How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
One of the many reasons for choosing to go electric is the potential cash saving on offer. In many instances, electricity is cheaper than traditional fuels such as petrol or diesel, although it all depends on where and how you charge. Then there's the recent rapid increases in energy prices, meaning that the cost of charging has doubled in some cases, closing the gap between EV and ICE. Here’s our in-depth guide that’ll answer all your questions.
How much will it cost to charge my car at home?
According to the government-backed Go Ultra Low electric vehicle campaign, around 90% of owners charge their EVs at home, and this the cheapest way to charge, even in light of the recent hike in energy prices (at the moment, the average peak cost of domestic electricity is 52p per kWh). Of course, it depends on the car you’re charging and the tariff of your electricity supplier, but overall it won’t cost as much to ‘fuel’ your EV as a traditional internal-combustion-engined vehicle. For example, something like a 64kWh Kia e-Niro should cost around £30 for a full charge, even on the most expensive tariffs, and that will give you up to 200 miles of range. Better still, invest in one of the latest ‘smart’ wallboxes and you can use an app on your phone to programme the unit to only charge when electricity is cheapest, typically overnight when you can half the cost of a 'fill'. If you're got solar panels fitted to your home then some chargers, such as the he Indra Smart PRO, can use this 'free' renewable energy to charge your EV.
How much will it cost to install a car charging point at home?
You can simply use the factory-supplied three-pin plug charger, but charging times are lengthy and manufacturers warn against sustained use due to the current drain on the socket. Therefore, it’s best to use a dedicated wall-mounted unit, which can charge at up to 7kW, more than twice as fast as the three-pin alternative. There are a number of different manufacturers to choose from, plus a choice of tethered (with a charging cable permanently attached) or untethered (allowing you to choose different sockets and cables for different cars) layouts. Regardless of which one you plump for, you’ll need a qualified electrician both to check your household wiring is up to the task and then to install the box.
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Good research vertigo, I suspect the BEV fuel cost for the majority of 10k mileage users is between £200 and £400 a year.
EV is running at 3.6 miles per kWh (278 Wh/mi), which is my i3S's overall average. You'll get similar in a Model 3 or most compact/medium hatchbacks. Petrol price is current average of £1.37/litre.
£2,491: petrol at 25mpg.
£2,076: petrol at 30mpg.
£1,917: EV charging at Ionity rapids with no subscription (most expensive way to charge, 69p/kWh).
£1,557: petrol at 40mpg.
£1,246: petrol at 50mpg.
£1,038: petrol at 60mpg.
£972: EV charging at BP Pulse rapids with contactless payment (most common rapid, 35p/kWh).
£433: EV home-charging at my daytime electricity rate (15.59p/kWh).
£193: EV home-charging at my overnight electricity rate (5p/kWh).
£0: EV charging at the cheapest public destination chargers: mostly Pod Point, Tesla, ZeroNet or ChargePlace Scotland.
Personally the vast majority (~90%) of my charging is on the overnight rate, with an occasional half-kWh of the daytime rate when pre-heating the cabin. I use free destination chargers when shopping in cities or staying at hotels (roughly once a month), and have used 25-39p/kWh rapids three or four times in the last year. Never used an Ionity, due to pricing.
I suspect that in reality what will happen is that the the UK general public will subsidize people with the wherewithal to afford one of these vehicles and the accompanying chargers to be fitted to their house (big clue there) until about 2030 when the ICE ban will be implimented then just as the hoi-poloi are getting into EV'S there will be a "big stink" about the cost of the infrastructure required and prices for recharging will then be through the roof and heavily taxed by smart meters etc.