Be aware, however, that no matter what you pay per kWh it will cost more to keep an EV running during the coldest months of the year. Frigid weather negatively affects a battery’s performance and limits its ability to accept a charge. Research conducted by the AAA found that when the mercury dips to 20°F and the heater is in use, an average EV loses around 41 percent of its operating range. It also takes longer to charge the vehicle under frigid conditions. The AAA’s study found that at 20°F with the heater running, an owner will pay an additional $25 for every 1,000 miles driven to keep the battery charged, compared to the cost of running the vehicle at 75°F. An EV’s range is also adversely affected in extremely hot weather to a certain degree, especially with the air conditioning in use.
Chevrolet says its Bolt EV will get back an average 25 miles of operating range per hour of Level 2 charging. That’s a cost of between $2.40 and $3.60 at the above rates, compared to the EPA’s estimate of $2.15 to drive a gas-powered Chevrolet Cruze for 25 miles.
Unfortunately, while Level 3 is the fastest way to charge an EV it’s also the costliest. As an example, we were recently billed $0.29 a minute for DC Fast Charging in the Chicago area via an EVgo station. (It’s $0.25 a minute for EVgo subscribers.) A 25-minute session that added around 50 miles of added range to a Volkswagen eGolf cost $7.25, which comes out to $3.62 for 25 miles. By comparison, the EPA says it costs an average of $2.26 to pilot the standard gas-powered VW Golf the same distance.
Learn how cost to charge an electric car can vary significantly depending on where and how you plug into the grid.
www.myev.com