Charging costs.

[dvbenner]

I live in Northern California and my Utility is PG & E. Can anyone tell me if the Cost for the Electricity to charge my E-Golf would be less expensive when using a 30 AMP 220 Volt EVSE or the slower 110 volt EVSE that came with the car ? (2015 E-Golf)
Thank you.

 

[2016golfse]

The answer depends on:

1) The rate plan you're on. If you're on E1, then you're just paying for what you use. If you're on a time of day plan, then the faster charging can allow you to take bigger advantage when rates are cheapest.

2) How much you need to charge daily. If you don't deplete at least 40% of your battery, then even 120v charging is sufficient to take advantage of cheaper time of day plans.

That said, 240v charging is about ~3% more efficient charging than 120v, so there is a very small savings.

 

[dvbenner]

Thank you for the reply !

 

[miimura]

Changing your rate plan to the EV-A rate and buying a 240V EVSE so you can charge during the 11pm-7am Off-Peak period on that rate will save you more than the cost of the EVSE over the course of the lease.

Rate Schedule E-1:
Up to ~300kWh/mo: $0.20/kWh
300-1200kWh/mo: $0.28/kWh
over 1200kWh/mo: $0.40/kWh

Rate Schedule EV-A:
Summer Off-Peak: $0.122/kWh
Summer Part-Peak: $0.25/kWh
Summer Peak: $0.454/kWh
Winter Off-Peak: $0.12/kWh
Winter Part-Peak: 0.198/kWh
Winter Peak: $0.32/kWh

If you drive 1,000 miles per month and drive at about 4mi/kWh efficiency, you will use:
1000 / (4 * 85%) = 295kWh/mo

On EV-A your charging will only cost ~$36/mo vs. ~$83/mo on E-1. Unless you use a lot of air conditioning in your house in the summer, the cost of your household electricity will probably be about the same.

 

[dvbenner]

Thank you Miimura.
I Just bought my 2015 E-Golf (VW certified pre owned) and plan to use PG & E's EV-A option. I have ordered a Juicebox 40 Pro EVSE and will install it soon.
No A/C in my house and our PG & E electric bills are not very big.
The E-Golf is just for local trips and we bought it to replace our much loved 1995 Golf Cabrio that was totaled by a hit and run driver.
That car only had 70K original miles on it and buying an EV just made sense for the few miles we would be using it for.
We have 4 other cars that I don't like to expose to the bumps and dings of urban use in todays climate of Distracted Drivers and Red Light runners.
The best thing to me about the E-Golf is that it drives like a German Car and does not look like a Orgami/Transformer Toy freak show like most of the Asian EV's and Hybrids.