Home Charging Costs for Businesses

[Mdesigns]

Hi There. I wasn't sure about how electricity costs for businesses can be tracked for home charging.
Many owners/employees will be charging at home on personal hydro accounts and want to be compensated.
I've ordered a Lariat ER that will be a business vehicle and primarily charged at home. With my current ICE truck I have a company gas card so accounting is nice and easy. Is there a function in the Ford App that will track my home charging rates per month etc. so the company can reimburse me? Maybe the usage and costs can be exported to excel, quickbooks etc?
Any insight/experisence would be appreciated.
Thanks

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[EVBill]

The Chargepoint app that I have for my home charger (wifi enabled) tracks the amount of electricity my vehicle is charged with every time it is plugged in and is summarized for the month.

 

[pstansel]

Many 3rd party chargers have a reporting/metering functionality. Not sure if Ford offers something in theirs?

 

[TRP]

The FordPass app has that function but it is notoriously unreliable and either does not record a session or plugs in wrong numbers.

You're better off with ChargePoint or some other smart charger...IMHO

 

[shutterbug]

The Chargepoint app that I have for my home charger (wifi enabled) tracks the amount of electricity my vehicle is charged with every time it is plugged in and is summarized for the month.

Also ChargePoint let's you access the information on their site, which you can then download into a spreadsheet that looks like this:

Card Nickname	Card Serial Number	Transaction Type	Session Start Date	Session End Date	Session Energy (kWh)	Session Fees ($)	Green House Gases Saved (kg)	Session Duration	Station Address	Station Name	Port#
-	-	Session	2021-12-20 00:28:11 (MST)	2021-12-20 14:45:00 (MST)	28.568	0​	20.283	14:16:54​	[address removed]	CP HOME	1​
-	-	Session	2021-09-05 11:42:56 (MST)	2021-09-05 15:24:18 (MST)	34.536	0​	24.521	3:41:24​	[address removed]	CP HOME	1​
-	-	Session	2021-04-09 19:48:33 (MST)	2021-04-10 06:08:25 (MST)	30.078	0​	21.355	10:19:55​	[address removed]		1 ​

N.B. even if you've set the cost per kWh in the app, it will still show zeroes here, so you'd have to update it. It will also track charging at public ChargePoint stations (as long as they are on the network).

 

[RickLightning]

Is there a function in the Ford App that will track my home charging rates per month etc. so the company can reimburse me? Maybe the usage and costs can be exported to excel, quickbooks etc?

LMFAO! Funny as hell!

Seriously, you should NOT rely on Ford to provide you with any consistent data on any aspect of your vehicle, including charging, trip tracking etc. FordPass has many issues, Ford servers have issues, and can't be relied on.

As noted, if you buy an intelligent charger, such as a ChargePoint Flex or JuiceBox, you can not only track charging but download the info. You could also give the employer access to the charging information if they wanted to download it themselves.

My JuiceBox charger has the history to the beginning of time. I have used 794.704 kWh since 8/19 when my charger was installed. I can run a report for any period, so if I wanted to match my electric bill I could (see below).

HOWEVER, note that no app is going to track your electricity cost. I'm on the same meter as my house. Therefore, I would have to take the JuiceBox data and match that up to my monthly electric bill (since the unit costs vary over time). I suspect you could show the bills to an employer, and have them say "you are always paying 12.5 - 12.7 cents, so let's go with 13 cents per kWh and you let us know if your bills track higher. Keep in mind that the unit cost is likely broken into 5 - 8 components on the electric bill. If I ran a report to match my electric bill period, I could then send the bill also and note the unit cost I calculated.

If you had a separate meter, it would be easy. But you'd likely pay for that with a monthly meter fee in addition to electricity.

Lastly, your utility company MAY provide a discount for buying a certain brand of charger, or a rebate. I got $500.

 

[Mdesigns]

LMFAO! Funny as hell!

Seriously, you should NOT rely on Ford to provide you with any consistent data on any aspect of your vehicle, including charging, trip tracking etc. FordPass has many issues, Ford servers have issues, and can't be relied on.

As noted, if you buy an intelligent charger, such as a ChargePoint Flex or JuiceBox, you can not only track charging but download the info. You could also give the employer access to the charging information if they wanted to download it themselves.

My JuiceBox charger has the history to the beginning of time. I have used 794.704 kWh since 8/19 when my charger was installed. I can run a report for any period, so if I wanted to match my electric bill I could (see below).

HOWEVER, note that no app is going to track your electricity cost. I'm on the same meter as my house. Therefore, I would have to take the JuiceBox data and match that up to my monthly electric bill (since the unit costs vary over time). I suspect you could show the bills to an employer, and have them say "you are always paying 12.5 - 12.7 cents, so let's go with 13 cents per kWh and you let us know if your bills track higher. Keep in mind that the unit cost is likely broken into 5 - 8 components on the electric bill. If I ran a report to match my electric bill period, I could then send the bill also and note the unit cost I calculated.

If you had a separate meter, it would be easy. But you'd likely pay for that with a monthly meter fee in addition to electricity.

Lastly, your utility company MAY provide a discount for buying a certain brand of charger, or a rebate. I got $500.

Thanks for the info. I'm in Ontario and there is always fluctuating rates based on "Off peak or On peak" time of day but also like you mentioned, delivery charges, debt recovery costs etc on each hydro bill. I wonder if it may become standard accounting practice to include these all in a reasonble flat rate cost/KWh much like a typical mileage allowance rate for businesses.

 

[adoublee]

Most home charger values will not be considered precise enough to be "revenue grade" for what it is worth. Revenue grade metering is often necessary when money is going to change hands. However, in some states it is illegal for anyone but the utility to be paid per kWh unless it is the utility making the payment to an independent power producer. Compensation by mileage is probably a better approach.

 

[rdr854]

The IRS has a mileage rate, which currently is $0.585 per mile. That takes into account not only your fuel cost, but also your wear and tear and maintenance costs. I think that is a better way to be reimbursed.

Now if you are using a company vehicle and charging at home, that presents a different problem that you will need to work out with your employer in advance. You may want to use the charitable mileage deduction which is $0.14 or come up with some other formula if you cannot determine the precise cost of electricity each time you charge. Unfortunately, there is not a perfect answer.

 

[RonTCat]

Hi There. I wasn't sure about how electricity costs for businesses can be tracked for home charging.
Many owners/employees will be charging at home on personal hydro accounts and want to be compensated.
I've ordered a Lariat ER that will be a business vehicle and primarily charged at home. With my current ICE truck I have a company gas card so accounting is nice and easy. Is there a function in the Ford App that will track my home charging rates per month etc. so the company can reimburse me? Maybe the usage and costs can be exported to excel, quickbooks etc?
Any insight/experisence would be appreciated.
Thanks

https://pro.ford.com

More specifically:
https://pro.ford.com/en-us/charging/



Home Charging
Our variety of home charging options allow your drivers to continue to take their work vehicles home every day to help optimize uptime. Ford Pro E-Telematics can be used to provide charging reports and to reimburse drivers for business energy expenses.

 

[beatle]

Hopefully non-pro owners will get access to telematics. Tesla has their API open to allow users to query their own cars and use services that track charging, mileage, efficiency, battery status, etc. Ford should do something similar or at least offer this as a feature to all EV owners. </soapbox>

Take a look at Sense. The Sense Flex system offers dedicated circuit monitoring. Not sure of the software side of it, but it does reporting on cost even for providers with TOU rate plans. Just slap a sensor on your charging circuit.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The IRS has a mileage rate, which currently is $0.585 per mile. That takes into account not only your fuel cost, but also your wear and tear and maintenance costs. I think that is a better way to be reimbursed.

That's the best solution, depreciation, wear, maintenance and electrons...... I would not be surprised if the IRS comes out with a special rate for EV class vehicles some day.

In the day, I used my motorcycle on case work travel & training, the rate was lower but I still made out in the long run $$ wise, and it was fun........

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Hi There. I wasn't sure about how electricity costs for businesses can be tracked for home charging.
Many owners/employees will be charging at home on personal hydro accounts and want to be compensated.
I've ordered a Lariat ER that will be a business vehicle and primarily charged at home. With my current ICE truck I have a company gas card so accounting is nice and easy. Is there a function in the Ford App that will track my home charging rates per month etc. so the company can reimburse me? Maybe the usage and costs can be exported to excel, quickbooks etc?
Any insight/experisence would be appreciated.
Thanks

Register for a commercial account. Based on discussions, the FIN allows for additional data access and control.

I don't have one but my understanding is it would allow for charge session management as well so you can see how kWh was charged at a personal residence. There might still be an issue based on what the computer sees as used and what was actually produced as there's typically an efficiency loss during charging, but it's a start.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Another route is to simply provide a stipend, or refund, for the Kwh cost for the 'average' number of miles the vehicle has driven in an 'average' work week - such as 200, or 450, etc. or, by having the employee report the MILES at the end of each week. Keeping up with miles is probably much easier than trying to keep up with charging 'electrical' costs, since the employee has their own home's electrical cost in the mix.
If electric utilities have differing rates for overnight hours, then that also provides some additional cost reduction, although verifying 'when' the electrical charging happened, and the exact 'rate' charged, is another story. That's a little too complicated for the average business, or employee.
These are also the same reason why the IRS 'standard mileage rate' is set to a certain 'per mile' rate, such as 56cents. Unless you are spending WAY too much on fuel, or you have a VERY ineffecient vehicle, using the standard rate is just much simpler - you keep up only with your miles.
If you want to be compensated for 'all' your costs, then you have a LOT more to manage, such as fuel cost each time you fuel up, maintenance costs for each oil change, etc... that's a lot to ask of employees, or even yourself.

 

[GDN]

Hopefully non-pro owners will get access to telematics. Tesla has their API open to allow users to query their own cars and use services that track charging, mileage, efficiency, battery status, etc. Ford should do something similar or at least offer this as a feature to all EV owners. </soapbox>

Take a look at Sense. The Sense Flex system offers dedicated circuit monitoring. Not sure of the software side of it, but it does reporting on cost even for providers with TOU rate plans. Just slap a sensor on your charging circuit.

I'm hoping that the Ford information is truly available and exposed somewhere in the communication/API. It is our data, hoping we it can easily be accessed.

Tesla has this nailed, there are tons of details available. There are at least 4 or 5 good sites now that you can pull your data from. One of the original's is teslafi.com - what they track and graph and compare to 15K others that are signed up with them can really be invaluable. I get it, many truly don't care, but those that do, it's some great information. It doesn't matter if you trickle charge or are at a DCFC they get the charging information. Drives can be tracked and evaluated. I've asked and they have no interest in Ford at this time, mainly because they are small and have their hands full with what they are still exploring and implementing with Tesla.

I've seen one MachE owner has the very beginnings of an app, shows tire pressure and has access to a few basic things, but not charging.

Hope someone will find and decode it and offer a service before too long.

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