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I was talking to a professor of electrical engineering who performs research on the electric grid. She said that while in theory it is possible to configure car

I was talking to a professor of electrical engineering who performs research on the electric grid. She said that while in theory it is possible to configure cars to charge themselves when electricity is cheapest, currently residential utility plans don’t adjust pricing based on time of day. Your electricity bill’s tiers are based on your total consumption. Edit: lol, I get downvoted for relaying what a professor of EE told me. Stay classy HN.

neild 9y ago
This is not true. (It is for some plans and some locations, but not all.) I have a plan which charges significantly less during off peak hours.
- rangersanger 9y ago
  Interesting (and probably by design) I had to opt out of such a plan when I signed up for "100% renewable energy" with my plan.
kurthr 9y ago
Definitely not the case in California. Everyone is on a smartmeter now, and adding an electric car charger will both give you a $500 rebate and put you on variable pricing.
deelowe 9y ago
This professor has no idea what they're talking about. Every energy supplier I know of in my area offers an off peak discount specifically tailored to electric vehicles.
- mschuster91 9y ago
  That depends on the country. In Germany the only discounts I know are for people using electric central heaters which heat up over night (Nachtspeicherofen). Something as modern as time-variable tariffs... not gonna happen soon here.
IndrekR 9y ago
Here (in Estonia) the pricing changes every full hour. We get pricing for the next day (24h) a day before by 14 (2 pm). This is calculated from weather forecast, expected consumption and available generation resources. This is for residential use. For industrial applications you can buy electrical energy from the grid based on 15 minute pricing slots. Almost all the houses are equiped with online readable power meters. I think this is the way things are moving in other jurisdictiins as well. In case of Germany and France one of the reasons why the systems have mot been upgraded lies in the privacy rules for the power consumption data according to one smart meter manufacturer.
- mschuster91 9y ago
  > In case of Germany and France one of the reasons why the systems have mot been upgraded lies in the privacy rules for the power consumption data according to one smart meter manufacturer. Not just that, in addition the smart meters cost a bunch of money to install... people don't like paying anything very much.
  - semi-extrinsic 9y ago
    This. Norway is going all-in on smart meters, installation has been rolled out this year to ~80% of the country, due to reach 100% next year. The total installation cost is estimated at around 2.5 billion USD for around 2.2 mill. houses, i.e $1000 per house. Which of course we as consumers will be paying for through higher electricity prices.
floatrock 9y ago
Your prof has outdated information. TOU (Time of Use) rates are becoming more and more common. In 2019, TOU rates will be the default rate structure for new accounts in California. Many more states are following suite. Even if they're not the default, tons of places have opt-in TOU structures. EV owners and home storage owners use this a lot. Some states have even already adopted complicated shit only seen in C&I customers: demand charges. Basically, a portion of your bill will be dependent on your peak demand during a period (ie peak kW, not total kWh).
mturmon 9y ago
When I lived in New York State in the mid 1990s, there was time-variable electricity pricing. Being a grad student, I exploited it to do my dishes and clothes after peak hours to save money. Eventually I put my water heater on a timer. I think the rate differential was significant (order of $.07/kWh vs. $.11/kWh). This is still the case, see: http://www.nyseg.com/YourHome/pricingandrates/daynighrate.html http://www.nyseg.com/YourHome/pricingandrates/daynighrate.ht... Perhaps you misinterpreted the scope of applicability of what the professor said.
chc 9y ago
I don't think it is un-classy to downvote a comment that is substantially untrue.

neild 9y ago

This is not true. (It is for some plans and some locations, but not all.) I have a plan which charges significantly less during off peak hours.

rangersanger 9y ago
Interesting (and probably by design) I had to opt out of such a plan when I signed up for "100% renewable energy" with my plan.

kurthr 9y ago

Definitely not the case in California. Everyone is on a smartmeter now, and adding an electric car charger will both give you a $500 rebate and put you on variable pricing.

deelowe 9y ago

This professor has no idea what they're talking about. Every energy supplier I know of in my area offers an off peak discount specifically tailored to electric vehicles.

mschuster91 9y ago
That depends on the country. In Germany the only discounts I know are for people using electric central heaters which heat up over night (Nachtspeicherofen). Something as modern as time-variable tariffs... not gonna happen soon here.

IndrekR 9y ago

Here (in Estonia) the pricing changes every full hour. We get pricing for the next day (24h) a day before by 14 (2 pm). This is calculated from weather forecast, expected consumption and available generation resources. This is for residential use. For industrial applications you can buy electrical energy from the grid based on 15 minute pricing slots. Almost all the houses are equiped with online readable power meters. I think this is the way things are moving in other jurisdictiins as well. In case of Germany and France one of the reasons why the systems have mot been upgraded lies in the privacy rules for the power consumption data according to one smart meter manufacturer.

mschuster91 9y ago
> In case of Germany and France one of the reasons why the systems have mot been upgraded lies in the privacy rules for the power consumption data according to one smart meter manufacturer. Not just that, in addition the smart meters cost a bunch of money to install... people don't like paying anything very much.
- semi-extrinsic 9y ago
  This. Norway is going all-in on smart meters, installation has been rolled out this year to ~80% of the country, due to reach 100% next year. The total installation cost is estimated at around 2.5 billion USD for around 2.2 mill. houses, i.e $1000 per house. Which of course we as consumers will be paying for through higher electricity prices.

floatrock 9y ago

Your prof has outdated information. TOU (Time of Use) rates are becoming more and more common. In 2019, TOU rates will be the default rate structure for new accounts in California. Many more states are following suite. Even if they're not the default, tons of places have opt-in TOU structures. EV owners and home storage owners use this a lot. Some states have even already adopted complicated shit only seen in C&I customers: demand charges. Basically, a portion of your bill will be dependent on your peak demand during a period (ie peak kW, not total kWh).

mturmon 9y ago

When I lived in New York State in the mid 1990s, there was time-variable electricity pricing. Being a grad student, I exploited it to do my dishes and clothes after peak hours to save money. Eventually I put my water heater on a timer. I think the rate differential was significant (order of $.07/kWh vs. $.11/kWh). This is still the case, see: http://www.nyseg.com/YourHome/pricingandrates/daynighrate.html http://www.nyseg.com/YourHome/pricingandrates/daynighrate.ht... Perhaps you misinterpreted the scope of applicability of what the professor said.

chc 9y ago

I don't think it is un-classy to downvote a comment that is substantially untrue.