The Cost of Charging an Electric Car
Wondering about the cost of charging an electric car compared to fueling a gas-powered vehicle here we’ll break down the cost and help you find out if going electric could actually save you money before we continue let’s quickly Identify some key terms when it comes to the capacity of the battery of your EV
Kilowatt hours is the metric that you’ll use there are three main styles of charge ports for EBS in the US chatimo is the oldest format and is only available on Nissan and Mitsubishi products today it will eventually be completely phased out the two that you need to know about are ccs and nacs
If you drive a Tesla you are familiar with nacs if you drive any other EV you should be familiar with ccs starting in 2024 however you will start seeing the nacs format on non-tesla vehicles there are three levels of EV charging power level 1 level 2 and DC fast
Charging levels one and two can be achieved via household Outlets while DC fast charging is restricted to public charging stations this is because these stations can convert the AC current to the DC current directly inside the charger which requires a much larger draw of power from the grid than is legally allowed
From your home all new EVS can charge a DC fast charging stations but depending on the car they can have Peak charging rates anywhere from 50 to 350 kilowatts charging at levels 1 and 2 requires the vehicle’s onboard AC to DC inverter when it comes to both the charging speed of
That inverter and the charging station it is accepting power from you’ll see kilowatts as the unit a kilowatt is also used to identify an electric motor’s power output but because horsepower is still the preferred metric in the US for vehicle performance manufacturers will still advertise that number in horsepower
With all that out of the way let’s talk about the cost of charging first and foremost charging at home is generally the smartest and least expensive option in fact we don’t recommend you buy a new electric car unless you were able to do this consistently in the average case it’s going to be
Less expensive per month than buying regular unleaded gas for a gas vehicle public charging stations while sometimes free charge time-based fees that cost more than the home charging typically does most manufacturers offer free charging through specific charging networks like Electrify America for a fixed period of time after the purchase
Of the vehicle but not all of them do these rates all vary based on the network and the location of the charging station but they can also be set by the businesses that install them in their parking lots or parking decks while internal combustion engines use miles per gallon as a measurement of
Efficiency electric vehicles use miles per kilowatt hour and the industry average for efficiency right now is about 3 miles per kilowatt hour divide that from miles driven in the US per month and you will use about 375 kilowatt hours in that time frame using the U.S household average of about 16
Cents per kilowatt hour charging an electric car at home exclusively would cost nearly 60 dollars per month comparatively with gas prices at about 3.42 cents per gallon on average in a 30 mile per gallon car you’d spend about 128 dollars a month to drive the same distance electricity rates vary
Depending on where you live but because electricity rates are always the lowest at night it makes so much sense to charge your vehicle at home overnight if you want to charge at home at level 2 speeds keep in mind that installing a level 2 charger at home can be done
Through the manufacturer or third-party options but it’s going to cost roughly two thousand dollars or more potentially adding value to your home but also cutting your charging times in half in conclusion charging an EV is generally cheaper than fueling a gas-powered car but costs vary depending on location charging type lifestyle and
Vehicle if you want to charge your EV for the least amount of money possible home charging Remains the most cost effective option for a deeper dive into all things EV Kelly Blue Book’s got you covered foreign
How little can it cost you to charge an EV? Surprisingly so, if you can do it at home. Let’s break down the key terms and crunch the numbers. #KBB
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