How Much Money is Your Electric Vehicle Really Saving You?
Is your electric vehicle really saving you any money? It’s not as easy to answer as you might think. For some of you, the savings may be more than you expected. For others you may be disappointed. It turns out that there are quite a few factors that you have to consider if you want to know how “going electric” might affect your wallet.
For those of you who aren’t still on good terms with your 9th grade algebra teacher, you can get a little help from this online electric vehicle cost comparison calculator that will determine what, if anything, you will save by trading in your gas powered ride for an electric vehicle.
For example, what is the fuel efficiency of the gas car you are giving up? Are you trading in a 16 MPG Hummer or a 25 MPG Ford Focus? And what do you pay for gas in your area? Let’s assume for the sake of argument you’re replacing a ride that gets a respectable 25 miles per gallon and you pay $3.75 for gas. That means your fuel cost is $0.15 per mile. So that’s the benchmark.
Think that electric car you have your eye on can beat that? Here are the factors (variables for you 9th grade algebra teachers) that you have to consider.
- kwh per Mile – That’s a new concept for most people. It tells you how electricity on average is required to get you a mile down the road. Nissan publishes 0.25 kwh per mile as the average for the Nissan Leaf. Of course, just like gas vehicles, your mileage may vary. So if you’re playing with the EV cost calculator you may want try a higher number to see how it changes your costs. Keep in mind that, unlike MPG, kwh per mile is cheaper when it’s a lower number and more expensive when it’s higher.
- Cost per kwh – Otherwise known as your electric rate. Rates can vary widely depending on what part of the country you are in, whether your state is deregulated, what time of day you are charging, etc… In Texas residential rates vary from around 8 cents per kwh to 16 cents per kwh depending on your electric provider.
Follow Technorati