Got into a debate about home charging vs public charging for EVs with my brother. Now I'm not sure which side I'm on.

Two weeks ago, my brother came over to my place in Austin and saw me plugging my car into the wall outlet in the garage. He told me I was crazy for relying on a slow 120v charger when there's a fast charger 10 minutes away. I argued back that plugging in at home is way cheaper and I never need to wait around. But then he pointed out that my electric bill jumped $45 last month just from charging. Last night I ran the numbers and home charging costs me about $12 per full charge versus $18 at the public station. But the public charger takes 40 minutes versus 14 hours at home. I'm honestly torn now. Has anyone else dealt with picking between saving money and saving time with EV charging?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_white9312d ago

Your brother's $45 a month is pretty specific. Did he break down how many miles he drives to get that number? Because I'm betting he's either driving way more than you or he's got some other stuff sucking power in his house. My electric bill went up like $35 when I started charging my Leaf, but I also started running the AC more that same month. So maybe ask him if he actually tracked just the car usage or if he's blaming the whole bill increase on charging.

samrodriguez12d ago

So basically you're paying $45 extra a month to save 13 hours of waiting.

rodriguez.mia12d ago

The real cost isn't just the $45, it's the opportunity cost of time you can't get back. People forget that 13 hours of waiting is time you could spend working a side gig, learning a new skill, or just relaxing. That time adds up to way more than $45 over a year if you value it right.