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Estimation Electricity Consumed to Charge the Car


larryh
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The following plot shows the ratio of the actual energy consumed by my Level 1 and 2 chargers divided by the plug-in energy reported by MFM and shown on the car's trip odometers.  The data is plotted for approximately each month of the year.  I have a metered Level 2 Charger and use a Kill-A-Watt meter for the Level 1 Charger.  So I can track of all the electricity used to charge the car.  I also record all the plug-in energy recorded by the odometers in the car. 

 

In the winter time, the ratio is around 1.65.  It requires a lot of energy to precondition the car--this is energy that is not recorded by the car's trip odometers.  In the summer, the ratio falls to about 1.3.  I don't precondition the car in the summer.  The ratio in the summer is greater than one since charging the car is not 100% efficient.  For the level 2 charger, efficiency is around 82%.  For the level 1 charger, it is around 72%.  In addition, the car uses energy to charge the 12 Volt battery occasionally, which is not recorded by the car's trip odometers.  Finally, there are small vampire losses from the chargers themselves (2 - 3 watts). 

 

This data might be useful in assisting someone who is trying to estimate the actual amount of electricity consumed by the car from what the car reports on the odometer.  But note that it is based on a mixture of charging with Level 1 and Level 2 chargers and Minnesota winters. You will have to compensate for any differences from these assumptions. 

 

charging%20ratio_zpsywzr5yng.png?t=14293

Edited by larryh
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  • 1 month later...

I'm currently trying to find out how much electricity this car uses from zero to full charge so that I can ask my local electric company how much it would cost and therefore report to my HOA so they can properly bill me. I live in CA so weather doesn't vary as much in temp. Can anyone tell me how to figure this out? I actually haven't bought the car yet because I need to get the HOA to approve having this car charged using their community electricity. I have a space in a 2 car garage but it's metered with all the garages in one breaker panel. This is info I could use when I present my case.

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For $100 you can buy a meter to measure the electricity to the outlet that you use for the car.   240 volt charging is more efficient than 120 volt charging but you would have to buy a 240 volt charger.  The most I have ever seen the few times I have used the 120 volt charger is around 7 kWh.  At 10 cents per kWh that is 70 cents.

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