How much actually does it cost to drive vs gasoline?

[Old_Norm]

I’m having solar installed soon and expect to see my electric cost drop to about $0.05 per kWh (system amortized over 20 years). Significantly less than my current 12 cents that is expected to increase due to new power sources coming online.
In 3,000 miles of driving I’ve only used public charging once, a level 2 ChargePoint at the mall where I just wanted the parking spot at Xmas.

I have a 38 panel (310 watts per panel) solar system here in Ohio. Not the sunniest State in the Union. This was my electric bill last month with charging the Mach E every day, on average, from 60 to 80%. Just something for you to look forward to.

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[A-A-Ron]

Your math looks generally sound. When I calculated my savings versus the BMW X3 I traded, I also factored in another 1.6c/mi for oil changes ($160 every 10k). I could have added more (my 50k service on the X3 was $800 for oil, air filters, and spark plugs and that's just normal scheduled maintenance) but just kept it simple because oil was the most consistently consumed item.

My math also worked out a lot further in my favor because I've been paying 8.5c/kWh for electricity and the BMW had a higher per mile cost (27mpg but with premium).

There's also something to be said for performance - comparing fuel economy on your MME versus an Escape is great from a similar size comparison but not particularly close on a performance comparison. The few small ICE SUVs with sub-6s 0-60 speeds don't get the fuel economy of an Escape.

 

[Rick65]

If anyone wants to play with this themselves, I had the same questions and made a free app ~2 years ago for my iPhone called “Gas Muzzler”. No ads, totally free, I did it to learn the process.

I came to the same conclusions. DCFC is somewhere around a wash, home charging was around 1/3 for me depending on gas prices or electricity prices.

just downloaded your app... look very good and simple. However how do you estimate the charging loss?

 

[kellstd]

If anyone wants to play with this themselves, I had the same questions and made a free app ~2 years ago for my iPhone called “Gas Muzzler”. No ads, totally free, I did it to learn the process.

I came to the same conclusions. DCFC is somewhere around a wash, home charging was around 1/3 for me depending on gas prices or electricity prices.

Agree- If you don't have a home Level 2 charger, there is little to no savings. I charge at home off-peak, and last summer was saving about $250/month vs my previous mid-size SUV which averaged about 20 mpg.

 

[Accord07]

Odometer: just under 37K miles
Electricity use at home (plus a very small amount at ChargePoint DCFC): 11,581 kWh
Rates for home charging: $0.126/kWh (12AM-6AM), $0.152/kWh (6AM-2PM weekday, 6AM-12AM weekend), $0.383/kWh (2PM-6PM weekday), all rates include generation plus distribution
DCFC: ~10% of home charging, including the free 500 kWh at Electrify America (and complimentary charging at EA from time to time)

Average cost per mile so far: 4.6 cents

 

[FordFamily]

I posted this on the Forum about April 4:

"At home I use a 2013 Leviton L2 3.8 kWH 16A. Originally purchased for an early 2013 C-Max. Nice car but as a first year it had multiple problems with literally every system. Now I have the August 2022 MME.

I am able to calculate the increased cost of charging an EV at home. <$9/month.

I have a timed usage meter, Portland, Oregon. $0.041 per KWH off-peak (10 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) In 2019 usage off-peak went up from ~300 kwh to average 500kWH/month. That is when I leased the Nissan Leaf. Recently with the Mustang Mach-e there is no change. I typically charge 2 -3 nights/week to keep the battery at 85%.

Oregon sources of electricity in 2020: 40% Hydro, 27% coal (phasing out), 21% natural gas, 7% wind, 3.5% nuclear. (My local supplier Portland General Electric may produce slightly different ratios)

Just for comparison, on-peak is $0.124/kwh. Really inexpensive here!

I guestimate gasoline costs for an ICE (2005 Escape Hybrid, yup, 207,000 miles) were it the primary vehicle (1-1.5K/month) currently would be $80-120/month."

So, yup, charging at home is much less costly! It's on the road that a charge from 25% to 85% can cost from $13-$30.

 

[Mirak]

Back of napkin math...

Assuming $3/gal (here in Kansas it's actually up to $3.20 now) and 30mi/gal for a similarly sized CUV, that's 10 cents for mile for ICE.

Assuming 8 cents / kWh (about what I pay for garage charging) and 2.8mi/kWh for average of city/highway driving, that's 2.9 cents per mile for EV. So gas is 3-4 times more expensive than electric for me.

Every month I drive 1,500 miles, I save $100-$120. That's $1,200 to $1,440 per year. Not to mention no oil changes or really any other maintenance for the foreseeable future.

I paid a hefty premium for the vehicle, maybe $10k over a similarly situated ICE (if there is such a thing, what with the MME's superior tech, quiet, and acceleration), but I'll break even in 6-7 years. Faster if gas prices shoot up again.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Overall gasoline would have to cost about $0.60/gallon for me to save money driving my truck vs my Mustang.

 

[AutoDMC]

I just like driving my car.....

Certainly! And I didn't calculate fun factor at all. Or the joy I get when I see it gleaming in the parking lot. The Mach-E is about 1000% more fun to drive than my tiny-engine "EcoBoost" Escape, much quieter, nobody got excited to see a plain white Escape drive by, 0-60 is no joke, much better driver interface...

All around I certainly don't have any real complaints (I've mentioned some annoyances, but my Escape had MyFord Touch so they pale in comparison).

I was just curious, because a coworker stated "You must be saving a ton on gas!" The answer is, yes, I haven't spent a single penny on gas. In a year or so when I'm able to move into a house (God willing) I'll get to enjoy those sweet, sweet off-peak kilowatts.

At the end of the day, I love my Eevee, and I'm very happy I found one. But I couldn't resist a spreadsheet. I do play Eve Online after all...

 

[JES432]

I found this to be very different. I was saving a lot on gas. When I made the switch I compared actual bills. I was only spending around 13% of what I had been paying in gas (fast charging). Which doesn’t count any of the maintenance.

There are so many different factors to consider though. Gas was higher at that time. I had a BMW X3 that I drove mostly around town and was getting only about 18mpg, on a good week. I was buying premium. I’m in the CA (south of SF Bay Area). Even now those gas prices are in the $5 and up range, mostly up. I don’t even remember when Gas was around $3 a gallon.

 

[superdave80]

If you don't have a home Level 2 charger, there is little to no savings.

I'm actually the opposite, I never charge at home unless I need to top off for a long trip. I have a level 2 charging one block from my work that costs 1/2 of what it costs at home, and FREE about four blocks from me. Mucho, mucho savings for me...

 

[Jppumper]

I live in an urban area and charge at home exclusively. It cost me about $5 to charge vs. 3.69 per gallon or $50 for a tank of gasoline. That's how I look at it.

 

[TheSeg]

I just like driving my car.....especially past gas stations like this one

That's the exact gas station I pass when I'm going to DNA Lounge! A fine reminder of the cost savings I'm making for my Mach-E.

 

[Trick.Mach-E]

By my own findings there is no dispute our Mach-E is cheap when used in town and trips up to 400 miles. And while trips up to 400 miles would be cheaper vs our ICE cars they are certainly not less time!

My family and I were just talking about the costs of ICE, Hybrid and EV and we used our trips from the CA Central Coast to San Antonio, TX... roughly a 3200 mile round trip.

In 2019 we took our 2020 Fusion Plug-in Hybrid and took a route that added about 200 miles to our trip. In 2021 we took our Mach-E pretty much straight there and back. In 2022 we took our 2013 Ford Raptor and just a couple of weeks ago we did the trip again in our Fusion.

Here is the cost for each car...

2019 - Fusion - $230 for gas
2021 - Mach-E - $326 for charging
2022 - Raptor - $850 for gas (East of El Paso doing 90MPH+ 10.5MPG average!)
2023 - Fusion - $287 for gas

Yes I know gas was cheaper in 2019 but it's not any cheaper in 2023 than it was in 2021 when we took the Mach-E to TX. As for charging the further east we went from CA the cheaper the charging was as well.

The biggest factor for not taking the Mach-E on a trip like that again is the down time we have charging. It's not bad doing one charge to get 400 miles but when you have to stop on average every 115 miles for up to 45 minutes that adds up.

 

[RickMachE]

What's often missed in these analysis are two things:

1) You leave with a full tank from home charging, so you get 91kWh at that rate.
2) You can stop at a hotel and get free charging overnight.

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