Home Charging Costs for Electric Cars, Scooters, and Three- Wheelers: How to Calculate Them

Introduction

People are gradually shifting from fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). Whether you are an EV user or are planning to buy one, you must’ve come across the opinion that EVs have lower running costs courtesy lower ‘refuelling’ or charging tariffs. Here at EVJoints, we bring you a detailed blog reflecting on the charging costs of different types of EVs and much more with your home charger.

Charging costs vary depending on where you are charging your vehicle and the size of your EV’s battery.

Home charging is the most convenient & cost-effective way to charge your EV.

You can charge your EV overnight at home, ensuring it’s ready to go in the morning. Home charging is the most economical way of replenishing your EV’s battery. And apart from the convenience of overnight charging and affordability, home charging also gives you complete control over the charging process. If your EV charger is accessible via an EV charging app, you can remotely start/stop the charging process and even schedule charging during off-peak hours when electricity rates are low.

Power consumed during EV charging is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) or units. 1 unit of electricity is equal to 1 kWh. We usually measure power consumed in units, and electricity costs are calculated per unit. Electricity rates vary depending on the state you live in. An EV’s battery capacity is also measured in kWh. And the charging speed is measured in kilowatts (kW).

An EV can be charged either via AC charging or DC charging. AC stands for ‘Alternating Current’ and DC stands for ‘Direct Current’. AC charging is ideal for charging your EV at home. DC charging is more common near highways or at public charging stations, where you don’t have much time to recharge. To learn more about AC & DC charging, visit our blog here.

How to calculate an EV’s charging cost?

The simple formula for calculating an EV battery’s charging cost is:

Cost of charging = battery capacity (kwh) x rate per unit of electricity.

Home charging cost for electric cars:

For demonstrating the charging cost of an electric car at home, let’s take India’s most popular electric car, the Tata Nexon EV, as our subject.

The Nexon EV (long range variant) comes with a 40.5 kWh battery. In Delhi, electricity tariff is Rs 7 per unit (if a household consumes between 800-1200 units per month). As per the formula above, the cost of charging a Nexon EV (long range) comes to around Rs 283.5 (40.5 x 7). And with a claimed range of 465 km, the cost of running per kilometre is Rs 0.61 per km (283.5 / 465).

If the Nexon EV owner drives 50 km daily, a fully charged battery (with a range of 465 km) can run for around 9 days (465 / 50 = 9.3).

This means you need to charge your Nexon EV only thrice a month (since it runs for 9 days in one full charge). So, taking the above mentioned figure of Rs 283.5 and multiplying it by 3, gives you your EV’s monthly cost of charging.

Monthly cost of charging Nexon EV = 283.5 x 3 = 850.5

Therefore, if you own a Tata Nexon EV (long range variant), and you drive an average of 50 km per day, the cost of charging your electric car at home per month is Rs 850.5.

Tata Nexon’s petrol variant has a fuel tank capacity of 44 litres and the car offers a mileage of around 17 km/litre. The current petrol price in Delhi is Rs 95 per litre. A full tank costs around Rs 4180. The running cost comes out to be Rs 5.6 per km (95 / 17). Therefore, for a 50 km commute, the petrol Nexon’s running cost is Rs 280 (5.6 x 50). On the other hand, the Nexon EV’s battery can get fully charged at around the same amount (Rs 283.5, calculated above). But a fully charged Nexon EV can travel 465 km (the EV’s range)! The petrol Nexon’s per kilometre running cost is Rs 5.6, whereas the Nexon EV’s per kilometre running cost is just Rs 0.61.

The cost of charging the Nexon EV (long range variant) at home and at public EV charging stations will differ. Below we’ll have a look at the same in detail:

Home Charging: Let’s take the same electricity cost we used above, i.e, Rs 7 per unit. A full battery charge requires 40.5 units. Therefore, a full charge would cost around Rs 283.5.

Public EV Charging Station: EV charging stations have higher rates when compared to home charging. To compare with the above tariff, here we take a Jio-BP Pulse fast-charging station, which has a tariff of Rs 16 per unit. A full charge using this charging station will cost Rs 648.

To learn more about home charging & charging at public EV stations, visit our blog here.

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Home charging cost for electric scooters:

In the case of electric scooters, we will take Ola Electric’s S1 Pro scooter as our subject.

The Ola S1 Pro comes with a 4 kWh battery. In Delhi, electricity tariff is Rs 7 per unit (if a household consumes between 800-1200 units per month). As per the above formula, the cost of charging an Ola S1 Pro comes to around Rs 28 (4 x 7). And with a claimed range of 195 km, the cost of running per kilometre is Rs 0.14 per km (28 / 195).

If the Ola S1 Pro owner rides 50 km daily, a fully charged battery (with a range of 195 km) can run around 4 days (195 / 50 = 3.9).

This means you need to charge your S1 Pro around 7 times a month (since it runs for 4 days in one full charge). So, taking the above mentioned figure of Rs 28 and multiplying it by 7, gives you your EV’s monthly cost of charging.

Monthly cost of charging Ola S1 Pro = 28 x 7 = Rs 196

Therefore, if you own an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter, and you ride an average of 50 km per day, the cost of charging your vehicle per month is Rs 196.

If we compare it with a petrol Honda Activa, the refueling costs differ considerably. The Activa comes with a 5.3 litre petrol tank. The current petrol price in Delhi is approximately Rs 95 per litre. Therefore, it will cost Rs 503.5 (95 x 5.3) to fill up the scooter. The claimed mileage of the Activa is 60 km/litre. This brings the running cost to Rs 1.6 per km (95 / 60).

The per km running cost of the Ola S1 Pro electric scooter is just Rs 0.14.

For a daily commute of 50 km, i.e., 1500 km per month (50 x 30), a Honda Activa owner will have to spend Rs 2400 per month (1500 x per km running cost = 1500 x 1.6 = Rs 2400).

In comparison, the monthly cost of charging an Ola S1 Pro is just Rs 196.

Home charging cost for passenger electric three-wheelers:

According to ICRA, the running cost of an electric auto is between Rs 0.2-0.4 per km. The same for a diesel auto is between Rs 2.8-3.2 per km and Rs 2.5-3 per km for a CNG auto.

Passenger electric three-wheelers become more economically competitive with higher vehicle utilization. To learn more about passenger electric three-wheelers, visit our blog here.

Home charging cost for cargo electric three-wheelers:

The running cost of Altigreen neEV cargo electric 3-wheeler is Rs. 0.92 per km. The same for a diesel cargo e3w is Rs 4.38 per km. This shows savings of almost Rs 3.5 per km with an EV.

And similar to passenger e3w, these EVs also become more economically competitive with higher vehicle utilization. To learn more about cargo electric three-wheelers, visit our blog here.

Conclusion:

Charging an electric vehicle is significantly cheaper than refueling a conventional fuel-powered vehicle. Home charging is the most cost-effective option, while public EV charging stations are vital for on-the-go needs. When comparing electric cars with petrol cars, electric scooters with their petrol counterparts, and electric three-wheelers with diesel or CNG vehicles, the difference in running costs is too big to ignore. The future is electric; it’s good for the environment as well as for your pocket. So, choose your next vehicle wisely.