Are you considering buying an electric bike? Wonder how much it will cost to charge your battery-powered ride? Read on for some fascinating facts about the cost to charge an electric bike.
An electric bike is a perfectly feasible and much fun substitute for a car or any other vehicle. We can do our daily chores fast as compared to cars which might get stuck in a traffic jam.
Not only this but also we can roam around and just enjoy the ride when we feel like it because there are days when all we want is just fresh air and a cool ride to lift our mood.
How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Bike?
The price for a full charge can range from $0.15-$0.25 per kilowatt-hour. It means that if you have a 12 amp/hour battery pack and are charging at home. It could cost anywhere between $2-$4 to fully charge your e-bike.
If you’re planning on using public outlets or charging stations, though, be prepared to pay up to 25 cents per kWh. It means that topping off your battery will set you back as much as $5!
Most of the electric bike costs are between 4 cents to 12 Cents on average. This cost may increase depending on your bike battery voltage, capacity, and your local electricity rates.
Whenever we plan to buy an electric bike we need to know all about it; its expenses, features, and running costs way before, so we will not be worried later.
As compared to other non-electrical bikes electric bikes are comparatively less expensive and have way less running costs than non-electrical bikes.
Now we must wonder why that is? That the more expensive electrical bike is cheaper in the long run than a non-electrical bike.
Well, yes it might seem a bit confusing in the beginning but you will understand this as we explain the costs further in this article. By saying that electric bikes are cheaper in the long run.
We mean to say that buying an electrical bike is once expensive. But as we have bought the best of bikes now the running costs are comparatively way less than needed to run a non-electrical bike.
“Buy cheap buy twice”
So what we understood by that is buying an expensive but the high-quality product might seem a bit confusing for us but once bought it proves to be worth it and it can save money in the long run.
While buying anything just because it’s cheap and not because it’s good is going to cost us in the long run. Low-quality products often don’t last long. We have to replace them by buying a new one.
Instead of choosing wrong again and again. Making the right choice at the start is the need of time.
Now before discussing how much is the running cost of an electrical bike we should know that the running costs among different electric bikes may vary depending on a lot of factors like:
- The voltage of the battery
- The capacity of the battery
- And the price of electricity in your area
All the above factors are variables which means that changing any one of them will eventually lead to a change in the charging cost of the battery.
So if you want to decrease your charging costs then you must look into the best of the above variables.
If we want to have a reasonable charging cost per year plus a long-lasting battery then we should most probably buy an electric bike with good capacity.
A good charger makes you ride a little more before your battery ends and eventually leading to a less amount for charging than the average price.
While the prices might differ for every other battery, the average cost for charging a battery of an electrical bike is between 4 to 12 cents per charge. It depends on how much you travel and what is the rate of electricity in your area.
The average annual cost for charging an electrical bike sums up to $29.38 which is insignificant compared to the annual running costs of other vehicles.
EBike Cost per Charge Calculator:
Now for making things easier for you, here is how you can calculate your running costs on an electrical bike. From the below calculator, we may have an estimate of how much does It cost to charge an electric bike?
Volts:
Ampoule hour:
Electrical rate (kilowatt-hour):
Cost per charge:
This is a calculator which is going to help find out the cost easily.
https://ecocostsavings.com/electric-bike-electricity-cost-calculator/
Calculate Cost Per Charge:
For calculating the cost per charge we could either use the calculator given above or we can calculate it manually by following the method described below. But for calculating it we must have three values:
- The voltage of the battery.
- Ampoule hour of the battery.
- And our local area electrical rates.
Now the question arises that how are we supposed to find the values of the above three variables.
Well, we can find the voltage and the ampoule hour written on the battery of electrical bike or we can just google it or go to the site or person from where we bought it.
And for the electrical rate, we can either look on the internet for the rates in our areas or we can look into our electrical bills.
Just ask our neighbors if we are not able to find it by the former two ways or we can know by contacting the electrical power supply company in our area.
Now, to calculate cost per charge:
- First, you have to multiply ampoule hours (Ah into voltage (V) to get watt-hour (Wh)
E.g. 40 volts x 10 Amp hour = 400-watt hour.
- Now divide the answer you get in watt-hours by 1000 to get a value in kilowatt-hours.
For e.g. 440watt hour/1000=0.44 kilowatt hours.
- Finally, multiply the kilowatt-hour value above with the local electrical rate per kilowatt-hour
E.g. o.44 kilowatt-hour x 13.19cents/o.1319 USD (2021 average electricity rate for the USA)
= $0.058036 or 5.80 cents.
We can see that the cost per charge as in 2021 is calculated to be 5.80 cents which is not too much as one charge often lasts a day-long or for 15 to 100 miles depending upon the electrical bike.
Factoring in Battery Cost:
When we charge an electrical bike it takes usually very little money but if we divide the battery by the number of cycles the price will be different.
Electrical bike batteries once bought hey my last up to 2 to 10 years depending upon the type of battery and how many cycles it provides us with plus how much we travel and how many times we charge a battery. So to factor in battery cost, we are going to need two values:
- The cost of the battery
- And the average number of cycles a battery has.
For e. let’s take a newly bought battery with a price of $400 with 800 cycles in total.
Now, to factor in battery cost: take the value of your battery price and divide it by the number of average cycles of that battery.
I.e. $400 / 800 = $0.5
Compared to the above value of charging our battery this seems a little bit more expensive. But again it all depends on what type of battery we have purchased and how many times we charge our battery.
Even after that if we compare the cost per mile with other vehicles it is a lot cheaper than them.
Calculate Cost per Mile/Kilometer:
Calculating cost per mile or kilometer is a bit difficult as the range differs with every electrical bike. For calculating it we should take a value of the average range expected within one charge. Or you can even save yourself from misery calculate by using the lowest possible range one can think of.
To calculate it we are going to need two values:
- The average range expected within one charge
- And the charging cost (calculated before)
Now, to calculate cost per mile/km:
Take the charging cost and now divide it with the range (the expected miles)
For e.g. $0.058 / 20 miles = $0.0029 or 0.29 cents per mile.
Do you want to know how many miles per cent an electric bike travel?
For this take 1 mile and divide it by the cost per mile
For e.g. 1/0.29 = 3.44 miles per cent.
Which is a cool value.
Conclusion:
So now after knowing all the price tags for an electric bike, you can an idea about how much does it cost to charge an electric bike? I would still stay they are way more cheaper and reasonable than other alternate modes of transport.
In addition to that electric bikes are a source of real fun, happiness, and comfort. And you can do your day-to-day works at a much faster and less expensive rate. With this, the electric bike saves us from the turmoil of traffic jams and its frustration.
Electric bikes are environmentally friendly but you must tune your electric bike on time.
It is estimated that even if 1 percent of electric bikes replace other modes of vehicles then there will be a lot less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere making our environment much cleaner and fresher.
These eco-friendly electric bikes are gaining popularity with every passing day because they are not only a feasible mode of transportation but also are a source of enjoyment and joy.
Electric bikes not only save our money but also our time as well, and as we have all heard is that time is money.