Average Cost To Charge Electric Car – When you make a purchase from links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
How much does it really cost to charge an electric car? Well, it’s like asking how long it takes to charge an electric car, or the length of a rope. The simple answer to this question is “it depends”. This isn’t helpful if you’re trying to figure out how to compare the running costs of a combustion engine car with one of the best electric cars.
Average Cost To Charge Electric Car
Fortunately, it’s not that hard to figure it all out. Just as a gas tank can only hold a limited amount of gas, an electric car battery can only hold a limited amount of energy. And most automakers tend to advertise this figure quite clearly.
How Much To Charge An Electric Car
Once you have that number, it’s extremely easy to calculate how much it costs to charge an electric car from 0 to 100%.
All lithium-ion batteries are rated according to their ability to store energy in watt hours (WH) or amp hours (AH) if you are talking about small devices such as smartphones. Electric vehicle battery capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), given their size – each kilowatt-hour contains 1,000 watt-hours of electricity.
Not to be confused with kilowatt (kW), which is a way of measuring output power. You can see that the kilowatt is used to describe the power of a car which is similar to mechanical power and as a way of measuring the charging speed.
Electric car battery sizes vary from car to car, but the smallest ones you’ll often see on the road have a capacity of over 30 kWh. Smaller models exist on the road, such as the 1st generation Nissan Leaf 24kW, but these have long been discontinued and will only be available on the used car market.
Average Cost To Charge An Electric Car 2023
The largest electric vehicle batteries can reach triple digits. The Mercedes EQS is powered by a 107.8 kWh battery, while the giant GMC Hummer EV needs a 200 kWh battery to get around. The battery is so big that it weighs more than a Honda Accord and shows how much power you can store in one place if you have enough space.
Fortunately, electric vehicle batteries and units of electrical energy are measured in the same way. Your home’s energy use is measured in kilowatt hours, and the rate from your energy company will tell you how much you need to pay for each individual unit.
Once you know this figure, calculating how much it will cost you to fully charge your electric car battery is as easy as entering the numbers into a calculator. Let’s make an example.
According to the United States it is. Energy Information Administration (EIA), average cost of residential energy in the United States. If you drive an entry-level Nissan Leaf with a 40 kWh battery, a full charge will cost you 40 times as much, at £638.
How To Install An Electric Car Charging Station
This means that the average price of a fully charged Nissan Leaf in August 2022 is $6.38. According to EPA range testing, this gives you 149 miles of range.
Of course, energy prices vary from place to place, and where you live will have a huge impact on recharging costs. But the same goes for gasoline, if that’s any consolation.
The state with the most expensive electricity in August 2022 is Hawaii, where it costs an average of 45.73 cents per kWh. On the mainland, it was in New Hampshire with an average price of 27.47 cents per kW. The cheapest state was Washington, with an average price of 10.37 cents per kWh.
That means Hawaiians will pay $18.29 for a Nissan Leaf, while New Hampshire residents will pay $10.99. At the same time, Washington residents will only have to pay 4.15 dollars. Considering that the national average per gallon of gasoline is currently $3.79 according to AAA (opens in a new tab) and $5.20 in Hawaii, you can see where you can start saving money.
How Much Does It Cost To Charge A Tesla?
Here are some examples of how much it will cost to charge some of the most popular electric vehicles in the United States. it is. – and the giant Hummer electric car.
It is often said that the best place to charge your electric vehicle is at home, at a dedicated electric vehicle charging station. Overall, this is because your home electricity bill is likely to cost less than what you would pay at a public car charging station. They are essentially energy resellers, buying and then selling energy through chargers for a profit.
How much charging networks charge also varies, but the general rule is, the faster the charging speed, the more you’ll have to pay. So a 7 kW charging station can take hours to charge your car, but if you’re paying by kW, it should cost you a lot less than a 3 speed charger that can do it in half an hour.
However, the way you pay to charge a public car also depends on the state you are in. Most states allow electric vehicle charging networks to charge electric vehicles in kWh, making it easier to calculate how much you’re likely to pay. Other states only allow hourly pay, which makes it difficult to calculate.
How Long Does It Take To Charge An Electric Car?
But, of course, you can find free electric car chargers that don’t charge you for recharging. However, there are often limitations and you may be charged for taking too long to connect to the network.
Comparing the cost of electricity and gasoline is a complex process that requires mathematical calculations. Good old maths. This is insanely important, but sometimes it can be uncomfortable to think about. But let’s try.
The first thing you should know is that, according to the EPA, a gallon of gasoline contains about 37.7 kWh of energy. According to the EIA (opens in a new tab), the US average
Your first impulse may be to compare this price with the equivalent cost of electricity. Based on the August 2022 average above, 37.7kWh of electricity costs $6.01. Which is the highest number. If you’ve heard stories about electric vehicles having lower operating costs than internal combustion engines, it’s probably confusing.
The Cost Of Charging An Electric Vehicle In Usa Averages 15¢/kwh
The truth is that this is a bit more complicated than converting dollars directly to kWh because you also need to compare the efficiency of pure electricity and gasoline in a car.
The internal combustion engine is not an efficient car. According to the US Diesel is slightly more efficient, but practical limitations mean that heat engines, such as the internal combustion engine, usually operate at an efficiency of 30-50%.
What about electric vehicles? A car’s electric motor can be up to 90% efficient, and the Department of Energy says that electric vehicles will use at least 77% of the energy (opens in a new tab) they get from the grid to power the wheels.
So, while a gallon of gasoline may be cheaper than an equivalent amount of electricity (on average), an internal combustion engine can only use a fraction of the available energy. So the $3,742 you pay for a gallon of gas doesn’t put a full 37.7 kilowatts of motion at the wheels. This is actually closer to 11.3 kWh, assuming an efficiency of around 30%. This means that you pay about 33 cents per kilowatt-hour of useful energy.
How Much Does It Cost To Charge An Electric Car?
Meanwhile, assuming a 77% efficiency rating, your $6.01 gets you 29 kWh of wheel spin from an EV motor. That’s about 20 cents per kWh available, or 1.65 times cheaper per kWh than gasoline based on the Balcon calculations.
Of course, such a comparison can be difficult, and a much simpler solution is to find out the mileage of an electric car and compare it to a gasoline alternative. The EPA test cycle includes an electric vehicle’s miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) mileage calculation, making direct comparison as easy as comparing two numbers.
It’s no surprise that electric vehicles are way ahead of their internal combustion engine counterparts. The Department of Energy has a list (opens in a new tab) which lists the most efficient cars in 2022 in 8 main categories, with an electric car at the top of five of them. Take EVs out of the picture and the difference in mileage will be quite noticeable.
For example, Tesla’s Model 3 has a combined fuel economy of 132 mpg. The most efficient non-electric midsize car, the Toyota Prius Eco, uses just 56 mpg. In fact, none of the internal combustion engine vehicles offer more than 59 mpg. The electric vehicle with the lowest mileage in the top position is the Porsche Taycan GTS at 83 mpg. All other electric vehicles offer over 100 mpg.
Powering Ahead: Six New Ways To Charge An Electric Car
Car manufacturers usually make the mileage of their electric vehicles known. But if you want to quickly compare mileage, the Department of Energy has
Average cost of electric car charge, cost per hour to charge electric car, what is average cost to charge electric car, average cost to charge electric car at home, what is the average cost to charge an electric car, average time to charge an electric car, average electric car charge time, average cost electric car charge, cost to charge electric car at home, average price to charge an electric car, average cost to charge electric car in public, average price to charge electric car