• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Corporate News
  • Generation
  • Oil & Gas
  • Regulation
  • Renewable
    • Climate
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Storage
  • Tech
  • T & D
Energy News Desk Logo

Energy News Desk

Energy News and Data

Research determines financial benefit from driving electric vehicles

June 23, 2020 by Science Daily

Motorists can save as much as $14,500 on fuel costs over 15 years by driving an electric vehicle instead of a similar one fueled by gasoline, according to a new analysis conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Previous studies assumed a singular value for the cost to charge an electric vehicle (EV), but this new work provides an unprecedented state-level assessment of the cost of EV charging that considers when, where, and how a vehicle is charged, and considers thousands of electricity retail tariffs and real-world charging equipment and installation costs. The cost of charging is compared against the price of gasoline to estimate total fuel cost savings over a vehicle’s lifetime.

“Finding out the purchase price of a vehicle is relatively simple, but the savings related to fuel aren’t readily available, especially since electricity cost varies greatly for different locations and charging options,” said Matteo Muratori, a senior systems engineer at NREL and co-author of the article, “Levelized Cost of Charging Electric Vehicles in the United States.” The research appears in Joule and is led by Brennan Borlaug from NREL and co-authored by Shawn Salisbury and Mindy Gerdes from INL.

The researchers developed a baseline scenario based on current vehicle use and charging behavior to estimate the average levelized cost of charging (LCOC) for electric vehicles.

The cost to charge an EV varies widely. The key factors include differences in the price of electricity, the types of equipment used (slow or fast charging), the cost of installation, and vehicle use (miles driven). The national average cost to charge a battery EV ranges from 8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 27 cents, with an average of 15 cents. That corresponds to an average lifetime fuel cost savings of $3,000 to $10,500.

In addition to this variation, considering state-by-state differences can push savings to $14,500 (in Washington state) or, in the case of four states (Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Tennessee), fail to provide any savings when compared to a conventional gasoline vehicle under certain scenarios. The researchers examined vehicles of the same class and size and driven the same number of miles a year.

In calculating costs, the researchers also considered the nature of the charging stations. For a slow charge, a motorist can use a traditional outlet at home without any special equipment. Upgrading to a higher-powered residential charger costs about $1,800, including installation. But charging at home can be done at night when electricity prices are currently at their lowest, which is considered the best-case scenario from a cost perspective.

The average cost of 15 cents per kWh assumes 81% of charging was done at home, 14% at the workplace or public station, and 5% with a DC fast charger (DCFC), in line with current empirical data. Exclusively charging at DCFC stations increases the national LCOC to 18 cents per kWh, while the price falls to 11 cents per kWh for motorists who only charged their EV using a dedicated household outlet. The cost can be further reduced to 8 cents by charging during off-peak periods.

This research is funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Original source: Science Daily

Filed Under: Tech

Primary Sidebar

Join The Daily Charge

This week's top 5 stories in your inbox. No spam ever.

Trending

  • Energy Company Increases Planning Visibility with Hive9 Software
  • Enel Starts Construction on Lily Solar+Storage Project
  • Schneider Electric, SolarEdge Partner to Accelerate Residential Solar Market
  • California Grant Program Improves Tribal Access to Clean Energy
  • LOC Awarded Survey Contract for Offshore Wind Farm
  • SunBrush mobil Expands PV Cleaning Operations into the U.S. Market
  • Clean Power Alliance Adds New Solar, Storage Capacity to Portfolio
  • EPRI, Partners Receive Funding to Research DER Grid Integration
  • IEEFA: Utility-Scale Solar Underutilized
  • Thousands of Miles of Scottish Coast Offer Huge Offshore Wind Potential

Footer

Trending

  • Energy Company Increases Planning Visibility with Hive9 Software
  • Enel Starts Construction on Lily Solar+Storage Project
  • Schneider Electric, SolarEdge Partner to Accelerate Residential Solar Market
  • California Grant Program Improves Tribal Access to Clean Energy
  • LOC Awarded Survey Contract for Offshore Wind Farm

Recent

  • Quick Tips To A Sustainable Future
  • Stem Provides Smart Energy Storage Solutions to Today’s Power
  • EIA's AEO2021 shows U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions rising after the mid-2030s
  • Homeowners associations still a barrier for some would-be solar customers
  • Commentary: With open standards, U.S. can build EV charging infrastructure faster

Search

Contact Us

Write For Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · EnergyNewsDesk.com