Recharging stations allow the battery of an electric vehicle to be recharged according to its power level and public charging stations deliver a higher power resulting in a reduction in charging time. The electric car is perceived as an alternative to thermal cars but are the cost of recharging as well as energy consumption advantageous to highlight them?

Home charging

The consumption of an electric car is influenced by several factors (battery capacity, driving mode and speed, etc.) determining the recharging frequencies, the unit of measurement also changes compared to gasoline vehicles, from liter per hundred kilometres (L / 100 km) to kilowatt hour per hundred kilometres (kWh / 100 km). Charging your electric car at home automatically raises the question whether the electricity bill will increase for individuals, indeed, an average consumption of 12 KWh / 100 km costs 1.76 € / 100 km, with 1.89 € / 100 km in peak hours and 1.47 € / 100 km during off-peak hours. It is possible to configure vehicles to start charging during off-peak hours but may not be profitable if the bollard does not deliver power adapted to the battery's power. A battery power of 20 kWh takes an average recharge time of 5h 30mn on a 3.7 kWh, 3h on a 7 kWh and 1h 15mn for a 22-kWh terminal. The price depends on the models and ranges from €500 to €1,500 in addition to the total installation costs.

Public terminals

Recharging an electric vehicle at a public kiosk can be free or offers subscriptions for a reduced recharging cost, the charging rates generally reach 0.25 € / 15 min at the first hour at 4 € / 15 min beyond. Combining methods reduces the cost of recharging in general, but to reduce energy bills, individuals can turn to electricity from alternative suppliers or opt for green electricity. People wishing to take their electric cars with them are likely to fall victim to operators who can charge a fairly high price for the service, for example in England, eco-electricity amounts to £0.17 / kWh + £3 for each initiated recharge or £8.1 (about €9) for a 30 kWh tank.

Thermal vs. electric

Purchasing an electric vehicle is comparable to a combustion engine (with the help of the ecological bonus), it is worth significantly less than €2 / 100 km compared to combustion engines, costing €6.16 / 100 km for a diesel model and €7.44 / 100 km for gasoline in terms of energy consumption. The electric car is significantly more economical but nevertheless has a disadvantage, represented by the pollution caused by batteries.