Saving money on gas is one of the main selling points of electric cars. With the current spike in gas prices, it’s possible to spend $100 or more on a tank of petrol, depending on your vehicle. One of the most common misunderstandings about electric vehicles is that they cost nothing to operate. Yes, you read it correctly; charging your vehicle will still cost money.
But precisely how much? In any case, the answers vary widely. The price of charging a car might vary depending on a number of factors, such as the location of the charger, the kind of vehicle being charged, and so on.
In most cases, the cost for charging electric car will range from $5 to $30. If you have a smaller battery and charge at a cheaper site, you may get closer to the $5 mark. In addition, using a rapid charger with a vehicle that has a huge battery will increase the cost.
The expense of home charging for an electric vehicle
When it comes to charging an electric vehicle, it’s best to do it yourself at home to save money. Public charging firms must generate a profit while covering expenses like infrastructure investment. You won’t have to pay for anything but for the electric car chargers for home that comes with your vehicle (or a speedier one, if you’re feeling snazzy).
It might be difficult to estimate how much it will cost to charge at home due to the wide range of power rates. In 2021, the retail cost per kWh in the United States was 10.59 cents, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. From state to state, there is a huge disparity in that typical. The average cost per kilowatt-hour in Louisiana is 7.51 cents. Contrast that with Hawaii, where the cost of electricity is 27.55 cents per kilowatt-hour. We are not going to make things more complicated by charging more at peak periods.
Electric vehicle charging station fees
When you plug your automobile into a public charging station, things change dramatically. Fast-charging technology is expensive, and public charging businesses have sunk a lot of money into it, not to mention the expense of building charging stations and staffing them. In what way? At charging stations, prices are much higher.
It is possible for charging stations to charge at varying rates. Since so-called Level 1 chargers may take up to 24 hours to completely charge a vehicle, they are best used at night. Most level 2 chargers have a maximum charging speed of 30 miles per hour. DC fast chargers, also known as Level 3 chargers, can often completely charge a vehicle in under one hour.
It is sometimes difficult to establish reasonable prices due to the vast range of associated expenditures. The Level 2 charging rate at Electrify America (EA) stations is $0.03 per minute, making it one of the most popular networks in the United States. However, most of Electrify America’s chargers are fast chargers, which charge the same per-kWh fee regardless of charging speed. At the time this was written, EA’s rate in California for non-members and Electrify America Pass members was $0.43 per kWh and for Pass+ members it was $0.31. Thus, the average full fee for a visitor is $28.21, whereas Pass+ members pay just $20.33. Pass+ costs $4 each month, so keep that in mind.
