As gas prices rise and show no signs of slowing down, we see more and more people discussing switching to an EV or hybrid vehicle. If you’re worried about switching to electricity and you’re wondering “is it cheaper to refuel an EV than to refuel a car with petrol?” You’re not alone.
If you’re tired of feeling pain at the pump, you’ll be happy to know that in almost all scenarios, refueling an EV is significantly cheaper than refueling with petrol, or worse, diesel.
However, there are a few different factors and things you will want to know before you jump into your head. The price of EV charging varies at home compared to public charging stations, especially if you opt for faster charging. And, just like gas, electricity prices can change over time and location. Here is a draft of how much it costs to refuel EV and how it compares to refueling.
Gas versus electricity: by numbers
With EV, instead of paying per gallon of gasoline, you’ll charge per kilowatt-hour to charge the battery. And just as gasoline prices vary at each gas station, the price of a kWh is significantly different depending on where you live and, in some states, the time of day and peak hours. That’s why it’s hard to say how much it costs to charge an EV, but here are some averages.
According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average new gas-powered vehicle sold in the U.S. in 2020 had a combined fuel economy rating of 25.4 miles per gallon. Driving 100 miles in one of these vehicles would consume approximately 3.9 gallons of gasoline.
Things get a little confusing when evaluating electric vehicles. The EPA efficiency rating for electric vehicles is known as “MPGe”, which is the equivalent of miles per gallon. This assessment gives consumers an idea of how far EV can go to a chemically equivalent amount of energy per gallon of gas.
The same EPA report suggests that the average electric vehicle will consume 33.7 kilowatt-hours of energy to match a gallon of regular gasoline. The numbers are not updated for 2021 or 2022, so this is as close as we can.
The average MPGe rating for 2022 EV vehicles sold in the U.S. is about 97, so driving 100 miles in that hypothetical average vehicle would consume 34.7 kWh of electricity.
Counting here with hypothetical gas prices, if you spend $ 4.50 per gallon of gas, you will need almost $ 18 to get 3.9 gallons and drive 100 miles. On average, the national price for 1 kWh of electricity (at home) is about $ 0.14. Using an EPA rating of 34.7 kWh with average energy prices, it will cost approximately $ 4.85 to get 3.9 “gallons” of electricity to drive 100 miles.
I know it’s a little confusing, but the bottom line is that, on average, it will be 3-4 times cheaper to charge your EV battery than it is to charge a car on gasoline. Those numbers vary, and in some states like Arizona, South Dakota, Oklahoma or Washington, electricity is even cheaper and would cost about $ 3.47 to drive 100 miles in EV.
So, yes, charging an electric vehicle from your home is much cheaper than buying gasoline. However, these savings are quickly reduced when you travel and use public chargers. And in some countries, if you use fast chargers, you could spend more, but we’ll talk about that below.
The price of charging an electric vehicle at home
Charging an EV at home is significantly cheaper than charging with gasoline, and it is also drastically cheaper than using a public charging station. This is an important aspect here and something you will want to remember.
On average, most U.S. households pay nearly 14 cents per kWh, but that price can double in peak hours or in California and New York. On the other hand, that price is as much as 10 cents in Oklahoma. Still, the average price is $ 0.14 per kWh, which is far cheaper than gas. Just remember that some regions cost more.
Using our same math as above, if it costs about $ 4.85 to get 3.9 gallons of electricity to drive 100 miles, you can expect to pay under $ 15, on average, to drive 300 miles in an electric vehicle. Most EVs have a range of about 300 miles, so it’s essentially $ 15 to fill an electric tank. You can’t drive 300 miles in a gasoline vehicle for $ 15.
The new Ford F-150 Lightning EV has a 131 kWh battery. Paying $ 0.14 per kWh at home will cost $ 18.34 to charge your truck to 100% battery capacity. It is slow and will take 6-8 hours to charge at home with a first level charger, but it is cheaper than gasoline.
Keep in mind that you will probably have to spend a few hundred dollars to put a charger in your home, and for faster home chargers it can cost almost $ 3,000. So add that to your budgets in the long run.
Most electric vehicle owners will charge their car at home, sitting on the charger overnight. And since most regions offer discounts on electricity at night when consumption is low, this is the cheapest place and time to charge an electric car.
However, installing a home charger may not be possible in some rental homes and apartments. If so, you will need to rely on public charging stations.
EV charging costs on public chargers
If you can’t install an EV charger at home or are planning many trips, you will use public chargers. Again, things get confusing because charging speeds and prices can vary. Most public charging stations for electric vehicles across the United States deliver fast charging speeds, which means they are more expensive than a home charger.
Tesla has over 30,000 superchargers worldwide, but the average price is about $ 0.27 per kWh, which is almost twice what you would pay at home. And in some states, such as California, Tesla drivers see prices of more than $ 0.43 per kWh. So instead of $ 15 to drive 300 miles after charging at home, you’ll spend about $ 44. In some cases, we have seen electricity prices reach over 50 cents per kWh.
See the difference? It is absolutely cheaper to refuel an electric vehicle than to refuel, but it is also confusing, and the price can be significantly different depending on where you charge, how fast you charge and where you live.
There are more affordable public chargers, but they are also slow. Fast charging stations can charge the battery by 20-80% in about 25 minutes, but you pay that premium. Web page MyEV has a detailed list of different locations for charging the network, prices and subscriptions for all interested. You can often sign up for a top-up service and get discounted prices, but this will not be as affordable as charging at home.
And while you can find a slower charging station in public, no one wants to wait an hour for just 75-100 miles of battery power. As a result, most public stations offer faster, albeit more expensive, charging services.
If you plan to charge your fancy new electric vehicle at home, it will be significantly cheaper than buying gasoline. However, that savings is little lost with public fast charging stations. It is still more affordable, but the electricity is growing, like everything, so it may not be long.
Still, there is a silver lining. Until 2017, Tesla offered free charging for most vehicles, which was a big advantage. These days, we’re seeing big-name carmakers like Volkswagen offer two years of free charging with every EV purchase, and Nissan is doing the same. Other brands such as KIA have partnered with Electrify America and will provide owners with limited free public charging.
It is important to remember that not everyone buys an electric car expecting huge savings on the pump. Everyone has their reasons. In addition, when you consider how expensive electric vehicles are starting to be, you will need to weigh your options before switching.
All said and done, your mileage may vary, but that is usually the case.