If you're in the market for a car, a new tool makes it easy to see the exact cost difference between choosing an electric vehicle or a gas-powered one.
Requiring just a few details, a calculator published by the New York Times gives users a look at the estimated total cost of EVs and gas-powered cars over a number of years. It also shows the estimated carbon emissions for each vehicle over the same timeframe.
The calculator "takes into account major upfront and ongoing costs of ownership — including gas/electricity and maintenance — and does the math for you," the Times wrote.
The tool offers certain preset options for a handful of popular car models, but it also allows users to enter their own details. It not only accounts for the upfront cost of a vehicle, but also the estimated energy and fuel use,
It even allows users to select what state they live in, and automatically inputs the average electricity and fuel costs for those states. Of course, charging an electric vehicle is considerably cheaper when done at home, such as with the Level 2 chargers that Qmerit can help install, instead of using a public charging station.
For one comparison, the purchase price of a gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle is $5,000 less than the EV Equinox. But, using U.S. averages for gas and electricity prices, plus annual miles driven, the EV Equinox actually ends up being $6,600 cheaper to drive over 10 years.
As mentioned, there are ways to increase those savings even more. Qmerit offers free estimates for at-home Level 2 charger installations, and that alone can reduce annual charging costs by hundreds of dollars annually.
And to really ramp up those savings, homeowners can power their chargers with solar energy. Solar panels bring clean, renewable energy to a home while also bringing monthly electricity costs way down. For those interested in installing solar panels, EnergySage's free tools make it easy to quickly compare quotes from local, verified companies.
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Of course, financial savings aren't the only benefit of driving an EV. Using the Equinox example, over 10 years, the gas-powered version would emit nearly double the carbon of the EV model.
"An additional environmental benefit of an EV: in its 10-20 year lifetime, the electricity provided by the grid will increasingly be supplied by cleaner and renewable sources," one commenter wrote. "On the other hand, gasoline will still be produced by drilling holes in the ground, transporting over long distances, propping up dictatorial regimes, etc.
"It's not just about the money, it's about the environment and the ethics," they added.
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