Variable Electric Plan?

[HighZ]

I was wondering if anyone has experience with using a variable electric plan.

I am in Illinois and I read that ComEd will come out to install a new meter to provide variable electric rates at no charge in order to get lower electricity costs at night.

My (my wife's) concern is whether the electric cost during the day will end up being higher so will offset any savings by charging at night.

Thanks!

 

[JPP]

Lots of locales have TOU (time of use) rates. Google it. And do your homework. If you don't use much electricity during the peak daytime rates, you might come out ahead. If you have solar, you will do better with 'proper' TOU rates. And if you have an EV and TOU works, then charging overnight is a bargain. YMMV.

 

[Tam]

...My (my wife's) concern is whether the electric cost during the day will end up being higher so will offset any savings by charging at night..

The trick of Time of Use is to minimize using electricity when it's the most expensive.

Also, if your car use less electricity than the rest of your whole house then it would cost you more.

However, if your car use more than the rest of your whole house then it should cost you less.

I am not in Illinois but here's my usaage:

778 kWh Off-PeaKSuper + 202 kWh Off-Peak = 980 kWh x $0.12 = $117.60

152 kWh Mid Peak x 0.35 = $53.20

Total = 1,132 kWh for $170.80


When I was in the old Domestic rate, it would be:

Tier 1: 338 kWh x $0.16=$054.08
Tier 2: 338 kWh x $0.23=$054.08
Tier 3: 456 kWh x $0.29=$132.24
----------------------------------------------
Total = 1,132 kWh for $240.40


If I don't use more than 338 kWh, the tier 1 rate $0.16 would be fine without changing to Time of Use rate that costs as much as $0.35 at mid-Peak.

But because my 2 cars use 778 kWh so far, then it's cheaper to charge at $0.12 in Time of Use rate.

 

[Magnets!]

Check on your utility's website for the rates. Some will have a tool to tell you if you'll save money and some even have a guarantee so that if TOU costs you more the first year they will refund the difference. You don't typically need a second meter for TOU plan, at least with my utility.

 

[HighZ]

Thanks for replies. I did a lot more digging with our electric utility. I am currently paying a total electric cost (with tax and distribution) of 18c per kWh (285 kWh last month) based on our last bill. The actual supply cost is 7.7c.

When I look at the hourly rates, they are currently at a low of 2.0c from 11p to 4a, then go to a high of 3.8c during the day. This is 'spring' in Illinois, so not a lot of usage from a/c. I was able to look up history from last year of hourly rates from April to August, and it was an average of around 2.5c-3c, but 5% of the hours were above 10c and 4% of the hours were below zero.

I called ComEd, and since we are moving into a new house, she cautioned me from going to hourly right away, since she said there is an adjustment to the hourly rates based on prior usage. If the prior occupants used a lot of electricity, then I would be charged more to 'reserve' more electricity to have available. They can't tell me what rates they would charge me until we have a new account opened at that address.

If I am charging 100 miles of daily usage or around 30kWh, at my current rates, that is $5.40. But I think it would have to cheaper especially if I can take advantage of daily total supply rates less than 7c/kWh most of the year. I'll wait to find out what they will charge me once we open a new account and try to post back here what I eventually do.

 

[cbdream99]

I have a night free plan 8p-6a. Daytime rate is 0.14 , I have compared with previous year where the fixed rate is around 0.10, I do all my charging during the free period and I ended up saving more. You probably have to analyze the usage pattern, if you can minimize day time usage and push the heavy usage to night time then it may save you some money, but if you cannot then it's a different story

 

[HighZ]

It will be interesting to see if we can actually shift some usage. If it was just me, I would look forward to the challenge, but the boss does not like it hot. In the winter, I have to wear sweaters and am the only one with all the blankets on at night.

We bought a Nest thermostat in the apartment we were staying in, but that did not go over well when I tried to program times to reduce usage. Now it was a crappy AC and the upstairs would never cool down when it was already hot, so it was a losing battle. We are moving someplace that has a new furnace/AC with a fancy thermostat, so I will give it another try.

Now if I can convince my wife to buy a Tesla as well..... hmmm....