How much does it cost to charge an electric car? Is it cheaper to do it at home or at an electrical terminal?

We know that we live at the gates of a new era in terms of mobility. That electric cars are here to stay, to make the future of industry sustainable and help decarbonize the planet.

Although in Chile the participation of the so-called BEVs is still minimal -of the 426,777 new cars sold in 2022, only 1,295 of them were purely electric -; The supply and demand for this type of zero-emission vehicle is increasing every year in our country. Last May, they increased by 35.7%.

Therefore, it is good that we familiarize ourselves with them, with their technology, their operation and their advantages. And it is that in addition to being environmentally friendly, they are much cheaper in the long term compared to a petrol or diesel car.

A while ago, we told you that maintaining battery-powered cars was up to 80% cheaper than gasoline; in the meantime, today We put the value of an electric recharge in pesos either on a household socket or on an electrical terminal.

Either way, “refueling” an electric car is much cheaper than refueling with a conventional engine.

First of all, the first thing to know is that The battery capacity of an electric car is expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh) which is a measure of the energy storage available in the cells.

So, to calculate how much it costs to charge a battery-powered vehicle, you just need to look at the cost of electricity in kWh (either at a public charging station or at your home) and do the math. That’s to saymultiply the price per kWh by the kWh of the battery. That, when we talk about doing a full load.

Being able to recharge the battery of an electric car at home is essential for the purchase of a vehicle of this type to make sense. And of course, the user can install a home charging station, the cost of which will depend on the supplier, the type of charger and the installation required.

In this regard, there are three types of chargers. The first is the Type 2, known as an emergency charger, with 2.2 kW of power, so it is a slow charge. It is used to give a few extra kilometers to reach a public charging station or the place of destination. It is included in cars.

then there is the mode 3, known as a charging totem and which allows charging up to 7kW, thus allowing better charging times and giving the possibility of being able to recharge at night to start again at 100% in the morning.

Finally, we find the Type 4, which recharge quickly and which are present in service stations, with powers of up to 150 kW. In them, the car can be charged to 80% in 30-40 minutes compared to 6-7 hours if you use mode 3.

That said, Francis David, Deputy Commercial Director of Copec Voltex, tells us that The standard value of a Copec Voltex home charger with the corresponding installation is $1,560,000 (VAT included) . These can be installed as single-phase or three-phase, which results in slow or semi-fast charging if the vehicle allows it.

“There are different chargers and with different characteristics, for example, with a type of cable or plug integrated, different sizes, screens, etc. It is important to take into account that all chargers offered by Copec Voltex They are smart and are managed from the mobile phone “, he adds.

There are brands that include them in the purchase of the car, as is the case with Volvo. “For the purchase of a model Plug-in hybrid or Pure Electric charging the company provides the installation of the domestic loader, which considers the 20-meter pipeline, ”explains Rodrigo Espinoza, director of Volvo Cars Chile.

Now, and thinking of those users who live in buildings, How does the pricing for the use of these household sockets work in this case?

Maximiliano Sfeir, director of Maxus at Andes Motor, points out that there are two ways to install chargers on residential towers . “Thanks to the connection of the user’s meter, where the community’s consumption is not affected by the charge of an electric vehicle. Or, by means of energy-measuring devices, called remarcadores”.

“These monitors count the energy flowing through a power line, so the charger connected to it will be monitored by these devices. In either case, It is billed via the respective electricity account » points out.

In this regard, in Copec Voltex explains that they work in buildings with shared projects for the whole community. “In these cases, the chargers are operated by Copec Voltex, the customer pays via our application and the equipment has a renumbering system that allows easy and direct payment of energy from Copec Voltex to the Administration”.

As we have seen, an electric car has the advantage of being able to be recharged both at home and at an electrical terminal. Now, depending on where it’s done and via what type of charger, that will be how long it will take to get the battery to 100%.

Considering the charging options, it’s time to talk about price. Namely, for example, that it is better to recharge at home or at the gas station . Or, roughly, how much it costs to charge an electric car.

“If we only take the economic aspect, today, it is more convenient to recharge at home because the cost per kWh is lower. However, in an electric terminal, you will be able to obtain a much faster and more efficient charge (30-40 minutes compared to 6-7 hours)”, comments David from Copec Voltex.

“Regarding comfort in the broad sense, these are different experiences, since the service makes the difference, as well as the associated proposals. For example, at a gas station while charging, you can enter the Pronto; while at home, you can charge when you sleep. Both are very comfortable and easy options that allow the customer to choose how to load their vehicle,” he adds.

Maximiliano Sfeir of Maxus agrees with this: “It is indeed more convenient to charge at home than at an electric terminal in terms of energy. And depending on the tariff, it can be even more convenient. For example, charging the T90 EV, which has an 88.5 kWh battery, can cost the home $11,505, since the average kWh value is $130. Whereas, in a power station, the cost would be $22,125 (considering that the value of kWh is $250)”.

Thus, charged to 100%, the Maxus T90 EV can travel up to 471 kilometers.

Regarding the method of payment, while home charging is generally paid for via the electricity bill, at a gas station is done via an app , where you create a profile and enter your card. At the moment it is not possible to pay in cash, as it can be done when we fill up.

Ok, it’s more convenient to charge our electric car at home. Now well, it is better to do it day or night . Here is the question now.

Although at the residential rate, the cost per kWh is fixed throughout the day and night, so it depends on the preference of each consumer ; Since Santiago Porsche Center for example, recommend charging at night, because the voltage fluctuation is less, as well as the household consumption decreases significantly.

“To recognize the best charging time, our vehicles have internal freight management, which can be programmed according to the needs of the people or the electrical capacity of the address where it is located”, specifies Gabriel Montenegro, commercial director of Porsche in Chile.

In the Official Journal, the Interoperability regulation for electric vehicle charging systems regulations that place the country at the forefront of regulatory issues related to the development of the charging service for electric vehicles.

According to the National Automobile Association of Chile (Anac), “this regulation defines what private and public access chargers are, and establishes a series of requirements for them which must be complied with by owners, operators and providers of vehicle charging services”.

The main purpose of the regulation is to ensure that charging station data is public, that users of electric vehicles have easy access to these stations and that they do not encounter compatibility problems with the standards of their vehicles.

And it is that users who have opted for electromobility have encountered various obstacles when charging their electric vehicles. When traveling between regions, they must at least worry about knowing the location of the charging stations, their availability, the type of connector, the type of charging (slow, fast or ultra-fast), the price of energy and available payment methods. , among other topics.

To address these challenges, major charging station operators and national electromobility service providers have developed their own apps to access and pay for charging services. However, The Interoperability Regulation aims to standardize the information processed by current and future operators and suppliers.

This involves the obligation to provide fixed information on the characteristics and location of the chargers, as well as providing real-time information on the price of the charging energy, the status and the availability of the chargers. In addition, it requires offering payment options that include at least one of the following payment alternatives: cash, debit or credit card or a payment portal, without the need for a subscription.

As we can see, and although there is still a long way to go for electromobility to become a reality in our country, strengthening and standardizing the charging network is essential in the process that will lead us there.