Your charging station needs to make charging an electric vehicle less expensive than refueling a gas vehicle. This worksheet will help you calculate those costs based on how much fuel (electricity or gas) a car can store and how many miles it can travel on a full battery (or tank).
Key Terms
- Capacity: how much fuel (electricity or gas) the car can hold
- Kilowatt hours (kWh): a unit of electricity, like gallons of gas
- Efficiency: a ratio that tells you how much fuel, such as gas or electricity, a car uses to travel some number of miles
Example car: Standard Range Tesla Model 3
- Battery Capacity: 50 kWh
- Efficiency: 26 kWh per 100 miles
Step 1: How much does it cost to fill up the battery?
Electric companies charge you for each kWh that you use. In 2019, the cost of electricity in North Carolina was $0.1165 per kWh. (April, 2019 - https://www.chooseenergy.com/electricity-rates-by-state/).
If 1 kWh costs $0.1165, how much will 50 kWh cost?
Complete the ratio box to find out:
| Electricity (kWh) | Cost ($) | |
| Cost of 1 kWh | 1 | 0.1165 |
| Cost of 50 kWh | 50 | ___?____ |
Step 2: How far can you drive on a full battery (or tank)?
Car companies list the fuel efficiency of their cars. The Tesla Model 3 can travel 100 miles on 26 kWh. If a full battery holds 50 kWh, how far can the car travel on a full battery?
Complete the ratio box to find out.
| Distance (miles) | Fuel (kWh) | |
| Efficiency | 100 | 26 |
| Distance on Full Charge | __?____ | 50 |
Step 3: How much does it cost to drive a Standard Model of the Tesla Model 3, per mile?
In step 1, we found how much it costs to fully charge a Tesla Model 3 in North Carolina.
In step 2, we found how far a fully charged Tesla Model 3 can drive.
Now, in step 3, use the ratio box below to find how much it costs to drive the Tesla Model 3 per mile.
| Cost ($) | Distance (miles) | |
| Fully Charged | ______ | ______ |
| Per Mile | ______ | ______ |
Now try this for another car.
How much does it cost, per mile, to drive a Nissan Leaf in North Carolina? Use the same steps to figure it out.
Important Information:
- Battery Capacity: 40 kWh
- Fuel Efficiency: 30 kWh per 100 miles
- Cost of Electricity in NC: $0.1165
