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New Chevy Volt Electric-Car App Shows (Low) Cost Of Home Charging

 
1,324 views Oct 9, 2012
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Chevrolet Volt OnStar EcoHub App

Chevrolet Volt OnStar EcoHub App

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How much does it cost to charge your electric car? Do you know?

That might initially sound like a simple enough question to answer, but in some homes--especially ones signed up to time of use electricity metering--it’s often far from straightforward to find an answer.

Now a new smartphone app being tested by General Motors aims to take the guess work out of charging costs for its Chevrolet Volt. 


Developed as part of GM’s OnStar System, the EcoHub app combines the OnStar charging data associated with each individual Volt with the data from its owner’s domestic smart meter or utility company.

It then compares the total household energy consumption with the amount of energy used to charge the Volt, providing owners with a simple and clear explanation of how much it is costing them to run their Volt.

In addition, the EcoHub app includes a screen that shows national values for the total number of miles driven by Volt owners in the U.S, along with the total number of all-electric miles driven, and the gallons of gasoline saved by driving the plug-in hybrid.

“We’ve found that Volt owners love to keep track of and compare their personal driving stats, like electric miles driven for example,” said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet Volt marketing director. “The EcoHub app is another great example of using the vehicle’s embedded technology to provide Volt owners with useful information.”

Chevrolet Volt OnStar EcoHub App

Chevrolet Volt OnStar EcoHub App

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At the moment, the EcoHub app is only available to Volt owners who live in Pecan Street, Austin, Texas, a new green build development study being undertaken by the University of Texas at Austin.

In the near future, GM says, the app will be made available to Volt owners across the U.S. 

How do you keep track of charging costs for your electric car? 

Tell GreenCarReports about it in the Comments below.

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Comments (6)

  1. fb_100000364405341 avatar Dan Abel Posted: 10/9/2012 6:34am PDT

    I've used a simple method. I compare my electric bills from the months before I owned my Leaf to the months since owning the car. On average my LEAF adds $13 a month to my bill if i charge fully every 3 days which has been my norm.
     
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  2. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 10/9/2012 10:45am PDT

    I'm on a reduced-rate plan that shows exactly what my charging costs are for my Volt. Tus far, an average of $14/month, mainly due to paying only $.04/Kwh for off-peak rates. For me, even if the 10.5 kW pack is completely discharged, it won't cost me any more than $.42 to charge it, as opposed to about $6.50 in gas daily for my commute when I had an A4.

    You can also buy a Kill-A-Watt, I think they're called, which will apparently show electrictiy usage for any device. I think you could use one for car charging, too, but just a guess...

    For me, just comparing bills is inaccurate since buying an EV has now put me into a cheaper plan. I've paid less than the previous year for every month, due primarily to the lower rate I now have.
     
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  3. fb_1470388190 avatar David Laur Posted: 10/9/2012 12:30pm PDT

    my average electric cost is around $30 a month. just turning 23,000 miles on my LEAF. i am charging with modified Nissan EVSE running only 12 amps so efficiency is lower at 85% verses 90% for standard 240 volt EVSE
     
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  4. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 10/9/2012 2:54pm PDT

    Thanks for PG&E's attitude toward EV charging rate, my bill has gone up by about $60 per month. Still way cheaper than gas. But that is also with charging at work for free under the 1MW solar system. (I have driven about 5,800 miles in the last 4 months)

    But I am also in the process of installing 3KW solar system. The new rate should be much much lower with PG&E E-6 TOU plan and Solar panels.
     
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  5. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 10/9/2012 2:55pm PDT

    Oh, I forgot to mention that my gas bill per month has decreased by about $150-$200.
     
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  6. fb_100000285602256 avatar James Eckler Posted: 10/14/2012 7:01pm PDT

    Doesn't fueleconomy.com already do this with the MPGe? It looks like the combined mileage for the Volt is about 60 MPG.
     
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