Electric vehicles and your electricity bill
What’s not to love about electric vehicles (EV)? They’re cheaper to run, need no to low maintenance and of course you get to skip going to the petrol station and can ‘fill-up’ at the comfort of your own home… but they do come with one major disadvantage… the high power bill.
Australian motorists are feeling the sting of high fuel prices and are increasingly contemplating electric vehicles. A recent Roy Morgan survey asked more than 37,000 drivers if they would seriously consider buying a car that used alternative fuel — and more than half said they’d seriously consider a hybrid vehicle.
If you’re thinking about buying an electric vehicle, let’s take a look at what an EV is, how much it can contribute to your power bill and some easy ways you can reduce its impact on your electricity bill.
What is a electric vehicle (EV)?
When we say Electric vehicles or ‘EVs’ for short we’re only talking about pure electric cars. Unlike conventional hybrids or plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles are cars that don’t use petroleum or diesel to run.
Instead, electric vehicles are powered by an on-board battery that gets charged through an electricity supply. It means the cars have no need for a clutch and gearbox or an exhaust pipe which makes them 10 times quieter.
How much does your electric vehicle cost to run?
Most electric vehicles cost around $5 to $25 each time to charge, depending on the size of your vehicle’s battery as well as the rate you pay for electricity.
According to Canstar Blue most EVs will cost around $5 in electricity for every 100 km of driving. Although still much cheaper than petrol vehicles, charging your EV at home has the potential to use a fair bit of electricity causing a surge in your power bill.
So what can you do?
Don’t stress, Reposit is here to help and make your life a little bit more easier with two simple ways you could charge your electric vehicle without the impact to your power bill.
Save more by charging overnight in the comfort of your home
Most of us have signed up to a ‘flat rate’ electricity tariff with our power companies, but you get more benefit on a time-of-use (TOU) plan - you can charge your EV from cheap energy.
TOU plans have different energy prices set throughout the day. Typically TOU energy prices are highest in the afternoon and evening (often referred to as peak) and are cheapest around midnight and in the very early morning (often referred to as off-peak).
If you’ve got an EV you can take advantage by charging your electric vehicle overnight on the ‘cheaper’ electricity price and wake up to a fully-charged battery! So why not make the change and switch to a TOU plan today.
Read more about how TOU plans work and how they can help you reduce your electricity bills. We’ve included some peak periods clocks that you can print out, fill in and put all around the house on appliances that you don’t want to use during peak times. Download your free guide to time-of-use plans and free printable now.
Let the sun charge your electric vehicle
Tailor your energy to your lifestyle with smart solar batteries like Reposit, you can use energy the way you want while still lowering your power bill.
Charge your electric vehicle in the comfort of your own home, when you want without the added cost to your electricity bill.
Working with your solar panels, a smart solar battery setup can predict how much electricity your panels will create, and will know when to store this in your battery to lower your power bills.
By charging your EV from the stored power in your battery, you’ll rarely need to buy energy from the grid at a higher cost - so you can sit back and relax, without the stress of your upcoming electricity bill.
Learn more about how a solar battery can reduce the cost to charge your electric car!
