Electric Cars--How Much Does It Cost per Charge?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Pictured: The all-electric Tesla Roadster sportscar from Tesla Motors.

Dear EarthTalk: If you have an electric or plug-in hybrid car, you're paying for electricity rather than gasoline all or most of the time. How does that cost compare to a gas-powered car's cost-per-mile? And since the electricity may be generated from some other polluting source, does it really work out to be better for the environment?

-- Kevin DeMarco, Milford, Connecticut

When you compare battery to gasoline power, electricity wins hands down. A 2007 study by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) calculated that powering a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) would cost the equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon of gasoline—a price not seen at the pump for 30 years.

The calculation was made using an average cost of electricity of 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour and the estimated distance the car would travel on one charge, versus a car that gets 25 miles per gallon and is powered by $3 per gallon gasoline. Change any of those variables and the relative costs change. For example, substituting a car that gets 50 miles per gallon doubles the comparative electrical cost (though it still works out much cheaper than gasoline). On the other hand, in some areas where wind or hydropower is wasted at night—just when the PHEV would be charging—the utility might drop the kilowatt hour cost to two to three cents, making the charge much less costly.

And don't worry that we'll run out of electrical power: A 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimated that three-quarters of the country's current small vehicle fleet could be charged by our existing electrical grid without building new power plants. (And if all those cars were replaced by PHEVs, it would eliminate the need for 6.5 billion barrels of oil per day, or 52 percent of current U.S. oil imports.)

Regarding environmental impact, charging up your car with electricity from the grid also wins handily over filling up at the gas station. In the most comprehensive PHEV study to date, released in 2007 by EPRI and the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), results predict that all greenhouse gases will be reduced as PHEVs begin to penetrate the car market. Estimated cumulative greenhouse gas reductions from 2010 to 2050, depending upon how fast PHEVs take hold, range from 3.4 to 10.3 billion tons.

More than one half of our national energy grid is powered by coal, and in areas where PHEVs are charged through coal-provided electricity, says NRDC, there is the possibility of increased levels of soot and mercury emissions. However, charging up can be much less of a guilt-ridden affair where cleaner electrical sources like wind and solar are available. The website HybridCars.com points out that as more power plants are required to develop green power and emit fewer greenhouse gases, the environmental and health benefits will further increase.

CONTACTS: Electric Power Research Institute, www.epri.com; HybridCars.com, www.hybridcars.com; Natural Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=electr...cost-per-charge

[Ban Hammer 13,355]

And don't worry that we'll run out of electrical power: A 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimated that three-quarters of the country's current small vehicle fleet could be charged by our existing electrical grid without building new power plants. (And if all those cars were replaced by PHEVs, it would eliminate the need for 6.5 billion barrels of oil per day, or 52 percent of current U.S. oil imports.)

[mawilson 2,133]

I've been asking this question for years and no-one has given me a straight answer.

"When you plug in your electric car, how much does it cost to charge it? In US dollars."

It's a simple question, really.

[Danno 1,228]

Never could figure out why all of these so-called "green cites" don't just mandate that patrol cars, medical emergency veh. City buses, the huge fleet of city owned cars, public service trucks.... why has not one "Green city" made the switch, with all this money to be saved... not to mention the environment?

Of course we have seen the tepid "introduction" of a few models but I am talking about seriously converting all of them.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I should start my own charging station (similar to gas station).

[Danno 1,228]

I should start my own charging station (similar to gas station).

May not sound so crazy.

With all the money Obama has thrown at "green"..... you should be able to get funding for such a project.

Don't expect for it to make money but if the Govt is involved it will never be considered a "failure".

[Kevin&Leilei 1]

What happens when you factor in the cost of the car, and maintenance? I hear those batteries are extremely expensive to replace.

[Danno 1,228]

What happens when you factor in the cost of the car, and maintenance? I hear those batteries are extremely expensive to replace.

one would expect as time to pass the price and quality of batteries will improve, we have all seen this happen with Battery tools which were expensive and lame in the beginning.

One model would have battery stations where while out driving around you could quickly exchange your dead battery for a charged one in the same way you do with BBQ tank.

[justashooter 430]

What happens when you factor in the cost of the car, and maintenance? I hear those batteries are extremely expensive to replace.

the highest cost is paid by the residents of the north china cities where the batteries are made. of course, china being china, environmental control on the manufacturing process is non-existant, so entire cities full of people are walking cadmium cells. heavy metals make your brain malfunction and die.

if the batteries were made in a country that had environmental controls, they would be twice as expensive.

[John24689 0]

I would have to wait a long time before I considered one. I would not think the electricity would cost that much to charge the car, but it would be nice to know how many kilowatt hours it would take. The biggest concern to me is the cost of replacement batteries. I have heard it costs a few thousand dollars. I don't think the advertising for the car companies selling these electric cars is communicating anything on the cost of recharging and cost of replacement batteries.

I am not an engineer, but I don't know why someone could not develop a nuclear powered car. They have subs and nuclear power plants. Just a thought.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

A Tesla Roadster starts at $109,000

reserve one here....

http://www.teslamotors.com/buy/resyourcar.php

[Heracles 417]

What a bargain!

[sj5 4]

My in-laws has electric car.

[Heracles 417]

Now lets get out of fantasy land. How about someone actually proposing real world solutions such as:

Light rail (Street Cars)

From my home city (Melbourne)

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Electric Buses

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Heavy Rail (Electric Trains)

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High Speed Rail (Electric)

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Maglev (Electromagnetic)

Edited March 17, 2009 by Constellation

[Danno 1,228]

Of course the problem with most of these rail systems is they seldom attract enough customers willing to pay even what it costs to operate them.

Everyone else is not only siting in traffic because the money was spent on this new shiny things rather than to build roads but those sitting in traffic are subsidizing each and every rider who takes a seat on these trains.

There are a some cities where these are the answer but clearly this doesn't work for most of the country.

Danny

Now lets get out of fantasy land. How about someone actually proposing real world solutions such as:

Light rail (Street Cars)

From my home city (Melbourne)

-------------

Electric Buses

-------------

Heavy Rail (Electric Trains)

-------------

High Speed Rail (Electric)

-------------

Maglev (Electromagnetic)