Chris M.

I've had a Tesla Model S for a few months now. How much does it cost me to drive it each day? Electric vehicles are more efficient than gasoline vehicles. fueleconomy.gov says : " Electric vehicles  convert about 59%–62% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels—conventional  gasoline vehicles  only convert about 17%–21% of the energy stored in  gasoline  to power at the wheels." Given an electric vehicles (EVs) increased efficiency, current electric rates, and gasoline prices, are you saving money on a per-mile basis when driving an EV? Tesla provides a calculator on their website to help people estimate the cost and cost savings between electric and gasoline cars. Tesla's calculator says it would cost $3.41 for electricity and $7.52 for gasoline for my typical daily commute of about 84 miles round trip. The text at the bottom of the calculator explains the criteria used to calculate those two costs, an electric rate of $0....

Our electric provider here in North Reading, Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) (http://www.rmld.com/), offers time-of-use and net metering as two alternative electricity tariffs to the standard flat rate. If your electric provider has these two options, how could you determine if either or both of these options would reduce your electric bill? Net metering is typically used by people that are generating as well as consuming electricity, for instance if you had a solar photovoltaic system. If you had solar you would very likely already have net metering, without a meter that supported net metering your solar system could be generating power and you wouldn't receive any credit for it. Time-of-use (TOU) tariffs vary electric rates based on time of day. TOU rates are commonly used by electric companies to help shape electric demand by increasing the cost of electricity during some periods and discounting it during others. Discounts for off-peak usage can result in the move...