1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

First electric bill since charging begun.

Discussion in 'Prime Fuel Economy & EV Range' started by chenderson2, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. chenderson2

    chenderson2 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2010
    94
    57
    0
    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I got my first electric bill since I began charging my Prime each day. It was $30 more than the month previous, so it appears it cost about $1.00 per charge at my electric rate of $.09 per kwh. At the current $2.00 per gallon for gasoline, that makes almost an equal cost for electric travel as with gasoline
    $1.00 for 30 miles on electric
    $2.00 for 60 miles on gasoline.
    Now, if gasoline increases much in cost, it would work out cheaper to travel on battery, but not at its current price.
    Of course, this is just one month of evaluation, so subject to many errors.
    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2013
    2,327
    859
    1
    Location:
    Cool CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    That’s not a bad way to look at it. If you just consider the overall mpg as compared to the non- elec car, ln my case I calculated 104 mpg, the next time, 106 mpg. I think that is going to be pretty consistent in being representative of my future consumption. Of course that’s really MPGe, which equals the combined consumption of HV + ICE.. No other car gets this kind of efficiency. Congratulations on your purchase and enjoy.
     
    #2 Andyprius1, Jan 22, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2018
  3. JamesBurke

    JamesBurke Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    1,222
    493
    27
    Location:
    Morgantown, WV
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    How do you heat your home? Even Houston got some cold air, 20f's any way, over the last month. Any added electric use there makes your Prime look even better.
     
  4. ct89

    ct89 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2010
    323
    266
    1
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The Prime should only take a little over 6KWh to fully charge. If your $0.09/KWh is all you are paying, the cost of a charge should be more like $0.57 instead of $1.00...

    Do you charge more than once a day? A $30 increase would be more like 50+ full charges at that electric rate.
    Are there other per-KWh charges on your bill? Does your total electric bill divided by total KWh usage = $0.09/KWh?
    Is it possible you used more energy for things other than charging the prius last month? If you die exactly one full charge each day, the prius should have only contributed to $17 of your bill.
     
    bill188 likes this.
  5. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,306
    1,328
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Here in Austin TX, I’m seeing about 80 cents per full charge, or about 40% less than gas at 55MPG. Then again, gas taxes run around 38%, so it would be somewhere about even were it not for gas tax.

    It’s a little higher in, say, July than in January, since the air-conditioning bill kicks us into the higher rate bracket (and since we have gas heating).

    Everybody’s usage and costs will be a little different, not surprisingly. Plus of course, gas prices vary.

    I charge, typically, twice per day: once to get to work and once to get back.

    iPhone ? Pro
     
    #5 mr88cet, Jan 23, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2018
  6. chenderson2

    chenderson2 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2010
    94
    57
    0
    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I was using a vaporizer frequently during that month, and I think it is a high wattage device. But, my heating is gas, so that did not add much to the bill. A few times I charged more than once a day, and just since that bill I have added the 220 charger and possibly that uses less overall current for a charge. Like I said originally, just one month can not really show much.
     
    LasVegasaurusRex likes this.
  7. Oniki

    Oniki Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2017
    652
    499
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Or you used more electricity than the month before unrelated to the car.

    We think a full charge from empty takes about 6.3 kWh from the meter
     
  8. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,306
    1,328
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Speaking for myself at least, I only occasionally see much over 6KWh.

    iPad ? Pro
     
    bill188 likes this.
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,468
    38,102
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Can you use one of those kill-a-watt gizmos at the charge cord? Or is that old hat?

    I think if you at least break even it's not bad, for various reasons. Would be nice to come out ahead though, seems that's the inference from the manufacturers.
     
  10. Oniki

    Oniki Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2017
    652
    499
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    How do you measure ?
     
  11. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,306
    1,328
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Based upon what ChargePoint tells me after I unplug. I don’t measure it at home.

    iPad ? Pro
     
  12. Oniki

    Oniki Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2017
    652
    499
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    That makes sense, on an L2 charger.

    L1 charging at home will have higher losses
     
    LasVegasaurusRex likes this.
  13. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,306
    1,328
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Could well be...

    iPad ? Pro
     
  14. bill188

    bill188 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2017
    41
    21
    0
    Location:
    Aurora, Colorado. USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    My Juicebox Pro charger has me charging about 5.9 to 6.0 for a full charge.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    LasVegasaurusRex and Oniki like this.
  15. ct89

    ct89 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2010
    323
    266
    1
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    My most common value is about 6.1...But I have seen some 6.3's show-up...I figure those are cases where I ended-up pulling a little more out of the battery during HV operation...+/- 5% seems well within reasonable bounds.

    All L2 charging...
     
  16. glenthompson

    glenthompson Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2012
    14
    17
    0
    Location:
    Wintergreen VA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I have a Kill-a-Watt and ch caked the amount of electricity for a full charge. At my modest rates (about 0.10) it cost about 50-55 cents for a full charge. Where I am right now, regular is about $2.40 per gallon so it’s a significant savings.
     
  17. PCPrime

    PCPrime Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2018
    110
    102
    0
    Location:
    Tampa Florida
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
  18. PCPrime

    PCPrime Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2018
    110
    102
    0
    Location:
    Tampa Florida
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Seems your calculation is very close to the eGallon calculation
     
  19. fredonly

    fredonly Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2017
    28
    26
    0
    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I hope you fellow Texans are shopping for the best electricity rate available. I recently switched to a 7.7c/ kWh plan.
     
    chenderson2 likes this.
  20. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,306
    1,328
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    What part of Texas are you in, and which source/plan is that?

    In a year or two, we’ll probably upgrade our house, and get solar panels. That’ll make the per-mile cost quasi-free.

    Typed by Mr88cet’s dancing thumbs
     
    #20 mr88cet, Feb 6, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2018
    Son of Gloin and Oniki like this.