[quote=spdrun]Why do you even need an SUV in San Diego — doesn’t the Model S sit seven people in a pinch?[/quote]
We definitely need an SUV as we have 2 young kids (and plan to have another). We do a lot of sporting stuff with 4 bikes and also have driven to Lake Tahoe to go skiing. We have roof racks that hold a lot of stuff when we go to the mountains.
The SUV has third row seating as well. I’ve been happy with the Audi Q7 TDI. I went with the diesel option and it gets really great gas mileage for being so heavy.
But yes, the Model S if you get the $2,500 rear seat option (which I did) has room for 7. But only kids can ride in the back until about 12 years old or so. But the kids LOVE it and always want to ride back there. But with the trunk and the frunk, there is TONS of room.
I think we will always keep an SUV around as we find use for it when we need more room. I think the battery technology still has room for improvement but the Model S shows what is capable these days.
[quote=BoomerAang]Thanks for the information ER. The thought crossed my mind to get a separate TOU as well, but I thought it would be too much of a hassle and would be a good payout considering our usage. We were typically in tier 1 for usage, so I will see where we are at after getting an EV this month.
I couldn’t afford the Model S, but opted for the poor-man’s Tesla (Rav4 EV).[/quote]
You’re totally welcome BoomerAang! I really had trouble finding information on doing this. The positive thing is SDGE reached out to me this morning as they read my post on one of the forums I posted this on. They asked if they could use my post internally to improve communications within their company.
So net net the post should improve things internally so other people have an easier time going through the process. I also asked them to look at my numbers and see if I made the right call going with the dedicated meter and they did believe that I did.
Besides the summer, I don’t use high amounts of electricity in tier 3 and 4 and I use the bulk of my power in peak times. So adding the entire house TOU 2 rate I don’t think would have made sense.
This way, I can simply pay the super off peak rates for my EV use. That use would have been at the higher tier 3 rates. So although it was a hassle and I spent $1,500 getting it installed with the permits, I think over the long haul it will be worth it.
I would have spent $400 anyway getting the HPWC (high power wall charger) for my Tesla installed and they did that. So net it was $1,100 more to get the 2nd dedicated EV TOU 2 meter installed with the permits.
I’ll try to keep detailed records now and monitor the usage with the miles used.
