EV Charge Cost at the Meter
What one EV charge costs on the utility meter, not the dashboard: you pay for kWh at the meter, not at the battery. Energy to the pack = capacity x (target - start); the meter draws more because AC Level 2 loses about 10-15% to the onboard rectifier and thermal load, so grid energy = battery energy / efficiency. A 75 kWh EV, 20 to 80% (45 kWh) at $0.15/kWh and 88% efficiency draws 51.1 kWh and costs $7.67 -- not the $6.75 the dashboard math implies -- an effective $0.170/kWh, and about $0.049/mi at 3.5 mi/kWh. A public DC fast charger at $0.45/kWh runs nearly 3x that. Ignores tiered, time-of-use, and demand pricing; the local tariff governs.
Formula and source
energy_to_battery = capacity x (target - start)/100; grid_energy = energy_to_battery / (efficiency/100); cost = grid_energy x rate; cost_per_stored_kwh = rate / (efficiency/100); cost_per_mile = miles_per_kwh > 0 ? cost / (energy_to_battery x miles_per_kwh) : null.
EV charge-cost-at-the-meter model (energy metered = energy stored / charging efficiency), first-principles; the local tariff and the vehicle's charging behavior govern the actual bill.
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