This is probably a tl;dr post, but I did some cost calculations and estimates for a couple friends of mine who are curious about getting an EV. Pasting here because it relates to the cost of charging and ownership.
I was running some cost numbers for our electric car — thought it might be of interest to those who are thinking about an EV in the future.
COST OF USE
Sumedh drives a total distance of 52 miles on his daily commute.
After his commute to and from work yesterday, it took 15.6 kWh of electricity, costing $1.60, to charge his EV (a 2021 XC40 Recharge) battery to its prior state.*
If he were to take our wagon (a 2020 V60 Cross Country) on that same trip, I estimate that it would have taken 1.69 gallons of gas, at a cost of $8.40 (based on our average consumption over the past two years and today's price of gas at Cherry Hill Costco, where I fill up).**
VARIABLES
EVs get better range in warm weather than in cold. For instance, in the month of February, this commute would have consumed approximately 22 kWH of electricity, which would cost us about $2.25 to replenish. Currently, we charge our XC40 Recharge exclusively at home (we have not taken it on long road trips that would require charging at public stations, which vary in price from free to between $0.40–0.70 per kWh).
Daily fluctuations in the price of gasoline, coupled with quarterly fluctuations in the price of electricity and seasonal changes in electrical consumption, make it difficult to pin down exactly how much less expensive the EV is in daily operation. I estimate that the EV usage costs between 20–40% the cost of a comparable ICE car, depending on the above variables.
COST TO PURCHASE
Our XC40 Recharge is an electrified version of a gas-powered XC40, which is handy for comparison purposes. Specifically, the equivalent internal-combustion engine (ICE) version of his car would be the XC40 R-Design T5 with Advanced Package and Climate Package.
We paid a total of $15,440 more to get the EV instead of the equivalent ICE with the same packages and features.
We were able to claim a $7,500 tax credit for the EV on our 2021, which brought to total difference paid down to $7,984.
BREAK-EVEN POINT?
Over the course of the past 11.5 months, we have driven the EV about 13,700 miles, so I am going to estimate 14,300 miles driven per year.
Volvo's turbo engines require a minimum of 91 octane; our local Costco only has 87 and 93, so we use 93. I do not have a granular source for local 93 octane gasoline prices over time, but according to AAA statistics from a year ago, 93 octane gas in NJ has ranged from an average of $3.72/gallon a year ago to $5.40/gallon this week (with a higher spike in between), and I am going to spitball an average of $4.50/gallon for the year. This is undoubtedly a bit off but I imagine it's within a reasonable ballpark.
Using that estimate, driving my V60 wagon (with the same T5 engine as the ICE XC40 and comparable consumption statistics), 14,300 miles would have consumed approximately 463 gallons of gas, at a cost of approximately $2,230.
If 93 octane gas were to continue to average $4.50 per gallon, it would take 2.7 years of additional usage (3.7 years total) to break even on the added expense of the EV over the ICE model vehicle.
If 93 octane gas were to fall back to $3.72 a gallon, it would take a total of 3.6 years of additional usage (4.6 years total) to break even.
We tend to keep our cars for quite a few years, and elected to factory warranty the EV for 10 years/120,000 miles (the battery system is under its own warranty for 8 years/100,000 miles). In our predicted period of ownership, we suspect that we will make up the cost difference perhaps twice over. EVs require relatively little maintenance (essentially tires, brakes, cabin air filters and wiper blades).
footnotes:
* We are on a "time of use" rate plan from our electricity provider, PECO. The car charges itself when the electricity rate is the cheapest, between midnight and 6 PM when the rate is $ 0.10234 per kWh (including supply+distribution+transmission). In this plan, we pay the highest rate on weekdays from 2–6PM. We programmed our house to go into a low-power mode during this time. Our AC is set to significantly cool the house prior to 2PM and then shuts off until 6PM. Fortunately, our house is well-insulated and is able to maintain a comfortable temperature over that interval. Switching to a time-of-use plan has reduced our monthly electricity cost for cooling.
Details of this plan are below:
time of use cost per kWh (supply+dist.+trans.)
peak (2–6 PM, non-holiday weekdays):
$0.27801
off-peak (6 PM–midnight, 6 AM–2 PM)
$0.11831
super off-peak (midnight–6 AM)
$0.10234
** I calculated the cost of driving my V60 with the measured consumption lifetime average reported in its computer of 30.9 mpg, and today's price of 93 octane gas at Cherry Hill Costco of $4.99 per gallon.
