How Much Electricity Do Electric Cars use

Consumers who consider purchasing electric cars, not the popular and more common "hybrids" but the all-electric vehicles, want to know things like how long to charge electric car, the average charging time electric cars, and how much electricity do electric cars use.

It's only natural to wonder about these energy-saving, particularly when they're still relatively new to the market. Hybrid-electric vehicles contain a small electric motor as well as a the gasoline-powered engine that work together.

Contrast these hybrids with the so-called "pure," or all-electric cars that run on nothing but electricity. When looking at energy usage rates for electric cars, we're talking about the fully electric vehicles, not the hybrids. It's too hard to make comparisons about hybrid cars because they sometimes use electric power and sometimes don't.

Cost of Electricity For Cars

For an "average electric car," the cost of the electricity used is about one-fourth of a kWh per mile driven. That's low by any standard, and means that driving an electric car is not only an efficient use of electricity but can save consumers a lot of money annually. How much? Estimates vary depending on many factors, like:

• How many miles you drive per day, on average
• The price of fuel in your area
• The average cost per kilowatt-hour, kWh, where you live
• The kind of electric car you have, hybrid or all-electric
• The age of your car
• Your driving habits

The Pros and Cons of Electric Cars

As is the case with virtually every consumer product on the market, electric cars have their pros and cons. If you are looking at long-term cost of power, the pros probably outweigh the cons for your situation. If you are concerned about initial cost to purchase an electric vehicle, then the cons likely outweigh the pros. Here' a quick summary of the main factors involved in buying and owning an electric vehicle:

• Initial purchase prices of all-electric cars is about 40 percent higher than the average cost of a gasoline-powered vehicle
• Electric cars can only travel about 100 miles before you need to plug them in and recharge their batteries
• You never have to buy gasoline again. For many people, this is the biggest advantage of owning an electric vehicle
• Cost of operating an electric car, based only on fuel, is about half of the cost to run a gasoline car
• Maintenance expenses for electric vehicles tends to be higher than for other cars. This is primarily due to the fact that lithium-ion batteries are costly to maintain