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i think they can do more than that. charging an ev is a GIANT electrical load (7-11kw) compared to EVERYTHING else in the home. so when they see that 'ramp' they likely know it's an ev. for my little discount, i had to tell them i had an ev, what kind, the charger, etc., and commit to charging at off peak hours the majority of the time.
I'm on a plan called Weavegrid where they access my Tesla's and set charging to optimal charging times, which is 12am to 7am. They send me a weekly report of how much energy I used. And you are right, my load when charging is 9kW, which quite a bit. I'm also on an EV plan, which discounts my electricity after midnight
About 80% of the meters out there now are smart meters. And they can tell all kinds of things about what you use and how much you use it. Not sure if anybody is using them to bill differently, but they certainly could at some point. I have one, and the usage they calculated for my car charger was almost exactly what my charger history said.
I'm in the housing industry remember, this is not correct, at least around here. Smart meters are not required and they're not at all that common around here. No utilities are using them to bill differently that I have ever heard of. What they do is use that data to time charger use so that it happens when the rates and demand are lower, thats really what the electric utilities use smart meters for.
Bob is largely correct with regards to the nationwide rollout. As of ~2.5 years ago, 73% of all residential electric meters in the US were smart meters, so we certainly should be around 80% by now. That said, Virginia does appear to be way behind the curve, only having started its rollout in 2022:
My area completed the rollout in 2016, and my specific meter was installed in 2014.
But Steve is right on the nose with regards to the functionality. Smart meters sit at the service entrance, directly in place of the old dumb meter. It can measure power flowing into or out of the home, and report that every few minutes. As opposed to having someone walk by and physically observe the numbers on it every couple of months. But it only knows the aggregate flows--it has no insight as to what that electricity is being used for. To get there you'd need either independent reporting from your EVSE (which some support), or a smart panel like the SPAN or something else. This could get you usage detail down to the specific circuit.
I'm in the housing industry remember, this is not correct, at least around here. Smart meters are not required and they're not at all that common around here. No utilities are using them to bill differently that I have ever heard of. What they do is use that data to time charger use so that it happens when the rates and demand are lower, thats really what the electric utilities use smart meters for.
Smart meter penetration surpasses 80% in North America
Bob is largely correct with regards to the nationwide rollout. As of ~2.5 years ago, 73% of all residential electric meters in the US were smart meters, so we certainly should be around 80% by now. That said, Virginia does appear to be way behind the curve, only having started its rollout in 2022:
My area completed the rollout in 2016, and my specific meter was installed in 2014.
But Steve is right on the nose with regards to the functionality. Smart meters sit at the service entrance, directly in place of the old dumb meter. It can measure power flowing into or out of the home, and report that every few minutes. As opposed to having someone walk by and physically observe the numbers on it every couple of months. But it only knows the aggregate flows--it has no insight as to what that electricity is being used for. To get there you'd need either independent reporting from your EVSE (which some support), or a smart panel like the SPAN or something else. This could get you usage detail down to the specific circuit.
Not really true. Smart meters can tell a lot about what appliances you have and how much energy they each use through something called disaggregation. It was very accurate about my EV charger usage. It could even tell that I have a top load washer instead of a front loader.
I believe that, they’re just not as common here and see above about what utilities use them for and how they work.
This is some data on what smart meters from my utility can provide. It can get even more detailed. They could easily separate out EV usage from everything else just from the meter.
This is some data on what smart meters from my utility can provide. It can get even more detailed. They could easily separate out EV usage from everything else just from the meter.
I have a smart meter, but PG&E doesn't give me any break down on my bill except what my solar generated. But than again, this is PG&E...
Not really true. Smart meters can tell a lot about what appliances you have and how much energy they each use through something called disaggregation. It was very accurate about my EV charger usage. It could even tell that I have a top load washer instead of a front loader.
Smart meters were mandated in my town several years ago. They just measure current usage and log it over time. I'm sure there are companies out there that claim they can detect specific individual device fingerprints using that data, but I doubt it's very accurate in most situations. If your city is aware that you own an EV, I'm sure they could detect when you have it plugged into a level 2 charger. But my old 50A hot-tub used more current than charging our EV at 15A, before we upgraded to L2. It would take some pretty intrusive technology to detect when you left something like the light in your guest bathroom on.
Just talked to my friend who had smart meter that he could see how many kWh an appliance was using. Since he switched to Tesla Electric he can no longer see how many kwh his water heater is using. Tesla electric offers him a better rate when charging vs his old utility company. He’s been with Tesla electric little over a year now.
Not really true. Smart meters can tell a lot about what appliances you have and how much energy they each use through something called disaggregation. It was very accurate about my EV charger usage. It could even tell that I have a top load washer instead of a front loader.
makes perfect sense. an ev charging load is a GIANT over time spike. running the coffee maker is a relatively small short term bump. running the a/c is intermittent big 'hill', etc.
Smart meters were mandated in my town several years ago. They just measure current usage and log it over time. I'm sure there are companies out there that claim they can detect specific individual device fingerprints using that data, but I doubt it's very accurate in most situations. If your city is aware that you own an EV, I'm sure they could detect when you have it plugged into a level 2 charger. But my old 50A hot-tub used more current than charging our EV at 15A, before we upgraded to L2. It would take some pretty intrusive technology to detect when you left something like the light in your guest bathroom on.
Exactly...
Electric utilities are not going to be charging different rates for different uses of electricity, doing so makes no sense. The only reason would be if the government was to try and attach some sort of tax onto vehicle charging, but the much easier way to collect any such tax is with vehicle registration, which is what they are doing and will do.
