Online Tool Shows Running An Electric Car Can Be As Cheap As Gas At A Buck A Gallon

While the current cost of a gallon of gasoline is literally posted on street corners, it’s difficult for those considering an electric vehicle to gauge how much it might cost to power his or her daily commute from the local power grid, versus making the trek in a conventionally powered model. The Environmental Protection Agency posts “electric equivalent” fuel economy ratings, but it’s still cumbersome to compare ownership expenses in hard dollars and cents to determine if and when what’s usually a higher purchase price for an EV can be recovered in fuel savings. This is made even more complicated because electric rates and gas prices vary from one region to another, with the latter being subject to erratic fluctuations according to any number of socio-economic factors.

Fortunately the Department of Energy just took the wraps off a new online tool called eGallon that makes quick work of the solution, comparing gas prices and the per-gallon equivalent in battery power, based on real-time average fuel and electricity costs for all 50 states. According to eGallon, the current national average for a gallon of gas is $3.65, with the electric equivalent at a bargain $1.14 a gallon. This means a typical electric vehicle could travel as far on $1.14 worth of electricity as a similar vehicle could travel on a gallon of gasoline. In Illinois, where gas averages a stiffer $3.84 a gallon (and currently hits an astronomical average of $4.44 in Chicago), the electric equivalent runs a much more affordable $0.99 a gallon.

Of course this remains a broad comparison. As the above example points out, gas prices in a given city may still be considerably higher (or we reckon, lower) than the state average, and the calculator makes certain other assumptions in the background for which variances can be wide enough to drive a Chevy Suburban through. The calculator factors fuel economy for the average gasoline-powered car at 28.2 miles per gallon, and 35 average kWh per 100 miles and 12.33 cents per kWh for a typical EV. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Of course there are other costs to consider when comparing EV and gas-powered cars, including resale value, insurance costs and repair charges; long-term owners might have to face replacing a battery pack at some point which could be prohibitively costly. What’s more, some homeowners might have to spend several hundred dollars or more to upgrade their garage’s electric wiring and/or add a dedicated charging station.

On the plus side, owning an EV can prove to be a low-maintenance relationship. For example, Ford estimates its Focus Electric model will save an owner at least $1,275 over the vehicle’s life (compared to the standard Focus) by not being subject to a host of regular service procedures required by conventionally powered cars, including oil changes, cooling system flushes, transmission servicing and replacing the air filter, spark plugs and drive belts.

It still takes a calculator and an accountant's balance sheet to reach the bottom line regarding the true long-term cost of owning an EV, but at least the eGallon tool gives shoppers a welcome start.