The yearly cost to run a Level 2 charger depends on how much you drive in a year, your vehicle’s efficiency, and your electricity rate, since the cost is simply the electricity your charging uses over the year, so it varies by household but is generally much less than a year of gasoline. You can estimate it by working out your annual driving energy and multiplying by your rate. Charging off-peak can lower it. Understanding how to estimate the annual cost helps you see the yearly savings of driving electric.
Here is how to think about the yearly cost of running a Level 2 charger.
It depends on your driving, car, and rate
Running a Level 2 charger costs only the electricity it delivers to your car, so the annual cost comes down to three things: how many miles you drive in a year, your vehicle’s efficiency (miles per kilowatt-hour), and your electricity rate (dollars per kilowatt-hour). The charger itself has no cost beyond the energy used. Because these vary by household, there is no single yearly figure, but you can estimate your own.
How to estimate the annual cost
To estimate the yearly cost:
- Find your annual miles, roughly how far you drive in a year
- Divide by your car’s efficiency (miles per kilowatt-hour) to get the kilowatt-hours used in a year
- Multiply by your electricity rate (dollars per kilowatt-hour) for the annual cost
The result is roughly what the Level 2 charger costs to run per year. This is the same calculation as the monthly cost, just over a year, as covered in our articles on EV charging costs. Plugging in your own numbers gives a realistic annual estimate.
Much cheaper than a year of gas
For most drivers, a year of Level 2 home charging costs significantly less than a year of gasoline for a comparable gas car. While your electric bill rises, you are no longer buying gas, and the per-mile cost of electricity is typically much lower. So the annual charging cost often looks modest compared to the fuel savings, which is a major appeal of driving electric. The exact comparison depends on your electricity rate versus gas prices.
Off-peak charging lowers it
You can reduce the yearly cost by charging during off-peak hours on a time-of-use rate, where available, so you pay less per kilowatt-hour across the year’s charging. In Maryland, utilities like BGE and Pepco offer time-of-use rate options, and consistently charging overnight off-peak can meaningfully lower your annual charging cost, as covered in our article on off-peak EV charging rates. Over a full year, the off-peak savings add up.
Your rate drives the total
Because the annual cost is your yearly energy use times your rate, your electricity rate has a big influence. Knowing your rate per kilowatt-hour, and whether a time-of-use rate could lower your charging cost, is key to estimating and minimizing the yearly total. A licensed electrician can set up efficient Level 2 charging, including for off-peak charging, to help keep the annual cost down.
The yearly cost to run a Level 2 charger depends on your annual driving, your vehicle’s efficiency, and your electricity rate, so it varies, but it is generally much less than a year of gasoline. Estimate it by dividing your annual miles by your car’s efficiency to get kilowatt-hours, then multiplying by your rate. Charging off-peak on a time-of-use rate lowers it, and your electricity rate drives the total.
Stella Electric installs efficient Level 2 home charging for homeowners across the Baltimore area and throughout Maryland, with flat-rate pricing and no overtime charges. If you want affordable home charging, we can set it up. Financing is available on qualifying projects.
