Home Charging Cost Calculator
What does it cost to charge your EV at home? We use your state's residential electricity rate from the US Energy Information Administration and the official battery capacity from the AFDC vehicle catalog.
Electricity rate in use
16.5¢/kWh · US average — EIA API key not configured
Set EIA_API_KEY in your environment (free key from eia.gov/opendata/register.php) to enable state-specific rates.
Per-session cost
Energy added
52.3 kWh
Time at home
8h 4m
Cost (US avg)
$8.62
Annual cost & gas comparison
EV cost / month
$199.60
EV cost / year
$2395.25
ICE cost / month
$116.67
ICE cost / year
$1400.00
$995.25/yr more expensive than the comparison ICE vehicle — usually means electricity is unusually pricey or the ICE comparison is very efficient.
Annual energy: 14,516.67 kWh · Charged exclusively at home at the rate above.
How this is calculated
Per-session cost
kWh = battery_kwh × (target − current) ÷ 100
cost = kWh × pricePerKwhVariables in this scenario: battery_kwh = 87.1, target = 80%, current = 20%, pricePerKwh = $0.1650.
Annual EV cost
annualKwh = milesPerYear × kWhPerMile
annualCost = annualKwh × pricePerKwhkWhPerMile is derived from EPA range: battery_kwh ÷ range. When range is unknown we fall back to 0.30 kWh/mile.
ICE comparison
gallons = milesPerYear ÷ mpg
iceCost = gallons × pricePerGallon
savings = iceCost − evAnnualCostCharge time uses a simple linear model up to 80% SoC, then half-rate above 80%, with 90% efficiency. For a more accurate per-platform charge curve, use the Charge Time Calculator.
- Lower-bound estimate. Real-world rates vary with battery temperature, SOC, station throttling, and vehicle peak acceptance.
- Model: linear up to 80%, then 50% of nominal above 80%, 90% efficiency.
Important: this is your home charging cost using your utility's average residential rate. Public charging stations bill at their own rates — which are often 2–4× higher. For session pricing at specific stations, check the listing on our directory or the network's app.
Data sources
- US EIA — state-level residential electricity rates. (eia.gov/electricity)
- AFDC — battery kWh and AC/DCFC kW for current-MY vehicles. (afdc.energy.gov)
- EPA fueleconomy.gov — battery capacity and AC charging time for historical EVs (derived estimates).
- Tesla manual overrides — hand-curated from tesla.com.
- Cost math:
lib/utils/chargeTimeEstimate.ts.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
- Home charging cost = your battery size (or miles driven × efficiency) times your utility's residential electricity rate. At the ~16.5¢/kWh US average, a full charge of a 75 kWh battery runs about $12. This calculator uses your state's actual EIA residential rate for a more precise figure.
- Is home charging cheaper than public charging?
- Almost always. Home charging uses your residential electricity rate, while public DC fast charging networks bill at their own session rates — often 2–4× higher. For long trips or no home charging, public stations still matter; check session pricing on each station listing.
- How is the charging cost calculated?
- We pull your state's residential electricity rate from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the official battery capacity from the AFDC vehicle catalog, then compute cost per full charge and projected annual cost from your typical mileage.