Dirt Cheap Charging at a local Community College

[JeffKeryk]

My neighbor just bought their 2nd Tesla; they have a Model Y Performance and a Model 3 Long Range. Both bought 2nd hand saving a bundle from MSRP. Wally and Alice are nice people with 3 children; 2 are adopted. Putting them through college. I know Wally is a well employed Engineer.

I asked Wally about charging cost as they do not have solar like I do. He told me they don't charge much at home, they take their cars over to West Valley College, a short distance from here in Saratoga. 16 cents per kWh! Around here? That's crazy cheap.

So wifey and I stopped by West Valley today to check it out. There are about 45 chargers. Loaded the PowerFlex app to enable charging; the rate was 12 cents per kWh. I didn't plug in because I was fully charged at 80%. I think it requires the adapter, which I have but have never used.

I'm not sure about the parking rules at the college, but the weekends must be open. Anyways, I had no idea. Much of the parking lot and college has solar panels. But 12 cents per kWh? OMG. Toto we're not in Californa anymore....

 

[GrumpyCat]

I pay 12¢/kWh from the grid.

 

[ctechbob]

Looks like they have quite a bit of parkinglot panels:

 

[JeffKeryk]

Looks like they have quite a bit of parkinglot panels:

View attachment 328502

Beautiful campus, close to our house on back streets. I attended when I got outta HS in '71; it was pretty new at the time. The Community Coleges are tuition free. Pure opportunity! Some are starting to offer 4 year degrees in Nursing and other disciplines. There are more chargers than I thought. DeAnza in Cupertino has a great Automotive Tech program and added EV service a couple of years ago.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I can't imagine... Solar, no solar, taking cars over to a college to charge... I'm not knocking it but I will freely admit I don't understand it. I have a hard enough time charging my iPhone... LOL, I have a gas station at the corner and only takes 3-4 min from my life, My time is worth more than 12 cents per kWh.

 

[JimPghPA]

Would the colledge electric utility allow them to put excess solar generated electric power back into their grid?

And if so, how much would that utility pay after all the infrastructure cost?

Also, pushing power into a grid from batteries and or solar requires special inverters, and they ain't cheap.

It may be that the low price that colledge charges ev owners to charge is actually more than the local electric company would pay them if they put it back into the grid.

 

[The_Jeff]

Something like this makes me want a 400 mile range so I can do it once a week.

 

[drtyler]

My neighbor just bought their 2nd Tesla; they have a Model Y Performance and a Model 3 Long Range. Both bought 2nd hand saving a bundle from MSRP. Wally and Alice are nice people with 3 children; 2 are adopted. Putting them through college. I know Wally is a well employed Engineer.

I asked Wally about charging cost as they do not have solar like I do. He told me they don't charge much at home, they take their cars over to West Valley College, a short distance from here in Saratoga. 16 cents per kWh! Around here? That's crazy cheap.

So wifey and I stopped by West Valley today to check it out. There are about 45 chargers. Loaded the PowerFlex app to enable charging; the rate was 12 cents per kWh. I didn't plug in because I was fully charged at 80%. I think it requires the adapter, which I have but have never used.

I'm not sure about the parking rules at the college, but the weekends must be open. Anyways, I had no idea. Much of the parking lot and college has solar panels. But 12 cents per kWh? OMG. Toto we're not in Californa anymore....

Why is the cost for charging so much less there?

 

[JeffKeryk]

I can't imagine... Solar, no solar, taking cars over to a college to charge... I'm not knocking it but I will freely admit I don't understand it. I have a hard enough time charging my iPhone... LOL, I have a gas station at the corner and only takes 3-4 min from my life, My time is worth more than 12 cents per kWh.

You don't sit in the car while charging. Just leave it.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Why is the cost for charging so much less there?

This was all news to me. I thought it was for students and faculty but it is open to the public.

 

[The_Jeff]

This was all news to me. I thought it was for students and faculty but it is open to the public.

They have all sorts of benefits for the public for cheap or free. Pool/ gym use. You can even get an all you can eat meal at the dining commons for like twelve bucks!

 

[Danno]

Possibly subsidised by the taxpayer?
Tell me I'm wrong.

 

[thastinger]

You don't sit in the car while charging. Just leave it.

If your battery was at 20%, how long to charge and how many KWh would it take?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Possibly subsidised by the taxpayer?
Tell me I'm wrong.

CA general fund and property taxes fund our Community Colleges. It's the best deal in town. Local CCs fueled the Valley.
I owe my career, and more, to these outstanding schools.

Given these are "Community Colleges" they offer so much to the public of all ages. Apparantly charging your EV is part of the deal? Who'da thunk it?

 

[JeffKeryk]

If your battery was at 20%, how long to charge and how many KWh would it take?

How big is your battery? How fast is the charger?

My last Supercharger stats: 15 minutes, 24 kWh delivered @ 45 cents per kWh, cost $10.75
At 16 cents it would be $3.84.

Now, non-Tesla EVs pay a premium when using the Tesla Supercharger network. Maybe as much as 10 cents per kWh.

I rarely Supercharge, but in my car, as a ball park figure, maybe 30 minutes tops? Probably less as the rate of charge favors low battery. It slows greatly after 80%.

Others who more frequently Supercharge can chime in. I have no idea how fast these chargers are. I may hafta give it a shot one of these days, but charging for me is such a non-issue.

 

[AZjeff]

Wait, is this the guy who rails about getting gas taking too much of his life??? Can't imagine him driving there charging up and driving home when he claims his electrons are free..

Apparently the well employed neighbor doesn't mind wasting time for a few bucks?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Wait, is this the guy who rails about getting gas taking too much of his life??? Can't imagine him driving there charging up and driving home when he claims his electrons are free..

Apparently the well employed neighbor doesn't mind wasting time for a few bucks?

Perhaps I might clarify my position on gas... One of the best part of owning an EV, especially with solar panels, is charging at home. It may seem silly, but I have come to find going to a gas station, maybe waiting in line, and paying all the $$ is a chore. What a drag! It's simply better to plug in at home overnight. I believe this has to be experienced to be appreciated. I had no idea.

My neighbor, Wally and his wife, are really good people. I mentioned they have fostered and raised up 2 children, including college costs. My guess is, charging at the College adds a little time vs going to a gas station. And it is cheaper by a long shot. Again, they don't sit and wait. Maybe one of their kids helps? Dunno; this is new to me.

Figure $4 vs $60 (or more) as a savings. Times 2 cars... I can also tell you Wally and Alice are very generous people. Of course, he is a highly paid engineer here in the Valley. Years ago he gave me his high mileage Acura Integra with instructions to fix up and give to a needy person. Man that was a fun car! Alice teahes piano and cello lessons to kids from their church.

Wally got rid of his BMW because it spent too much time in the shop. He replaced it with the used Model 3.
Each to his/her own. I don't judge. If that works for them, it's all good.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

It must not be Top Tier electricity.

 

[JeffKeryk]

It must not be Top Tier electricity.

C'mon man... What's a poor boy to do?

 

[ME_Andy]

My wife is a gov employee and gets a lot of free charging that way. From the city. She used to get there early enough to charge every day but now there's more competition.