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In this guide, we will cover how to calculate the cost of “filling up”, or more appropriately, charging an electric vehicle by plugging in at home. To determine the cost of charging an EV at home, you will need to:
Let’s dive in some more.
The first step is to find out how much you pay for electricity at your home. Utility rates vary across the country. . The best place to determine how much you spend on electricity is your electricity bill. Take a look at your most recent electric bill. Note the total amount you paid and then, note how much electricity you consumed which should be available in kilowatt per hour (kWh). With these two numbers, you can calculate your electricity costs by dividing the amount you paid for electricity by the amount of electricity you consumed. The average US electricity cost is 16 cents per kWh.
Get an estimate of the cost to charge at home using the simple calculator. You will enter your average electricity costs ($ per kWh), vehicle range and battery size to determine your charging costs
The next step is to calculate how much energy your EV consumes to travel a mile. This is the efficiency of an EV similar to the miles per gallon(mpg) of a gasoline or diesel vehicle. . To determine this value, you want to know the range (in miles) of your car and also the size of the vehicle battery(in kWh). Then, you can divide the range of your car by the energy capacity of your battery to determine the vehicle’s efficiency.
Range of a vehicle can be impacted by the driving style and the places you drive (e.g. the terrain) so your vehicle range might actually vary from what is provided by the manufacturer. We will focus on manufacturer provided numbers in this guide. The average efficiency of a passenger electric vehicle is 3 to 4 miles per kWh. Let’s take the top-selling electric vehicle, the Tesla Model 3, in the United States as an example. The entry-level Tesla Model 3 has a battery range of 272 miles and a battery size of 60kWh. The efficiency of the Tesla Model 3 is thus roughly 4.5 miles per kWh.
Finally, it is time to determine the cost of charging an electric vehicle at home.
You can calculate the cost to add a mile of range to your vehicle by dividing electricity costs by the vehicle efficiency. For the entry-level Tesla Model 3, the cost to add a mile of range is 3.6 cents per mile (average electricity cost (16¢ per kWh) divided by vehicle efficiency (4.5miles per kWh)).
Knowing the cost per miles, you can determine your charging costs on a monthly or annual basis. For example, if you know that you drive on average 12,000 miles per year; that means if you charge exclusively at home, you will spend $432 per year on charging (which is equivalent to an average of $36 per month)
The average American spends $150 to 200 on gasoline per month according to JD Power. That means, as an EV driver, you can save up to $2000 per year on ‘filling up’ costs. . This is an important number to keep in mind while buying an EV which might be more expensive upfront than a gasoline counterpart.
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