What’s keeping you from making the leap from ICE vehicles to EVs? The biggest roadblock to fully embracing electric vehicles used to be the price of the car; now it’s range anxiety. Another obstacle is the availability and cost of charging an EV.
If you’re on the fence about going electric, it’s important to be assured that charging electric vehicles is available and affordable to you. So let’s jump right in.
How and where can I charge my EV in Australia?
1. Home-charging, standard wall socket
Yes, you’re right! The first option is right down your nose. The standard electrical wall socket in your garage is the simplest way to charge an EV. However, your household line takes the longest time to power up your car. A typical wall socket provides 2.4kW of charge per hour and will take at least 24 hours to charge an EV from empty to full.
2. Home-charging, dedicated home wall box
Fortunately, you have a faster option. You can hire an electrician to install a dedicated home wall box. This home-charging station can put out 3kW, 7kW, or 11kW (depending on your car's charger) into your EV battery and can cut the charging time significantly. Full charging time is significantly reduced to 7-10 hours.
3. Public AC charging
As of August 2020, the Electric Vehicle Council reported that the country has 2,307 public charging stations, of which 1,950 are AC charging stations. These AC charging points can send power to your EV at 7kW-22kW per hour and charge your car from 0%-100% in 4-7 hours.
4. Public DC charging
Public DC charging is the faster option. DC fast or rapid charge sites provide EVs from 25kW up to 150kW, fully charging a depleted battery in 1-2 hours. DC ultra-rapid or high-powered stations can provide up to 350kW and fully charge a battery in as little as 20 minutes to 1 hour. Of the total 2,307 stations, 357 of these are DC charge points.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car in Australia?
Cost to charge an EV at home
Let’s do some number crunching.
The electricity rate in Australia can vary from $0.21 to $0.34/kWh during off-peak hours, depending on which state you live in and what time you charge. The rate may even vary within a state. Suppose you live in Melbourne VIC and drive a Nissan LEAF.
Electricity price: off-peak rate = $0.21/kwh; peak rate = $0.50/kwh
Nissan LEAF, energy consumption: 10kWh per 100 kilometres
Cost of EV charging at home, off-peak hours: $0.21/kWh x 10kWh = $2.10
Cost of EV charging at home, peak hours: $0.50/kWh x 10 kWh = $5.00
Home-charging a LEAF from zero to its full range (400km) will cost you $8.40 to $20, depending on what time you plug it to the wall socket. Take note that charging during peak hours will quickly tip off the scales and double the cost.
Just out of curiosity, let's see how much you'll spend at the bowser for a petrol-fuelled car. For the same distance, an average IC-engine car in Australia consumes about 11L/100km. At $1.35 per litre of petrol (11L x $1.35/L = $14.85), that’s easily $14.85 off your pocket—way, way off the $5.00 cost you’d pay for peak-hour charging!
Cost to charge an EV at public stations
The cost of charging an electric car at DC public charge points ranges from $0.40 to $0.45 per kWh. At Tesla’s network of 40+ supercharging points scattered around Australia, the rate is $0.52/kWh. Wow, that’s almost the same as home-charging at peak rates but at lightning-fast charging speed!
To put this in context, charging a Tesla S from low to full will cost around $50.
So, what is the cheapest way to charge an EV?
It’s plain to see that home-charging is not only the simplest charging method there is, but it’s also the cheapest. Never mind that it’s the slowest, too. You and your EV have got to rest, don’t you? Synchronise your resting hours—both of you—with your charging hours, and things will be seamless.
Of course, you’ll still need public stations. They are the perfect solution for topping up and eliminating range anxiety.
Learn more about EVs from Carpart.com.au!
There's no question about the direction the car industry is taking—we're all going towards vehicle electrification. How long we get there and how 'electrified' our vehicles will be, are two other relevant questions.
Check our blog to learn more about EVs, such as the top 10 EVs with the longest range, 10 EVs with the best batteries, and many more. You can visit our blog section, search for ‘EV’ or ‘electric vehicle’ and read to your heart’s content!
For car parts and accessories, you don’t need to go far, either. If you’ve got an auto part in mind, you need only to request it from us, and we’ll locate it for you. Request a car part now and start receiving quotes!
By Jeannette Salanga (JMSL)