Electric Vehicle Fuel Savings Calculator

Enter the gas mileage of a gas-powered vehicle and the energy efficiency of an electric vehicle to estimate the savings in fuel costs of driving an electric vehicle.

By

Joe Sexton

Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.

Full bio

How to Estimate the Savings of an Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicles are much better for the environment and in most cases are more cost-effective to operate than a gas-powered vehicle. But calculating how much you’ll save in fuel costs can be a bit tricky.

Step One: Estimate the Cost of Charging an Electric Vehicle

The first thing to keep in mind is that an electric vehicle is not necessarily free to run, as the electricity needed to fill the battery has a fee associated with it. On average, the cost per kilowatt-hour is $0.12 for electricity, but this varies by geographic location.

So, how do you estimate the cost to refill the batteries in an electric car? Start by getting the EPA kWh/100mi energy efficiency number for the electric vehicle.

Then, use the following formula to calculate the electricity cost to charge an electric car battery.

electric cost = distance driven / 100 × kWh/100mi × price/kWh

Thus, the cost to charge the batteries is the distance driven divided by 100, times the kilowatt-hours per 100 miles, times the price per kilowatt-hour.

Step Two: Estimate the Cost of Gasoline

The next step is to estimate the cost of gasoline. This can be done if you know the fuel efficiency in miles per gallon of the current vehicle. Try using our gas mileage calculator to find the efficiency.

Then, use this formula to calculate the cost of gasoline for the current vehicle.

fuel cost = distance driven / fuel economy × price/gallon

So, the cost of gasoline is equal to the distance driven divided by the fuel economy in miles per gallon, times the price per gallon.

Step Three: Calculate the Savings

Now that you know how much it costs to charge an electric vehicle and fill up the current vehicle with gas you can estimate the savings in fuel costs. Use this formula to find the savings.

savings = gasoline costs – electric costs

The savings of operating an electric car is equal to the cost of gas minus the cost of electricity to charge the batteries.

You might also be interested in calculating the gas savings of upgrading to a more fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicle or hybrid using our fuel savings calculator.