While many people are still trying to save money at the pump, Electric Car drivers can still feel the pinch! Compared to traditional fuel, charging your vehicle may be helping the planet, but it’s not necessarily so kind to your bank balance!
With the cost of charging your car a significant factor in the choice to go electric, we thought we’d better take a look at how to run your EV as efficiently as possible…
Driving efficiently will help you to maximise the range of your electric vehicle and is especially important if you’re making a long journey. According to experts in Low Emission Vehicles, using efficient driving techniques, an EV can be driven over 600 miles on a single charge!
None of us like to be stuck in traffic, but unfortunately it’s sometimes an inevitable part of our day. If you can miss driving during rush hour then do, for those that can’t, think about how you drive. Stopping and starting uses a lot of energy. Instead of braking and accelerating try and move at a steady slow speed instead.
Some newer vehicles have specialist eco features that can make your driving more efficient such as regenerative braking – make sure you know and understand all these features and use them if they’re available.
All cars use more power when they are carrying extra weight. So take all of the stuff out of your boot that you don’t need and leave it at home! If you have a roof rack, as well as adding extra weight, it makes your car less aerodynamic, so in between trips, when you don’t need it, make the effort to take it off.
This is one for when you’re out on the open road and driving more quickly. Having the windows open makes the car less aerodynamic so there is more drag on the car, meaning you’ll be using more energy.
Air-con is an absolute must at some points in the year, so much so, that it becomes a norm to leave it running. However, operating your car’s air-con uses a significant amount of extra power, so make the effort to turn it off when you don’t really need it.
The lower the pressure of your tyres the more power your car needs to use to get it moving. So check your tyre pressure every few weeks to make sure they’re at the correct level.
While it’s important to conserve momentum to drive efficiently, driving faster and accelerating harshly uses more of your car’s stored energy. So, avoid speeding and harsh breaking and you won’t need to charge your car so soon.
Following our tips above, you can use your car efficiently, but to really save money you need to charge efficiently as well!
The Government’s Energy department has a simple guide to EV trip charging we’d recommend, but here’s our top tips!
The main tip is to charge at home whenever you can… You won’t pay a connection or membership fee and you can make the most of a domestic rate – even though some domestic rates are currently high, they are still cheaper than what you will pay out and about.
If you are lucky enough to have a garage or car port, keep your EV stored when you can if the weather is particularly warm. Batteries don’t like extreme temperatures and a sheltered parking spot can make a big difference.
The speed you charge your vehicle can have a significant effect on the savings you make. Different vehicles with different size batteries will restrict the type of charging you can use, and the time you have available will also be a determining factor, but in general, slow charging is the most cost-effective way to charge both in public and at home.
While it’s not specifically a cost-saving tip, it is always important to protect your car battery to avoid long-term costs. Slow charging does that, and so does keeping your charge level between 20% and 80%. Less common advice also suggests avoiding charging everyday – as we’re told not to plug in our mobile phones every night – your car battery also benefits from not being constantly topped up.
Topping up your vehicle’s charge during your journey will invariably be expensive as the type of charging available at garages etc is usually restricted to rapid charge points, which cost more. Plan your journeys to minimise transit charging wherever possible and research the cheaper options for when you have to make a stop.
If you need a map of charging points across the country, PlugShare has a great live map showing how many chargers are available.
Make the most of free charging! Across Australia, and particularly in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) you’ll find free charging points, typically in public spaces such as car parks, hotels, and restaurant parking lots, where you are already paying for a service. These free chargers are usually the slower AC points and there are often time restrictions on the facility (usually about three hours). Some workplaces also offer free charging for employees. To make the most of free charging it usually requires planning… See point 3!
By charging your vehicle off-peak (generally overnight, between 10pm and 7am) energy is cheaper. However, even charging a vehicle off-peak will increase your previous domestic energy use by a huge amount, so it’s essential to check you are on the best tariff. The government has a helpful webpage for checking you are getting the best price for your energy and offers advice on the tariffs that will suit you.
You may not have much choice if you are mid journey, but be sure to check charge point pricing – some connection charges are significantly higher than others and there may be an alternative near by.
If you’re already set up with at-home charging, this tip won’t be any use to you, but if you are at the point of purchase, you can save a significant amount of money by looking into the government grants available to reduce the cost of EVs and charge points. The funding available is different across the country, as an example, the Northern Territory has an EV Charger Grants Scheme, which includes 100 residential grants to a value of $1,000. Check your local government’s transport website for their current offer.
To reach the zero-emission goal and encourage EV uptake, there are an increasing number of grants available for the purchase of EVs. You can find an overall guide to the grants and incentives available on the revcharge website.
