Will the Plug In Prius Save You Any Money vs. the Regular Prius?

Yep, and true for any area with HOV demand. Think of the DC metroplex.

 

Wish i didn't live in a communist state. Folks out west get all the fun. Charging stations, first release phv, scion IQ, HOV lanes , Diane to sell them and state rebates.

 

the way i see it.. you're investing into the progression of that technology so you can move into that direction and away from the current ICE eventually... when i shopped around for my prius back in 03/04... i could have picked up a civic for a heck of a lot less and still get the same gas mileage.. but i wanted to invest into the idea of a bigger/safer/more reliable car that would last longer than any other car on the market (both my previous cars died way before 150k miles.. i'm around 180k or something)

for my shortest commutes to the stores or a friends house (way less than the 15 mile ev cap)... i would save since they are really close... long distanced, you still get the high mpg that a current prius gets. that beats just about any other car on the road. how much would i save? very little...

back to the whole investment idea... early adopters... etc..

 

I've seen several posts about charging at work, and this would be quite possible for me if my company car weren't cordless however (comma!) this presents me with a small ethical issue.

If I bought a PiP, and charged it at work, wouldn’t this be stealing electricity from my employer, or do you shrug it off by saying "Hey man, it's the same as running a coffee pot."
I know what the answer will be for me. I always like to see where people's moral compasses point when nobody is looking, and truth be told I'd be as tempted to plug in an EV (if I could afford one) in each of my offices.
I work evenings and nights. I'd never be caught by anyone other than me.
I cannot help but presume that my beloved company (Big Bell) would frown on employees plugging in their Volts, Leafs, and PiPs---especially since in these parts commercial clients pay much higher rates for electrical use. I get angry memos and snide remarks from the tree huggers and bean counters all the time directing us to turn off lighting when not in use and to eschew personal electronics and electrical devices in my offices.

I'm wondering when the first EV driver will make the news for stealing current from a parking garage's unprotected exterior 120-volt outlet, or get fired for filching electricity from an employer.

I can tell you for certain that if some muckity-muck from the head shed came by one of my offices, and saw a Volt plugged into one of the exterior outlets (we have both 110/220) then it had BETTER have a company logo on it!

Comments?

 

No, you can't charge at 480V. Those are likely "Chademo" DC fast chargers for the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi iMEV, they have the DC fast charging ports on them, it can recharge the Leafs 23KW pack to %80 in 30 minutes.

 

I had a PHEV conversion done in Aug. 2009. From that time until May of this year (2011) I did NOT plug in while I was at work. I had inquired about plugging in and was told the infrastructure was being researched. There was a strong desire to plug-in, but I can safely say I was not tempted in the least to do it--then. I prefer to stay on the good side of the unemployment line.

Last May, a co-worker purchased a Volt. Together, we requested permission to use the 110 outlets in the garage (we have our own parking building, plus two garage levels in the basement). We were given that permission (I have an email saved that proves it) and a program was put in place so employees could register their PHEVs and plug them in. Rumor has it that there will be 220/480V stations installed at some time in the future. Whether we would be charged for use of these stations (probably) has not been announced.

It can't be stealing if your employer has given permission to use them.

 

Concur!!!

Thanks for being an asset to the environmental community. I hope that your employer uses charging stations as an employee benefit, or at least gives official permission for you to use 110-V juice.

This is one of the many examples of people doing the right thing without being goaded (or paid) to do so by my beloved government.

Bravo-Zulu!

 

True, but without profiling your current usage and seeing how much it is with and without TOU metering, it might actually cost you more. From the schedules found at Pacific Gas & Electric - Tariffs, http://www.pge.com/tariffs/tm2/pdf/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-9.pdf is the schedule for BEVs and PHEVs. The rates are insane during summer peak. Also, once you get past 131% of baseline, the rates are higher or WAY higher than PSE's highest tier, depending on the time of year.

 

and who knows what the future price of electricity and gasoline will be? depending on government action, there's always the possibility that electricity could cost more than gas. it's never going to be cheaper to drive than it is now, but, hopefully, all the other factors mentioned in the above posts will be better using electricity. at least there is the potential for alternative sources.

 

I heard about a wealthy early Volt adopter who, upon learning that the best and cheapest time to charge was overnight, promptly ordered that all household appliances and pool equipment be run at night to save on the costs of electricity. I wonder if there is a limit on how much overnight use is allowed at the special rate.

 

There is in the sense that there are rate tiers and different prices for each. See my earlier post.

You (and the person you referenced) are likely not on PG&E and on a different utility. If you let me know which one that is, I should be able to find their schedules.

 

The person I heard about lives in the Los Angeles area, I believe. That could mean LA Dept of Water and Power, or SCE. I'm in the So Cal Edison service area, and they use a rate tier system too.

 

tough to run your refrigerator only at night.

 

I should have said "wherever possible," as the story was told to me by a friend of the Volt owner. Now how the household help liked running the dishwasher and clothes washer and dryer, etc. after hours was not mentioned. Of course things like A/C and refrigerators don't offer the opportunity to run at the lower rate. It just struck me as funny when I heard the story, because as I said above, this guy is wealthy. And it wasn't done to save electricity over all, because of course it wouldn't change the consumption.

 

probably al gore.

 

Where I have been employed, the only accessible electric outlets were installed for the specific purpose of EV recharging. There was no confusion about use policies.

For the first, in the 1990s, only home-brew EV conversions existed. It was free, to be reviewed after the demand increased substantially. Unfortunately that site closed long before mass market EVs appeared.

My current location has substantial EV/PHEV demand, and has installed pay-per-use recharging stations.

 

I look at this from the employers point of view. For both the Leaf and the Volt, if I allow free 120 volt charging, my employees will start giving me 'free' overtime, as neither one can charge in 8 hours. I have no incentive to ever provide 240 Volt charging, but 120 is win/win, good public relations, free overtime.

Your employer may vary.