The Benefits of Installing an EV Charger at Home

Electric vehicles (EVs) are so advanced nowadays that they’re having a huge impact on the transportation industry, energy, and sustainability. More and more people are choosing to drive an EV than a gasoline car for a reason. It’s become so much cheaper to drive an EV that people are installing EV chargers at their homes. This is one of the smartest ideas if you own or want to buy an EV. In this post, we’ll talk about EV chargers and why installing one at home is a game changer.

EVs vs. Gas Cars

When comparing electric vehicles to gas-powered cars, the differences go far beyond the engine.

• Efficiency: Efficiency is one of the most important things when comparing these vehicles. Electric motors convert about 85% of the energy from the battery to power the wheels and for gasoline engines only about 20-30% of the fuel’s energy moves the car.
• Maintenance: When you own an EV, you will need to do less maintenance compared to a gasoline car. You’ll forget about engine oil change and other fluids.
• Emissions: Another important thing to mention is that EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions and they can be nearly carbon-neutral if they are powered by clean electricity like solar.

Why Install an EV Charger at Home?

Yes, the number of the stations are growing but paying for an EV charger installation will give you so much more flexibility.

If you are debating on whether you want to install a charging station at home or not, below are the biggest benefits of doing so:

1. Convenience and Time Savings

Like we already mention above, a charger at home makes the experience of owning an EV extremely flexible and convenient. You don’t go anywhere to charge your phone when the battery is down, right? The same should be with your car. You came home, plugged it in and it will fully recharge during the night. When you wake up in the morning the battery is full and the car is ready for your trip.

2. Lower Energy Costs

If you are worried that you will end up paying more for power than gas, you are wrong. Home electricity is a lot cheaper than gas prices. In many areas of the US, there are off-peak electricity rates, which means that the prices are cheaper at night so you can charge your car even cheaper.

3. Property Value

Homes with EV chargers are more attractive to buyers if you are planning to sell your house. An EV charger in your garage will increase not only the demand of buyers but the entire property value.

4. Environmental Impact

Some people are talking negative about charging stations stating that they are not environmentally friendly, but they don’t know that these home charging stations can be connected to solar panels to reduce the carbon footprint. This is the thing that will make your experience even more beautiful.

5. Rebates and Incentives

Many states and utility companies in America offer rebates or tax credits to people who install a Level 2 home charger. This helps them to offset the initial cost of installation.

The Cost: Charging an EV vs. Filling Up on Gas

Now, let’s take a look at the cost of charging an EV vs filling up on gas a gasoline car:

• Average cost to charge an EV at home:

According to Energy Information Administration (EIA) the electricity rate in the USA is around $0.16 per kWh.

Most of the electric vehicles use around 30 kWh to drive 100 miles, which means:

100 miles = $4.80 in electricity.

• Average cost for a gas vehicle:

A car that gets 30 miles per gallon at $3.80 per gallon costs:

100 miles = $12.67 in gas

As you can see, it’s 3x cheaper to drive an electric car than a gasoline car. If we think long term, that’s about $950 of savings on fuel.

The Installation Cost

Did we convince you it’s a good idea? Now how much will it cost to install it? Most electricians will charge somewhere between $500 and $2000 for an EV charger installation. All this depends on the electrical setup and the charger brand.

Final Ideas

So, owning an EV in America is 3x cheaper than a gasoline car. How much cheaper? You will save about $1,000 per year. This is what drive people to install a charger at home, to make their experience even better. It’s not that expansive to install an EV charger at home, some electricians could do it for you for about $1,000. All you have to do is call your local electricians to give you a quote. This will be your game changer charging station.