Many EV drivers already charge their car at home, but some rely on public charging points. However, it can save quite a bit of money if you can charge yourself at home. Milieu Centraal investigated what the difference is on an annual basis once you have your own charging point.
The difference in charging costs at public or private charging stations is mainly due to the price you pay per kilowatt hour charged. Charging at an ‘own’ pole that is linked to the energy network of a house or company is by definition cheaper than at a charging point that is managed by another party. The price per kWh is usually higher at public charging stations. The independent information organization Milieu Centraal concludes after own research what the cost difference is between public and private charging: “Anyone who drives an average of 12,000 kilometers per year is about €350 cheaper (if you charge at home, ed.).”
The difference, of course, depends on how many kilometers you drive with your electric car. The more you drive, the greater the benefit. The cost advantage is even greater if you get electricity from solar panels on the roof of your house. Recharging your electric car is also in many cases more beneficial than feeding your ‘surplus’ of energy back to the grid.
Nice and nice, but your own charging point at your house does not spontaneously grow out of the wall. Such a charging location for the home quickly costs around €2,000 to €4,000. So you still have to offset the costs for your own charging facility against the advantage in the kWh price. So in the beginning it is still a more expensive story, but over time you will be cheaper with your own charging point. How quickly you save money depends strongly on the price of the private charging point and, as mentioned, whether you have solar panels on the roof of your house.