How to calculate electric usage & cost?

[bamamarc77]

i just signed up for 2 programs with alabama power. The first is that because i own an ev, i get about 1.78 cents off of all electricity used between 9pm-5am 7 days per week year round. The second program seems risky but i'm giving it a try...i'll know at the end of august if this is beneficial.....between 1pm-7pm my rate is 20 cents per kwh monday through friday during june-september. At all other times the rate is 5 cents per kwh and my ev rate is subtracted from the 5 cents for about 3.22 cents per kwh between 9pm-5am 7 days per week. So a/c now set to 82 during expensive hours and no laundry, electric cooking or dishwashing from 1p-7p either. The regular rate at alabama power is about 11 cents per kwh. My 4 teenagers are screaming like banshees but they'll be back to school soon.
The fun also comtinues in the winter. November through march the peak rate is 7 cents per kwh from 5am-9am (less than the usual standard rate) and all other non-peak times the rate is 5 cents per kwh. April, may, and october is also 5 cents per kwh. Sort of feel like im at a casino but if i can squeak through the summer, my other bills should get really cheap. They installed a special meter at no extra cost to me.

 

[PlugWiz]

i just signed up for 2 programs with alabama power. The first is that because i own an ev, i get about 1.78 cents off of all electricity used between 9pm-5am 7 days per week year round. The second program seems risky but i'm giving it a try...i'll know at the end of august if this is beneficial.....between 1pm-7pm my rate is 20 cents per kwh monday through friday during june-september. At all other times the rate is 5 cents per kwh and my ev rate is subtracted from the 5 cents for about 3.22 cents per kwh between 9pm-5am 7 days per week. So a/c now set to 82 during expensive hours and no laundry, electric cooking or dishwashing from 1p-7p either. The regular rate at alabama power is about 11 cents per kwh. My 4 teenagers are screaming like banshees but they'll be back to school soon.
The fun also comtinues in the winter. November through march the peak rate is 7 cents per kwh from 5am-9am (less than the usual standard rate) and all other non-peak times the rate is 5 cents per kwh. April, may, and october is also 5 cents per kwh. Sort of feel like im at a casino but if i can squeak through the summer, my other bills should get really cheap. They installed a special meter at no extra cost to me.

Ah - interesting. Would be great if they/you could model it in advance and predict what your bill on current usage would be with the new rate. Did you do something like this prior to switching? With the winter rates it should AT LEAST balance out. Caution - are you locked into that rate for a year or a few months from now can you decide it's not working and switch back?

 

[bamamarc77]

I tried a little simulation and ended up saving about 12% per year without the ev discount...really dont know how it will work in actuality...i can bail out at any time though.

 

[PlugWiz]

I tried a little simulation and ended up saving about 12% per year without the ev discount...really dont know how it will work in actuality...i can bail out at any time though.

Wondering if you would have a look at a beta of our fuel cost and benefits tool for EVs to help determine those exact costs/benefits. We are hoping for feedback from this community so we can refine and bring it to the masses of those considering EVs, but have a lot of outstanding questions. We are hoping for your comments either here or on our blog around -

Do you know what your monthly electric bill is? Do you know how much kWh you consume in a month?
Do you know how many miles you drive per day, on average?
Do you know your current vehicle's MPG?
How do you think about environmental benefits?
What other types of information do you want to know?

http://plugwizblog.blogspot.com/2012...beta-test.html

Thanks for taking the time to help us refine this tool built for the growing EV community! Leave us your email and we'll keep you updated on our progress.