollars a month, I am also opt in for 100% renewable so not sure if it even makes any difference with ToU.

 

[BluestarE3]

Wait until the middle of summer to see what the worst case looks like before proclaiming TOU as the king.

Assuming air conditioning use, right?

 

[whitex]

I first got my Model S in November 2018, I did not immediately switch to a TOU plan. This was a HUGE mistake.

It has made a world of difference to my bill. This cycle was the first with the TOU and it dropped my bill from $248.87 to 95.86.

View attachment 377064

I am sharing for new owners that haven't yet changed their plan. In the previous plan (tiered plan - domestic) I was going over Tier 1 most days into the more expensive tier 2. With the TOU, most of my EV charging is set to begin at midnight when the super off peak hours kick in.

This made a huge difference in my monthly bill.

View attachment 377066

For those who still haven't, TOU plans are essential! Unless you are home on the on peak hours, it makes the most sense - especially when charging at night. It only really takes us 2 hours to get the Model S to 90% for daily driving.

P.S. - this is in SoCal (SCE/Edison)

What is the non-TOU rate?

 

[nativespinner]

I love the timt of use plans from my electric provider. Peak time is 2pm-7pm. Off peak cost is about 0.02 per kwh

 

[TonyT]

What is the non-TOU rate?

I think it's about .46 a kWh in the summer, but I don't really pay attention since I run my ac about 1-2 days a year.

 

[dethman]

In general, TOU plans are at their most efficient in the winter. This is when low amounts of electricity is being used. Wait until the middle of summer to see what the worst case looks like before proclaiming TOU as the king.

Also, remember, you are in SoCal, energy is much more expensive.

I have solar so TOU is terrible in winter (little sunlight and rates for generated energy are low) but great in summer (lots of sunlight and peak generated rates are high when i sell electricity back to the grid, which essentially subsidizes any night charging).

 

[dethman]

I love the timt of use plans from my electric provider. Peak time is 2pm-7pm. Off peak cost is about 0.02 per kwh

That's some cheap juice. .12 to .13 super off peak in socal on TOU.

 

[nomis_nehc]

Are you actually at home using electricity other than charging your car though? 127 kWh excluding super off peak usage is insane.

 

[The Defiant]

Got my Model 3 January, we switched to TOU. We're a little nervous. Anyone have solar and TOU and can send some comfort?

 

[Zaxxon]

Got my Model 3 January, we switched to TOU. We're a little nervous. Anyone have solar and TOU and can send some comfort?

Depends on the specifics of your plan, but here in Colorado the trifecta of solar PV, an EV, and TOU is a winner.

Our peak rate is 2p-6p, when the solar production is at its highest. Our cars (far and away our biggest energy consumers) charge solely on the cheapest rate from 9p-9a. We also generally use our dishwasher and some of our laundry loads during that time.

Our bills have gone down consistently. Have been on TOU for almost two years.

 

[maximizese]

I've got a 4.8kW solar array on the roof in SoCal. Before diving into to EV ownership, I lived like an electricity miser using about 10kWh a day. After getting an EV we quickly signed up for solar before NEM 1.0 ended. Signing up for TOU was a no-brainer for us as it created an instant arbitrage of selling daytime electricity for $.28 and $.43 per kWh between 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm. We'd recharge the cars, run the AC, dryer, and/or heaters between 10pm-8am at $.14 per kWh. While we generate an average of 20kWh a day, we consume about 35kWh a day and have a $34 electricity bill for the entire year. Here's a link to our solar generation:

Bongwui 4.800kW

 

[tranzndance]

Can you tell us how much you save? I did some comparison with PG&E on ToU and did not find much savings (a few dollars not going to make me do anything), did you find savings for more than 10 dollars a month? I mean I do not want to do my laundry after 11:00PM to save a few dollars. I drive less than 2000 miles a year so it is not like I need to charge it everyday. I definitely would switch if the savings is meaningful like more than 20 dollars a month, I am also opt in for 100% renewable so not sure if it even makes any difference with ToU.

I only have full months of data starting last September since I switched in August. The monthly savings have frequently been around $20, compared to the prior year when I charged the car while on the tiered plan.

 

[xdms]

In general, TOU plans are at their most efficient in the winter. This is when low amounts of electricity is being used. Wait until the middle of summer to see what the worst case looks like before proclaiming TOU as the king.

Also, remember, you are in SoCal, energy is much more expensive.

True. Summer is a bit more expensive - but the price increase is in line with other plans. The silver lining is that since Los Angeles home prices are through the roof, my "fixer upper" does not yet have AC. So I will be saving some electricity there

 

[xdms]

What is the non-TOU rate?

This was from last month:

 

[xdms]

Got my Model 3 January, we switched to TOU. We're a little nervous. Anyone have solar and TOU and can send some comfort?

I think you cannot go Solar without getting TOU first. I have my Solar appointment Feb 24. and feeling nervous too. The initial quote from Tesla was a monthly payment of $150 for panels and powerwall for 20 years.

 

[xdms]

Are you actually at home using electricity other than charging your car though? 127 kWh excluding super off peak usage is insane.

Yep. We are at home starting around 6-7pm. Super off-peak does not really start until 10pm. Also, our SoCal winters have been unbearably cold (for SoCal standards) and we have been forced to use electric space heaters

From month to month, we have gone down in the fall since we did not have to use heaters (nor did we have AC). Got the car in November, and had the NEMA 14-50 installed in January when we switched to TOU. From Nov. to Dec we were using a regular outlet to charge (and was taking a good 8-10 hours to charge).

 

[gilscales]

I switched to TOU-D-B plan in early 2016 before we had an EV and our bill went down 20% as our home uses quite a bit of energy, (2000 to 2500 kWh in the winter and 3000 to 4000 in the summer with the car now) we have 6 people in the house and even though I have changed out every single bulb to l.e.d.'s and all windows and doors are sealed tight we still have a huge bill, This plan has saved us a lot, this is the plan that SCE recommends when pulling over 700 kWh's a month.