Installing Home Chargers Could Boost EV Costs

Something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about buying an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle such as the upcoming Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt: Installing the home charger could cost you.

Level 2 charging, as it’s known, requires a wall-mounted 220-240 volt box, which can recharge a vehicle in four to eight hours. Luckily, most homes built in the ’90s or later usually have 200- or 400-amp service. Older homes, however, may require upgrades that could add to the cost of your EV.

ECOtality, the company building charging stations for the Leaf, estimated the cost of the home unit at around $300 to $350 plus installation between $500 and $1,500. The Boston Consulting Group found similar numbers: between $750 and $2,000 for the unit and labor.

That’s a considerable amount of money, and it could dissuade buyers from looking at plug-in vehicles. This may lead to automakers putting chargers on the option list and selling them along with the car or just including them in the price of the car.

A federal tax credit will cover up to $2,000 for charger installation through December, but a lot people are lobbying to extend that. Homebuilders will likely soon start offering to prewire houses for EVs, and that could reduce the cost to around $100.

Home Charging for Electric Vehicle: Costs Will Vary (Wheels)

Comments

Compare that to the cost of paying for gas...a no brainer.

Exactly. No matter how environmentally green hybrids can be, I'm not quite sure everyone has the ability to pay 100K or 25K for a car AND keep up the electric bills. To the people out there who wants to save money on cars but don't have enough to buy fuel-efficient cars, I recommend checking out Carsala to see what high-quality used cars you can get for 20-30% off KBB.

The federal tax credit should extend through 2012 to encourage the sales of these plug-in hybrids. The BCG estimate is high, but the installation costs still put them out of reach for most consumers.

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exactly, i guess it is more expensive than of paying gas but on the other hand it is enviromental vehicle. so i guess people should just think on which is better. :D

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