Is EV charging expensive?

In some of our previous posts, we have already discussed general questions about how much to charge an electric car in the UK. However, perhaps, the more interesting question is a question about the costs of covering, for example, 100 miles when driving an electric vehicle.

A few words about the comparison base

To answer the question about whether EV charging is really expensive, let’s specify the comparison base. Here, we are speaking about the average EV battery efficiency.

So, let’s turn to numbers. According to them, for a great number of pure electric EV models, the average real-life battery efficiency is 260 Wh/mi. Therefore, driving 100 miles involves consuming 26 kWh.

When charging an EV at public EV chargers

First, we compare the costs of charging an EV at public chargepoints. We calculate public EV charging costs first to bring our calculations closer to the options petrol car drivers have got.

On average, the public charging price is around £0.3 per kWh. So, the cost of travelling 100 miles is around £7.8.

When charging an EV at home

One of the advantages that EV drivers enjoy is the option of charging their vehicles at home. So, let’s calculate your costs of driving 100 miles with “at home” charging:

• £4.29 if you are on standard rates
• £5.1 if you are on differentiated rates and top up your EV battery during a day
• £2.6 if you are on differentiated rates and top up your EV battery overnight

Well, aren’t the numbers impressive? Can any petrol car driver boast of travelling 100 miles on only £2.6?