Your EV Home Charging Cost Template

Estimate your EV home charging cost using data from your own EV charging meter and your electric bill

Step 1 - Get your own EV charging meter and set it up correctly

Use your own EV charging meter, not your utility smart meter (We recommend the YoLink YS6803-UC, and the YoLink hub, available on Amazon for less that $50). Before collecting data, confirm the meter and app are set up correctly, and that exported timestamps match the local time you want to use. Learn more?

Step 2 - Wait for one full billing cycle

The standard workflow assumes one complete billing cycle of charging data. Partial-cycle data can be useful for estimates, but the best results come from a full cycle that matches your utility bill period. Learn more?

Step 3 - Import data from your EV charging meter

Export the charging data from your EV charging meter, then (once you have downloaded the template and made a copy), import the exported data into the Raw_all sheet in the template workbook. This gives the model the charging history it needs for the billing cycle. Learn more?

Step 4 - Confirm rates and any rate activity during the cycle

Before relying on results, confirm the rate plan active at the start of the cycle and whether anything changed during the billing period. This includes rate changes, season changes, TOU changes, or rate plan changes. Learn more?

Step 5 - Use the Google Form

Enter the bill details in the Google Form. This keeps a historical record and feeds the model through Inputs-Search and Billing_Cycle_Auto. Learn more?

Step 6 - Review results and prepare the next cycle

After you are satisfied with the result for the current billing cycle, go to Rates_Maintenance and run Prepare Next Cycle. This carries forward the correct active rates into the next billing cycle. Learn more?

Step 7 - Get the Template

Download the template here.

There is another, more detailed layer of explanations and how-to images on this website. If you get stuck after the self-help in the template itself, remember to come back to this website for deeper help by clicking the Learn more? link at the end of each section above.

Step 8 (optional) To be informed of updates

Get Meter - Learn More

• YoLink / YoSmart export screenshots

• Timestamp setup guidance

• Meter setup notes

Full Cycle - Learn More

• How to match the billing cycle dates

• Why a full cycle matters

• Where to confirm cycle dates

Import Data - Learn More

• Raw_all

• import instructions

• data formatting expectations

Confirm Rates - Learn More

• Rates_Maintenance

• Rates_References

• Special Situations

• how to tell whether there was a rate, season, TOU, or plan change

Use Form - Learn More

• Where to find bill inputs

• Which bill items go into the form

• How Inputs-Search uses the stored record

Prepare Next Cycle - Learn More

• What Prepare Next Cycle button does

• When to run it

• What not to do prematurely

YoSmart/YoLink Screenshots

Timestamp Setup Guidance

Once you get the YoLink hub and the meter:

1.  The instructions will include a link to download and install the YoSmart app, 

2. Along with instructions for binding the device to the app. 

3. Then it is important to confirm that the meter's time is synchronized with the smartphone you use to run the YoSmart app, or the timestamps of your energy records will be off. You will be exporting records through that app. 

4. Below is the details screen of the meter. Note the time option. The second image shows what happens when you press that option

Meter Setup Notes

This template works best with data from your own EV charging meter. The goal is to measure the charging connection you want to model, not your whole-house utility meter.

Before collecting a full billing cycle, confirm:

1. The meter is installed on the correct EV charging connection

2. The app time and exported timestamps are correct

3. Exported dates match your local time

4. The meter is recording energy consistently

Do this by exporting a few days of records before the full billing cycle {month}. Incorrect timestamps can place charging into the wrong TOU period, so setup matters. After setup is confirmed, and you begin charging through it, 

Import them into the model in the Raw_all sheet use File...Import...[Select filename exported by meter]...Append to sheet. If timestamps are incorrect, charging can be placed in the wrong Time-of-Use period, resulting in less accurate results.

How to match the billing cycle dates

Before exporting your EV charging data, check the start and stop dates on your utility bill. Then set the export dates so the meter data covers that same billing-cycle period.

What to look for:

• The billing cycle start date on the bill

• The billing cycle stop date on the bill

• Whether the bill uses end-of-day timing that needs to be interpreted carefully

• Whether the meter export is using local time

Why this matters

The workbook works best when the exported charging data and the utility bill refer to the same billing cycle. If the dates do not match, the model can overcount or undercount charging and place energy in the wrong cycle.

When using the Form to enter your bill info, you are asked to select a month. That is the month in which your billing cycle starts. For example, for a billing cycle that goes from April 8 to May 8, enter April in the form. 

Why a full cycle matters

The standard workflow works best when you have one complete billing cycle of charging data. That allows the workbook to compare your EV charging history against the same billing period shown on your electric bill.

A full cycle improves:

• Alignment with the bill period

• TOU assignment accuracy

• Reconciliation of the model to the bill

Partial-cycle data can still be useful for estimates, but a full cycle gives the most reliable result.

Where to confirm cycle dates

You can confirm the billing cycle start and stop dates directly on your electric bill. The workbook also includes SDGE_Billing Cycles_2026 as a reference sheet and Inputs-Search as a lookup tool to help confirm the correct billing-cycle period. See below is an image of the first page of a bill. Circles numbered 1 and 2 show the start- and end-of-cycle dates.

Raw_all

Raw_all is where you place the exported data from your EV charging meter. It is the raw charging-data source used by the workbook.

A few important points:

• import the charging data for the billing cycle you want to model

• make sure timestamps are correct before relying on results

• Raw_all is a data sheet, not the main place most users will work

Once the data is imported correctly, the calculator sheets can use it to estimate EV charging cost for the cycle.

Import instructions

Export the charging data from your EV charging meter and import it into the Raw_all sheet in the workbook. Raw_all is the workbook’s raw-data sheet and serves as the source for EV charging calculations during the billing cycle.

Go to the Raw_all sheet

1. From the File menu, click Import...[select the file that your meter exported]...click Insert, and in the Import location dropdown box, select Append to current sheet.

After importing:

• Confirm the dates match the billing cycle you want to model

• Confirm timestamps look correct

• Confirm the imported records appear complete before reviewing results

Data formatting expectations

Raw_all should contain the exported charging records in a clean, consistent format. The workbook expects readable timestamps and a continuous set of charging records for the billing cycle being analyzed.

Before relying on results, check that:

• Dates and times look correct

• Records appear complete

• The billing-cycle window is covered

• The data does not appear to be missing obvious portions of the cycle

Rates_Maintenance

Rates_Maintenance is used when the rates or rate structure have changed during the billing cycle. It helps bridge the gap between what happened in the cycle and what the calculation sheet should use.

In general:

• Review the relevant rate block

• Enter update values only when needed

• Use Update Rates to write changes into Rates_References

• Use Prepare Next Cycle after the current cycle has been confirmed

• Use Restore Snapshot if you need to return to the most recent backup state

That sheet now serves as the main special-situations rate workflow for the workbook.

Rates_References

Rates_References is the backend rate repository used by the workbook. It stores the rate sets for Start of Cycle, Rate Change, Season Change, TOU Change, and Rate Plan Change, along with the values the calculator uses for the current billing cycle.

In general:

• Rates_Maintenance is the user-facing rate sheet

• Rates_References is the backend sheet the calculator reads from

• Most users should review rather than manually edit this sheet

• Keep backups before major changes or script-driven rate maintenance

Special Situations

Special Situations is the workbook’s guide for non-standard billing cycles. It helps explain when a user can stay in the normal Google Form + Inputs-Search + Billing_Cycle_Auto workflow and when something more is needed.

In general:

• Use it when a change during the cycle may affect rates or TOU logic

• Use it to decide when to review Rates_Maintenance

• Use it to understand when Billing_Cycle_Manual may be more appropriate for advanced users

• Use it as a bridge to the deeper documentation in READ FIRST and the USER’s Guide

How to tell whether there was a rate, season, TOU, or plan change

Review the electric bill and compare the billing-cycle dates to the rates and rate plan that were active during that time. Then check whether the cycle included:

• A rate change

• A season change

• A TOU schedule change

• A rate plan change

If any of those occurred during the billing cycle, review Rates_Maintenance before relying on the result.

Where to find bill inputs

The numbered bill images show where to enter the values in the Google Form. Use the circled references on the four bill pages to identify the correct inputs before submitting the form.

If a value is unclear, compare the bill page images, the Google Form field names, and the workbook documentation before relying on the result.

How Inputs-Search uses the stored record

The Google Form creates a historical record in Form Responses 1. Inputs-Search then uses that record to:

• Find a billing cycle

• Preview the saved bill inputs

• Load the selected cycle into Billing_Cycle_Auto

What Prepare Next Cycle button does

Prepare Next Cycle is a blue button found at the top of the Rates_Maintenance sheet. It is the rollover step in Rates_Maintenance. After you are satisfied that the current billing cycle result is correct, this button:

• Creates a backup of Rates_References

• Promotes the active end-of-cycle rates into the next cycle’s Start-of-Cycle rates

• Clears temporary mid-cycle update cells and effective dates used only for the completed cycle

It should be used only after the current cycle has been confirmed.

When to Run it

Run Prepare Next Cycle only after:

• The billing cycle has ended

• The bill inputs and charging data have been reviewed

• Any needed rate updates have been made

• You are satisfied with the current cycle result

At that point, Prepare Next Cycle can safely carry the correct active rates into the next billing cycle. It should not be used prematurely while the current cycle is still being reviewed or while rate changes are still being entered.

What not to do prematurely

Do not run Prepare Next Cycle while:

• The current billing cycle is still being reviewed

• Rate updates are still being entered

• The correct active rate set has not yet been confirmed

• You are still troubleshooting the bill or charging data

Prepare Next Cycle should be treated as an end-of-cycle rollover step. Use it only after the current cycle result is complete and you are ready to carry the correct active rates forward into the next billing cycle.