Tracking power consumption, miles per kWh, other new owner questions

I like the wifi option on my JuiceBox Pro 40 charging station. It tells me the battery temp, voltage, amps, etc. There is a desktop app and a phone app. The apps only tell you how much charge and how many miles were added since the charging station has no way of monitoring the state of the charge in the vehicle. I like being able to see how many kw it took to change the car. Were getting solar panels installed this month and I've suddenly developed a keen interest is kwh.

 

I’ve used exactly the kWH monitor you linked to keep track of power use. My ChargePoint logs power, but I specifically wanted to track just periods of remote-climate power use so I added this monitor.

So it definitely works. But you need to log all the data yourself. That is annoying and depending on the use might lead to inaccuracies. Also requires hardwiring to the 240V circuit or breaker which may or may not be in your comfort zone.

Honestly I’d just cough up for the wifi, but either is reasonable.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

Get WiFi to track kWh usage, know that many public chargers will not five you this information. I’m using ChargePoint home and a JuicePlug (away from home and charging on 120v). I try to charge at ChargePoint stations, even the free ones give kWh used.
First are different ChargePoint sessions, my home, a paid public session, and a free public session. The second two are captures from EV JuiceNet.








Both units allow for information to be downloaded in CSV format.

 

I have the Charge Point Home and it was worth it for the WiFi and data tracking. As @LegoZ shared it’s great for tracking kWh and even costs since it set the cost per kWh for me when I entered my utility company. In addition to individual charging metrics, it also gives monthly reports (kWh & $), reminders to plug in, and notices when charging is complete.
You just spent $ 30,000 for the car, what’s another $100 or so to step up to a better EVSE with WiFi and automatic data logging??

 

Miscellaneous data points. I charge at 120v using the OEM cord. I meter usage with a Kill-a-Watt type device so I can reimburse my HOA. Since yesterday was the last day of the quarter I noted the electricity used and reset the meter. It also happened that I arrive home last night with a very 0 EV mileage estimate because I got talking and forgot to turn on HV so depleted the battery to the point that it switched itself to EV. This morning after fully charging the meter registered 15.41 kwh when i unplugged temperature last night was in the 30sF.

Today I made the same run and totally ran out of gas on the way home. Gauge said 0 and car switched to EV. Fortunately, I had plenty of battery left, sort of the opposite of the day before. When I filled up until the pump clicked off, the gas taken was 6.753 gal.

 

MPower

What EV range are you getting after charging with 15.41 kwh?

I am still wondering if it will take more kwh to charge in warm weather (The battery should hold more).

 

Since the weather has gotten a little warmer, this morning the estimated mileage was 39 point something. A high point for me. I don't think I have hit 40 since I have owned the car.

 

Just got a 2019 Clarity and after 5 recharges it's showing about 48-49 miles after a full overnight charge on 110v. I am awaiting JuiceBox Pro40 arrival, then I'll report more details.
Could it be that new battery and slow charging is why miles reported is so high?

 

What is the temperature and your driving history with the car?

 

Slow charging probably has little to do with it; I charge with a 240v 16amp EVSE and the guess-o-meter says I have 55 miles of range.

 

@MPower nailed it. The battery temperature affecting max SOC and calculations using past driving style/conditions are the two main factors in the estimated EV range.

 

As KentuckyKen said, MPower is correct. The charging station isn't going to add or reduce range, it can only charge the battery, until the car signals that it's full and shuts off the charger. The car's range estimater is based on how efficiently you last drove, and how warm the battery is.

As for the charging station debate above, I too would definitely recommend getting a WiFi connected smart charger. Besides the reports that show you how much energy used (which alone are enough of a reason to get one), there's other advantages. I use my JuiceBox's app to monitor the line voltage at out home - because we have an issue with high voltage in the area. I know that's not something everyone experiences, but it really helps me to be able to open the app and instantly look at out voltage. It may save us from having to replace the electric range again after being fried from receiving 260 volts. (don't even get me started on trying to get the utility to pay for it).

Then there's other features like being able to derate the power if your line can't deliver the full power and you don't want to run a new line. You can also power-share two JuiceBoxes on one circuit without overloading it - good to have when you're a 2 EV family in the future. Plus, the JuiceBox can be set to only charge your car when your utility is using the greenest (most renewables) energy of the day. That option is called JuiceNet Green. It can also allow you to participate in demand response programs that are starting to pop up all over the country which allow you to get paid to charge your EV.

For only a little more money (JuiceBox Pro 32 is $499 & JuiceBox Pro 40 is $579) you get a charger that is so much more capable, and has features that you might not need today, but will sometime down the road.

 

I have been rather obsessively keeping track of energy usage since I put a Kill-A-Watt meter on the plug I use to charge the car. Because of the particulars of our house and our garage putting a 240v circuit in the garage would be around $5000 (we have gotten several estimates, they are remarkably consistent) so we will be using a regular 120v line for the foreseeable future. I keep track of the miles driven each day and the kWh fed into the car. I know that this is not exactly how much energy actually makes it into the battery but it is how much we are paying for. From that I can determine the number of miles/kWh and the cost per mile. We get between 2.5 and 3.5 miles per kWh, less in cold weather, more as things warm up. The cost per mile is between 3 and 4 cents.

 

@markc which version of K-A-W are you using?
Reading reviews of KAW P4460 there are many reports of them frying at anything over 1500W draw.
Some say they prefer the older P4400
I assume there is no way to collect this info remotely or onto an SD card, right? You have to get into garage and read off the display?
Thanks

 

No I don't have stock in the company, just saying I have owned it since 2014 when my K-A-W died. I used it with my 2012 Prius Plugin and since late October with my Clarity. It has functioned just fine. It stores the info if there is an electric outage. I reset it once a quarter after I read it to pay my HOA for the electriciy used.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E945RMY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Mine is too. You just have to plug the meter in on the top. Following the directions in my old Prius Plugin manual, I suspended the rather heavy EVSE controller from a cup hook to take the weight off the meter and the plug. With my Prius cord I used a zip tie to hang it on the cup hook. (It only had one eyelet.) With the Clarity charger, I used a little bungee cord that hooks into both eyelets, as you can see. The orange cord is the extension cord for the garage door opener.

The only problem I have found with this meter is that it is quite difficult to pull the plug out of the meter (especially since I have arthritis in my hands). It was the same with the Prius charger. It was also the same with the K-A-W which is what killed it. When I pulled the Prius plug out the whole meter broke apart. I was worried that the same thing would happen with this one so I did not unplug the Prius cord at all, but when I had to take the car to give to my daughter, I was able to unplug the Prius with no problem (aside from inadequate hand strength). When I drove the Clarity out to my daughter's for Christmas, I was able to unplug it as well and it is still going.

I have never bothered to input the electricity price to have it calculate for me. I just ask the HOA treasurer at the end of the quarter for the price and multiply by the kwh which is the large number in the middle. It has about a zillion settings, other than the ones you can see, most of which I have never used. 4-5 years on it is still working for me, but like all manufactured goods, I am sure there are lemons.