"EV Battery, electric car battery"
"Electric Car Home Charging Costs: The Complete Guide"
[ "If You Are An Electric Car Owner, Energy Bills Will Matter More! 
Many of us are guilty of this: you have received yet another mundane household electricity bill. In a blink of an eye, the bill is discarded in the bin! Well, as an electric vehicle (EV) owner, the luxury of ignoring your electricity bills is now over. There is no doubt, in that, the running costs of a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) on zero-emission electric mode is significantly cheaper, than a petrol or diesel internal combustion engine (ICE). But paying attention to energy bills will be imperative in exploiting this fantastic advantage of cheaper electric driving.

No doubt, recharging an EV battery is significantly cheaper than filling a tank of fuel. An electric car battery costs up to œ14 to fully charge, compared to between œ50 to œ80 for a full tank of petrol. Home charging tariff rates vary, but 14p/ kWh is an average. A typical 60kWh EV battery, will therefore cost up to œ8.50 to fully charge, delivering a range up to 200 miles. Put another way, every 100 miles in an EV costs at an average œ4.25. In some cases, the cost of home charging could be as low as œ3.64. Running a pure electric car can cost as little as 2 pence per mile (the actual EV charging and running costs depend on the capacity of the battery (kWh), the tariff and time of charging). 

Now, let?s assume you are an average UK driver i.e. you drive 8,000 miles per annum. Simple back-of-the-envelope calculation (given the above tariff and range assumptions), would suggest, an annual increase in your household electricity bill by approximately œ350. Yes, far less expensive than annual fuel costs, but still a significant annual increase on your electricity costs. The average annual household bill for a two to three bedroom house is œ590. And for a one to two bedroom flat is œ403. Therefore, owning and charging an EV at home could increase your electricity bill by 60%, if not more. 

According to clean energy supplier, Good Energy (an e-zoomed partner), households with an electric car, use at an average 5,500 units of electricity per year, compared to 3,100 units for households without an EV. That is a whopping 77% increase in annual units consumption. This correlates with the above suggested increase of 60% or more in your annual electricity bill. So, bottom-line, it pays to research and find the best deal and to not discard the next electricity bill in the bin!

Green Energy Plans 
Ask most green car owners, which is the best way to charge an electric car. The answer is usually a resounding ?there is only one way to charge an electric vehicle (EV), and that is using clean and renewable energy?. Indeed this is correct, as zero-tailpipe emission electric driving can only be achieved by using green energy to charge an EV. We have come a long way in the UK, since the inception of ecotricity, one of the first energy companies in the UK, to promote renewable energy and also an e-zoomed partner.

Today, there are loads of other niche to mainstream suppliers, also keen to meet the growing appetite of green consumers to include electric car owners. A quick look online and you will see more than 35 green plans on offer with suggested annual savings up to œ225 per year and more! There are a number of green energy suppliers in the UK and our top three are ecotricity, Good Energy and Bulb. To learn more about them, simply follow this link! We also have a complete guide to best green supplier in the UK.

There is a general misconception in the market, in that, green energy plans costs significantly more than conventional (dirty) fuel plans. This is not true. By choosing the right plan with the right tariff, clean energy tariffs can be just as competitive, if not more competitive, compared to dirty fuel. The devil is always in the detail. We would suggest you first assess off-peak tariff plans, as in all probability, you will charge the EV overnight. Don?t forget to install a smart meter. It will help reduce costs.

EV Tariff Plans
However energy companies, have now gone a step further. Recognising the impending increase in EV adoption in the UK, they have commenced offering green energy plans specific for EV owners. So before you go ahead with a specific green energy tariff plan, we would suggest getting quotations from as many as possible. Frankly, it is quite easy." ]