How much does it cost per month to charge the PIP?

For me...free charging at work and work is 6 miles away.

Mike

 

Yup, it most likely won't ever make sense financially. At least not in a state with high utility rates. Even with all the rebates you pay a little more than a Prius Three. You'll never recoup initial cost with savings in electricity unless gas goes above $5 a gallon. Let's say you are certain it will get to $5 a gallon soon but don't forget everything will cost more as well including electricity.

 

My PiP costs about 6 to 8 $$/month to charge.
Location: Northern Virginia.
I charge every night, and multiple times on weekends.
I practically never charge beyond my house - very few free public chargers, and at the dominant area charging stations' (ChargePoint) pay rates it's economically pointless.
Charging setup: L2 Leviton hardwired EVSE, and a pEEf-modified OEM EVSE Upgrade. The Leviton L2 is on a separate Virginia-provided electric meter running under special Dominion VirginiaEV TOU rates, steady all year, where the cheapest 1 AM - 5 Am charge cost is 5.36c/kWh and the most expensive, 6 AM - 10 PM rate is 17.97c/kWh. The regular residential house rate is 11c/kWh.
Strategy: nightly charging via Leviton L2 @ 5.36c/kWh, and weekend + occasional day charging via the pEEF EVSE Upgrade from a 240V socket @ normal household 11c/kWh. Thus, each charge takes 1.5 hours, allowing multiple daytime charging.
No way to charge at work, and that will not change (Fed workplace - forget fighting the Big Machine).
Three months' history with this setup.
Conclusion: 1st 10 - 12 miles/day are electric, so over 30 days = 300+ miles are EV. My electric bill EV cost breaks it out to between 6+ and 8 bucks/month for these 300+ miles, as I use the car every day.
Can't wait for stronger batteries to come out in future BEVs & PHEVs, since I don't intend to sell or move. Then by virtue of deeper traction battery capacity my nightly 5.36c/kWh will move me over longer daily distances (600 EV miles per month?). I also hope to see real-deal retrofit OEM or aftermarket traction battery upgrades...

 

It's probably costing me between $8.50 and $12.50 per month to charge my PiP. I pay on average about 11 to 14 cents a kWh, and use about 65 to 85 kWh to charge at home. The rest of my charging is free at work.

 

Most folks will have to drive more than 150k before they realize any real savings from their PiP. Even those who are rarely using gas are spending some money for electricity.

 

150,000 miles @40% EV = 60,000 miles in EV mode.
If driven using gas @ 60 mpg, then 1000 gallons spent @$4.00/gallon = $4,000. (or $3000 @ $3/gallon)
(or 50 mpg=1200 gallons =$4800@ $4/gal or $3600 @ $3/gallon)
If using EV mode @ 12miles per 3KWh = 15,000 KWh @ 10cents per KWh = $1,500
or @ 20 cents per KWh = $3000
Savings =$2500 nominal, but can range from $4800-$1500=$3300 to $3000-$3000=0)
Does the PiP cost more or less than $2500 over the hatchback even after rebate? Maybe. Maybe not.
if you paid cash, on the delta ($2500) and it took you 3 yrs to drive 150K (heavy driving in my book), then you'll lose 3-5% interest that the cash could have earned (or 7% if you got aggressive) so yet another ~$250.
Your Math May Vary. But this is a ballpark set of numbers. Throw darts and tweak.

 

All true.
So a lot depends on each situation.
But you also get a boost in your HV mpg because you aren't making many short low mpg trips...again depends on each situation.

Mike

 

But in So Cal, it is the Carpool sticker that save you the time, not the money. Aand as we know time is valuable.

Also if you are parking a parking structure- have you looked for power outlets? We are luck in that we can charge at work but now there are 4 PIP cars for 3 parking spaces, and I sometimes get left out.

 

I've been coming to work two hours earlier to work so I don't get ICE'd. My work spots are not EV dedicated. My boss even jokingly commented that I rarely come to work on time and because of a free $1 charge, I not only come on time, I come in an hour earlier.

I had been coming in 10am to 7pm to avoid rush hour traffic. With my green stickers, it is not a big deal anymore. I go to work early and I leave early. Win-win.

 

Where I work, there's one outlet on the outside. With the people I work with, I think it's going to be a long time before plug-in number two shows up. The only problem I've ever had is access to it by people blocking it. That's why I keep an extension cord in the car.

 

Fortunately, that's within the lifetime of the vehicle and most owners would be willing to contribute a little bit toward helping the environment & oil-dependency anyway.

Scary part is, gas prices could easily climb beyond $4 per gallon... which changes the situation.

 

In the past two weeks, gas jumped .30/gal. around here.

 

150K miles is nothing. I'll easily hit that in about 5 years. My electricity costs are relatively cheap right now (10 to 14 cents a kWh). At those rates, gas can be as cheap as $2.50 a gallon and I'd still be saving money by plugging in. Gas is currently pushing towards $4 a gallon, so my savings are pretty good right now.

 

Cost savings after 100,00
PIP 66.8 mpg (bfd's fuelly MPG)
previous vehicle 25 mpg

cost for gas (assume current price for me $3.85 gas)
PIP ~1500 gallons =$5,775
previous vehicle ~3,334 gallons =$12,835
Cost difference gas = $7,060

Assume 30% EV (assume 3 kWh/mile; current price for me $0.12/kWh
PIP ~1,050 gallons =$4,042 (70,000 miles)
PIP kWh 10,00= $1,200
PIP total $5,242
Cost difference HV & EV = $7,593

If my math is correct, you can expect a significant savings even at 100,000 miles. The key variables are the MPG with you behind the wheel of both cars and the cost of both gas and electricity. In my area it is cheaper to use kWh than gas to fuel a PHEV. As a result the higher my EV:HV ratio and/or the greater the difference in the cost of gas versus electricity the more money I save.

 

You should if not already aware that there are three time of use zones with PG&E; Off peak, partial and peak.
Weekends are also zoned but not with peak and same in the winter periods. I was surprised to learn this and opted out of TOU service. Check the hours as well as it can go well into the early evening hours, just when you start cooking and baking perhaps. Unreal.

 

My only fuss is that you compared the PiP against a 25 mpg car.
Someone previously asked:
"Is there a thread that breaks down how to determine when the PIP makes sense financially versus a regular Prius? "
Do the above calculations for a Gen III Prius.
I'm currently getting ~62 mpg (measured) with my Gen III.
For me, the PiP will not pay for itself vs getting a Gen III.

 

You cannot use "currently getting" values to do a comparison. That would be as bad as me taking a random sampling with my plug-in and claiming the 209 MPG that day represents what you'll get too.

An entire year of data must be used for proper measure, taking all seasons and their various factors of influence into account.

In other words, it's better to say that Gen III delivers 50 MPG. Mine did based on 55,835 miles of measuring gas refills at the pump.

 

The nerve of those people. Trying to save the planet for themselves ... and everyone else.

 

What's up with that?