Do you keep a 'charge log'? ⚡️

Do you keep a log of all your charging?

  • Yes

    Votes: 20 39.2%

  • No

    Votes: 26 51.0%

  • I started but gave up

    Votes: 5 9.8%
  • Total voters
    51
evcog said:
You know if they just dropped the VAT rate from 20% to 5% to match with what the government take for home chargers it would be less discriminatory.

It would only cost £14m, a minuscule amount in all political parties financial plans to clean up our countries atmosphere.
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I think that shouting about this is far more likely to lead to the vat on home charging to be increased to 20%. The lost revenue on fossil fuel tax is going to have to come from somewhere.
 
Last edited:
When I bought my MG5 2 years ago I was new to EV ownership. I started to keep a charging record out of curiosity mainly and so that I could monitor roughly how much I was paying in comparison to my previous diesel car. Since then I have kept up with the records and have actually found the exercise quite useful.

I divided the year into 2 halves, October to March and April to September, roughly Winter and Summer. As expected there is a diffence in consumption between the winter and summer months, but not as much as I might have thought. I extrapolate from the charging data to calculate an estimate of range for a total charge, and there is a difference of about 30 miles per charge between the colder and warmer months. My average estimates of total range have been 237(Aug 21 to Mar 22), 246 (Apr 22 to Sept 22), 219 (Oct 22 to Mar23) and 261 (yes 261!!) for Apr 23 to date. I think the latest figure owes much to the good weather we have experienced recently. All these are noticeably more than the WLTP figure of 214 (I have a pre-facelift 5 Excite with the 51kwh battery), and this I attribute to the relatively mild climate we have on the Isle of Wight and that nearly all my driving is done at a fairly leisurely pace around the Island.

I started keeping records in order to get some idea of running cost, and here I think I have done quite well. When I started with the car my previous diesel car was costing about 17p per mile (I was doing about 10 miles to a litre which then cost £1.70. My electric cost for my new car at the time was about 6p per mile. (I don't have solar, or cheap overnight tariffs and I was on a fixed rate 2 year tariff at about 25p per kwh if I remember correctly). Recent comparison would be about 14.5p per mile for my previous diesel (it is now about £1.45 a litre locally) and about 8p per mile for electric, charges here having risen in April (However they have just fallen again). The saving in running an electric car has been substantial over the past 2 years. Taking into account the changes up and down of diesel and electricity prices, I estimate that over the 11000 miles that I have driven I have saved well over £1200 on fuel costs in the 2 years of ownership. I am very satisfied with that!

I know that there are many drivers for whom this record keeping is not appealing, but I have found it quite an interesting exercise.
Happy Motoring to one and all.
 
val33 said:
I think that shouting about this is far more likely to lead to the vat on home charging to be increased to 20%. The lost revenue on fossil fuel tax is going to have to come from somewhere.
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Politicians crave voters and no one wants to annoy 75% of the electorate. Remember the home 5% VAT is across all forms of usage, heating, cooking, watching 'big brother' on the TV (did you notice what I did there?)

Also they don't want to damage their green credentials either locally or internationally. Therefore I'm afraid, do nothing is the stance that will prevail even if it is manifestly unfair.
 
Bluesparky said:
the battery is under warranty, my electric is free via solar, there's enough stress in life without worrying about kw and battery charge percentages, all I know is, I used to spend £80 a month on diesel & £700 per year on road tax, now I spend £0000
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Road tax is coming !!!!!
 
Guru said:
Life's too short! 🤣

If I really wanted to I could check in the Ohme app but compared to running an ICE car it's so cheap I don't worry.
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Agreed! (Except for the bit about the Ohme app, as I'm running a granny charger.) But when other people take the trouble to do it, it's helpful when they tell us what they've found.
 
siteguru said:
... from April 2025 :)

So in my case I'll have to start paying VED from November 2025.
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Slightly OT but as something of a follow-up to this: since my car was purchased and first registered in March 22, and thus VED has to be "paid" by the end of February each year, and since the VED charge for EVs becomes a fact in April 2025, I'm assuming my first payment will actually be due in February 2026.

Am I correct?
 
evcog said:
Politicians crave voters.... Also they don't want to damage their green credentials either locally or internationally.
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Hmm, not sure about that. Remember, as far as politicians are concerned, anything, absolutely anything, will be sacrificed to keep power. Including our kids' lungs. See Uxbridge for details.
 
emmrecs said:
Slightly OT but as something of a follow-up to this: since my car was purchased and first registered in March 22, and thus VED has to be "paid" by the end of February each year, and since the VED charge for EVs becomes a fact in April 2025, I'm assuming my first payment will actually be due in February 2026.

Am I correct?
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If it was purchased and registered in March then you pay VED to cover from March 1st, even if you registered on 31st March. The reason you are paying in February is to ensure you are covered from the first moment of the 1st March. If you waited until 9am on the 1st you wouldn't be covered up until then.
It not when you pay, it's when you are covered from that matters........unfortunately for you and many others that have March registrations.
 
richlove said:
Just curious how many owners are keeping a log of all their charging activity and costs and, if so, for what reason?

I started to, though missed a few recent charges and now wondering if there's much point and why I'm doing it! Does anybody find it particularly useful for any reason?
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Yes, for my 2022 LR MG5, because I have to use public charging and want to compare costs to my previous EV (a Peugeot iOn). With car park fees in my area rocketing, and the 3kW lamp post street chargers costing £0.60 per kWh, as I hoped I'm noticing a big difference. Weekly charges with the MG are not only more convenient but much cheaper.
 
Gomev said:
If it was purchased and registered in March then you pay VED to cover from March 1st, even if you registered on 31st March. The reason you are paying in February is to ensure you are covered from the first moment of the 1st March. If you waited until 9am on the 1st you wouldn't be covered up until then.
It not when you pay, it's when you are covered from that matters........unfortunately for you and many others that have March registrations.
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Why unfortunately? Surely they're the ones getting the maximum benefit, as they'll have taxed (for £0) a month before the charge for EVs is introduced?
 
siteguru said:
Why unfortunately? Surely they're the ones getting the maximum benefit, as they'll have taxed (for £0) a month before the charge for EVs is introduced?
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The charge will be for the period starting March 1st, when you pay is irrelevant.
When do you pay for you insurance renewal, and when is it valid from ?
 
CuriousIslander said:
When I bought my MG5 2 years ago I was new to EV ownership. I started to keep a charging record out of curiosity mainly and so that I could monitor roughly how much I was paying in comparison to my previous diesel car. Since then I have kept up with the records and have actually found the exercise quite useful.

I divided the year into 2 halves, October to March and April to September, roughly Winter and Summer. As expected there is a diffence in consumption between the winter and summer months, but not as much as I might have thought. I extrapolate from the charging data to calculate an estimate of range for a total charge, and there is a difference of about 30 miles per charge between the colder and warmer months. My average estimates of total range have been 237(Aug 21 to Mar 22), 246 (Apr 22 to Sept 22), 219 (Oct 22 to Mar23) and 261 (yes 261!!) for Apr 23 to date. I think the latest figure owes much to the good weather we have experienced recently. All these are noticeably more than the WLTP figure of 214 (I have a pre-facelift 5 Excite with the 51kwh battery), and this I attribute to the relatively mild climate we have on the Isle of Wight and that nearly all my driving is done at a fairly leisurely pace around the Island.

I started keeping records in order to get some idea of running cost, and here I think I have done quite well. When I started with the car my previous diesel car was costing about 17p per mile (I was doing about 10 miles to a litre which then cost £1.70. My electric cost for my new car at the time was about 6p per mile. (I don't have solar, or cheap overnight tariffs and I was on a fixed rate 2 year tariff at about 25p per kwh if I remember correctly). Recent comparison would be about 14.5p per mile for my previous diesel (it is now about £1.45 a litre locally) and about 8p per mile for electric, charges here having risen in April (However they have just fallen again). The saving in running an electric car has been substantial over the past 2 years. Taking into account the changes up and down of diesel and electricity prices, I estimate that over the 11000 miles that I have driven I have saved well over £1200 on fuel costs in the 2 years of ownership. I am very satisfied with that!

I know that there are many drivers for whom this record keeping is not appealing, but I have found it quite an interesting exercise.
Happy Motoring to one and all.
Click to expand...
Hi, curious as to why you don't have an EV tariff ? Especially now that the Octopus ones don't have a surcharge on the peak day price.
 
Gomev said:
The charge will be for the period starting March 1st, when you pay is irrelevant.
When do you pay for you insurance renewal, and when is it valid from ?
Click to expand...

Agreed. But the starting date for EV VED payment is April 1st, not March 1st, isn't it?
 
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