so, you wish the electric companies would prioritize you saving money vs them making money?
well maybe - LOL
It's not just about profits either. Many electric utility companies have programs that pay you to reduce energy usage during peak hours. Mine does. It behooves both parties to flatten the demand curve during a 24h cycle
That's the hook...you can get the discounts and assistance in setting up systems, but you also agree to use off-peak hours preferentially. Makes sense.
I can't speak to all utility companies. Mine gives us the option of off peak. If we choose to do so, there are incentives. If not, it's the standard rate. No downside in my book.
Some do this, yes. Most EVs allow you to do this too. You can just plug in when you get home, and the schedule in the vehicle knows to start charging at a certain time.
I have PSEG. They offer a ‘super off peak rate’ from 10 pm to 6 am, which is about half of the standard rate, perfect for ev charging. It’s a 3 tiered plan with 3 levels: peak, off peak, and super off peak.
You gotta take the wins you can. Our local electric co-op will offer to put in a specific meter for EV's, but you have to agree to charge when they want you to charge (nights), and there would be some additional electrical panel and cut-off work, of course. I figured that the juice was not worth the squeeze (puns always intended).
I heard somewhere that just plugging into a regular wall socket charges fine and the slower charge is easier on the batteries in the long term. Can anyone verify that? I’m real new to the EV thing.
This page has a chart for charging times for the different levels.
that is correct, if you have all night to charge (most people do) also you would not be able to benefit from off peak charging (in my case that would save me 50% on the electricity used to charge) and I am uncertain about this but is 220 charges more efficient? kind of like a 220v air conditioner would be more efficient than a 115v air conditioner with the same output
I can only verify that I've heard both of those things as well. I suppose it depends on what someone means when they say " it charges fine".
Your utility company provides the ‘super off peak‘ rates typically between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. That rate applies to KWh consumed, both 120V and 240V. I think the point you are trying to make is that it’s more efficient to charge using 240v since it will all be consumed in a single charge event at the lowest rate; but continued charging at 120v will roll into the higher rate.
