Costs of running an electric car come first to mind as the question is of very much importance.
Charging an electric vehicle is way less costly than the gasoline or diesel engine cars running expenses. The question that arises in this regard is: what does it cost to charge an electric car?
This can also be done using or cost to charge an electric car calculator.
How to calculate the cost to charge an electric car?
We’re going to show you how to calculate the cost to charge an EV both from empty to full and for a certain distance. In this article, we include a charging efficiency of 90% in our calculation. The charging efficiency reflects power heating up the cables and the battery, this power is not charging the EV. In other terms, electricity is lost during the charging process. Therefore we chose a charging efficiency lower than 100%.
Cost to fully charge an electric car
Electric vehicle fuel efficiency is measured in Kilowatt-Hours (KWh). To calculate how much it costs to fully charge your car, you simply need to look at two things:
- The cost of electricity per kWh (either your home supply or the price at a public charging station)
- The battery size of your vehicle in kWh
You can now calculate the cost of charging an electric vehicle by using the following formula: Electricity price of your supplier (price/kWh) x The battery size of the vehicle (in kWh) / 90% charging efficiency
Here an example. Let’s say you own a 60 kWh battery size electric vehicle and pay $0.12 per kWh for the electricity. Do the maths, and multiply 60 by 0.12, and then divided by 90%. So the price to charge your vehicle from empty to full is $8.00.
Cost to charge an electric car for a certain distance
It is also possible to calculate this cost for 100 miles (or kilometers) or for a certain distance. For this, you must know:
- The cost of electricity per kWh (either your home supply or the price at a public charging station)
- The fuel efficiency of the vehicle per 100 miles or kilometers (kWh/100 miles or kWh/100 km)
Here, the formula is also very simple. You just need to multiply the electricity price of your supplier (kWh) by the energy consumption (in kWh) of your vehicle per 100 miles or kilometers.
This gives you the cost for 100 miles or kilometers. For a specific distance, just divide this cost by 100 to obtain the price per mile or per km, and multiply this cost by the distance you want to travel. It sounds quite complicated, but it is very easy. Just check the example below.
If by assuming the cost of electricity $0.11 per kWh and the vehicle under consideration consumes 34 kWh per 100 miles or kilometers, then the cost of charging for this distance will be $3.74. Don’t forget the charging efficiency and divide this value by 90%, the result is $4.16. so divided by 100 it will be about $0.0416 per mile or per km which is quite economical and efficient. For a 60 miles or kilometers distance, just multiply $0.0416 by 60. The final cost is $2.49. The calculation is simple: (0.11*34/90%)/100*60
We’ve seen above how to calculate the charging cost of an electric car. But keep in mind that many other factors can influence the final price.
Factors influencing the charging cost of an electric car
The country, the State or the region you live in
The costs of charging an electric vehicle at home might be different for different states or as electricity costs varies from state to state or from region to region depending on the country you live in.
Times of the day
Charging an electric vehicle at home is also affected by the costs during peak hours, as electricity costs depend on peak hours and consumption rates. For example, if you charge your electric vehicle overnight starting from 11 p.m., in many cities it will cost you much less than during the day. Sometimes, charging your car during peak hours can cost you four times more than the normal overnight charge.
The place where you charge the EV
Charging an electric vehicle at home costs you less than charging an electric vehicle at a public charging station. In many cases, the cost of fueling a car with public rapid charger services for 30 minutes charge is about the same as charging an EV from empty to full at home but will give you less riding range. For this reason, drivers of electric vehicles mostly prefer to charge overnight at home.
Some other options are also available like charging at your workspace will cost you nothing as mostly, at workspaces, charging points are made to facilitate their employees with a free charging service. Sometimes, another way of charging your electric vehicle for free is charging it at the manufacturer’s network stations as those stations offer a free charging facility for the concerned manufacturer electric car.
Below a few other tips to help you reduce the cost to charge an electric car.
Tips to reduce the cost to charge an EV
Solar panels – Not only solar panels are environmentally friendly but they can help you charge your electric vehicle practically for free from your rooftop. Investing in solar panels can be quite expensive, but in the long term, savings will far outweigh the costs.
Smart Charging – A good option is to use a programmable charging station or to connect your charger to an app and to avoid charging your car during peak hours.
On-board electric chargers – One more thing to count is the latest onboard electric chargers, as it may reduce the costs of charging to a half rather than the older onboard electric chargers.
To conclude, answering the question “How much does it cost to charge an electric car” is not that easy as many parameters need to be taken into consideration in the calculation. Moreover, many other factors can influence the final cost. We hope this article was helpful.