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Cost of electricity in CA for Prius plug in

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Nett44, Sep 8, 2012.

  1. Nett44

    Nett44 New Member

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    Hey everyone in California....
    I want to buy a Prius Plug in today but I am worried and wondering how much will it cost me in electricity a day to plug in at home. We have PG&E and we go from tier 1-3 depending on the day.

    Thanks,
    Nett
     
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    How much does 1 kWh cost you depending on time of day? A full charge takes 3.4 kWh.
     
  3. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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  4. dulenomochafahe

    dulenomochafahe Junior Member

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    Jump from tier 2 to tier 3 on my last 5 statement days after I purchased PIP. You will expect $15-$20 more.
     
  5. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    a day? or per month?
     
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    That all turns on how frequently per day you charge at home.

    .
     
  7. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    Are you on the E1 rate plan?
     
  8. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    On my rate plan, which I switched to being more PHEV car friendly, it's 19 cents an hour to charge and it's a 3-hr charge. About $18 a month if I charge nightly, every night.
     
  9. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    OP needs to answer many questions, such as their rate schedule and what tiers they're in now. If they're on a TOU plan, what tiers are in they in, when they charge?
     
  10. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    PG&E's regular rate for residential service is E-1 and uses tiered rates which increase due to increased energy consumption to encourage conservation but which are the same regardless of the time of day. For electric vehicle owners they also allow switching to an "experimental" E-9 rate that is tiered but charges different rates depending on the time of day and winter vs. summer. This E-9 rate is now being phased out in favor of a new "EV" rate which is not tiered by usage but is charged by time of use. Overnight off-peak charging will be $0.097 per kWh.

    You can find a recent slide presentation given by PG&E to a Nissan LEAF owners group (SF BayLEAFs) about the old and new rates at Free Cloud Storage - MediaFire.

    The new rates will become available in a few months at which point the older E-9 rates will no longer be available to new users but will be retained for about 2 years for existing users during a transition period.
     
  11. tpilkington

    tpilkington Junior Member

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    I am on a plan that has lower rates at nite...a charge costs me about $0.16...I program the car to turn on at midnight...
     
  12. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    I Duno ... Call me wackey ... if I wanted to buy a Prius "today" ... I'd have already done the math as to what my utility charges me for electricity ... weather the charge is for nighttime - daytime - holiday - weekend - summer - winter - heavy use - light use etc. Isn't buying a Prius 'today' ... & then inquiring about electricity costs putting the horse before the cart?? I'd at least do a little bit of my own " electricity costs" homework before I ask somebody else. because who knows anyway - if all/any of us PC'rs know what the heck were talking about. Like I said .... call me wackey.

    SGH-I717R ? 2
     
    Epiphany2000 and cwerdna like this.
  13. bfd

    bfd Plug-In Perpetuator

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    I think that sometimes, even WITH all the numbers, it's still a little difficult because of the variability of programs for EV/PHEV from California electricity providers. For me, I could go with TOU, but I'd end up spending MORE because of the way it's set up. I could spend some money for a sub-meter and then I'd SAVE money, but not really until I'd paid for the sub-meter and its installation. Regardless, even if you do a diligent job of finding out what will happen to your energy use profile with a Pip in the driveway, there are still lots of other variables to work through.
    In So Cal, it's not hard to land in Tier 3 land with central air and a few other goodies - at least from August through October. So that's yet another variable to consider.
     
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    ^^^
    Yep, there are several electricity providers in California (e.g. PG&E, SCE, etc.).
     
  15. David Welch

    David Welch Junior Member

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    How are you getting the 3.4 kw total? Book says 12A @ 3 hours = approx 4.5 kw to charge.

    SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 ? 2
     
  16. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    That maybe accounts for loss pushing power into the pack as well as loss experienced charging at 120 volts - which is worse than loss @ 240v.

    A500 ? 2
     
  17. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Several members here have measured the current used to fully charge a depleted battery, using instruments such as Kill-A-Watt.
     
  18. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    last nite I charged my battery that was fully depleted (ICE came on when I pulled into my parking spot to charge) Kill A Watt reading: 2.86KWH
     
  19. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    on 9-6-2012 EV remaining before charge: .1 mile, full charge Kill A Watt reading: 3.06KWH
     
  20. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    AND........if you're a ChargePoint customer you can get KWH readings from their website when you plug your car in at their stations. which use either 240 volts or 120 volts to charge up.