EV owners - What's your estimate of monthly electricity costs to recharge your car?

[scorecard]

EV owners - What's your estimate of monthly electricity costs to recharge your car?

[Gweiloman]

Back off the envelope calculations:

 

Assuming 15,000 km per annum = 1,250 km per month 

Assuming a full charge of a 60 kWh battery gives you 400 km

That’s 3.125 full charges x 60 kWh = 187.5 kWh 

Assuming charging loss of 20%, that’s 225 kWh 

At a rate of 5 baht per kWh, that’s Thb 1,125 per month.

Less if you have solar, less if you’re on TOU and charge during off peak hours.

[scorecard]

1 minute ago, Gweiloman said:

Back off the envelope calculations:

 

Assuming 15,000 km per annum = 1,250 km per month 

Assuming a full charge of a 60 kWh battery gives you 400 km

That’s 3.125 full charges x 60 kWh = 187.5 kWh 

Assuming charging loss of 20%, that’s 225 kWh 

At a rate of 5 baht per kWh, that’s Thb 1,125 per month.

Less if you have solar, less if you’re on TOU and charge during off peak hours.

 

Thanks, appreciated. One question, My Thai son now has a smaller EV, it's used daily by son's Thai wife, mostly 2 trips in the morning to take kids to 3 different schools (approx. total of 20 km, some local Big C shopping, then 2 trips in the afternoon to bring kids home from school (approx. 20 km.).

 

Dealer advised my son to plug in about 9 pm every evening, would that mean a cheaper electricity rate?

[KhunLA]

We have solar, so -0- when not O&A

1st year owning, MG ZS, drove 20k kms, and conservative estimate of 340 kms per full charge.

 

IF using PEA @ ฿5 per kWh = ฿1,333 per month

 

So 20k kms ÷ 340 kms per charge = 58.82 full charge

46.3kWh (usable battery) X ฿5 = ฿231.5 full charge

฿231.5 X 58.82 = ฿13.6k ÷ 12 = ฿1,333 per month

 

For curious, vs petrol of same MG EV, which we owned previous to BEV version.

20k kms ÷ 14 kpL = 1428 L X ฿ 35 / L = ~฿50k ÷ ฿4,166 per month

 

Seems to be taking 18 months for our second 20k kms, so a wee bit less, the past 18 months ... IF ... we didn't have solar.

 

Use the WLTP rating, and it will give you a decent range per full charge.  Actually a bit less than actual for our driving style in 'ECO' mode, which is more than enough power.

 

MG ZS ... WLTP rating of 320 kms, we average at least 340 kms per charge, and that's at highway speeds of 90 kph, O&A, when possible.

[motdaeng]

19 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Dealer advised my son to plug in about 9 pm every evening, would that mean a cheaper electricity rate?

 

it's only cheaper if he has a TOU meter. that means electricity is cheaper from 10 pm to 9 am, as well as on weekends and public holidays. however, PEA has stopped installing new additional TOU meters for electric cars in recent months because the system has been used "illegally."

 

an electric car doesn't need to be charged every day, it depends on usage and battery size. right now, i only charge mine once a week to around 60% (which gives me about 330 km of range). for longer day trips, i charge it to 100% the night before ..

[Gweiloman]

8 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

it's only cheaper if he has a TOU meter. that means electricity is cheaper from 10 pm to 9 am, as well as on weekends and public holidays. however, PEA has stopped installing new additional TOU meters for electric cars in recent months because the system has been used "illegally."

 

an electric car doesn't need to be charged every day, it depends on usage and battery size. right now, i only charge mine once a week to around 60% (which gives me about 330 km of range). for longer day trips, i charge it to 100% the night before ..

@scorecard

In case you’re not aware, TOU stands for Time of Usage. This means that electricity is charged at a higher rate (approximately Thb 7 per unit) during peak hours which is from 09:00 to 22:00 hrs weekdays. During off peak hours (22:00 - 09:00 hrs weekdays, all day Saturdays/Sundays/Public Holidays), the rate per unit is about Thb 3. The regular rate for normal households without TOU is about Thb 5 per unit.
 

Anyone can apply to PEA to switch their current meter to a TOU meter but one has to be very careful about electricity usage particularly during peak hours. I did it because my daytime (peak hour usage) is more or less fully covered by solar. When there is no more solar production from around 6 pm (but still peak rates), most of my electrical appliances are powered by my EV’s traction battery. I save about Thb 500 per month by doing this, not much I know but the satisfaction I get is “priceless” lol.

[motdaeng]

the energy consumption of an electric car, just like a petrol car, depends on many factors: the car model, driving mode, city or highway, flat roads or mountains, sporty or eco driving style, and more.

 

all these factors combined mean that some ev owners pay as little as 0.75 baht per km, while others pay up to 1.50 baht per km (charging at home at 4-5 thb/kwh). however, costs do change if you charge using TOU rates  (2.6 thb/kwh) or at DC fast-charging stations (about to 8 - 9 thb/kwh) ...

[Gweiloman]

2 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

the energy consumption of an electric car, just like a petrol car, depends on many factors: the car model, driving mode, city or highway, flat roads or mountains, sporty or eco driving style, and more.

 

all these factors combined mean that some ev owners pay as little as 0.75 baht per km, while others pay up to 1.50 baht per km (charging at home at 4-5 thb/kwh). however, costs do change if you charge using TOU rates  (2.6 thb/kwh) or at DC fast-charging stations (about to 8 - 9 thb/kwh) ...

To add to that, if unable to charge at home and having to rely on DC fast charging, do it during off peak hours (22:00 - 09:00). The rate is then only about Thb 5.5 to 6 (at PEA Volta and PTT stations).

[motdaeng]

2 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

 

Anyone can apply to PEA to switch their current meter to a TOU meter ...

 

no, not anymore... the pea denied our request to install a TOU meter ...

 

[DonniePeverley]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

Back off the envelope calculations:

 

Assuming 15,000 km per annum = 1,250 km per month 

Assuming a full charge of a 60 kWh battery gives you 400 km

That’s 3.125 full charges x 60 kWh = 187.5 kWh 

Assuming charging loss of 20%, that’s 225 kWh 

At a rate of 5 baht per kWh, that’s Thb 1,125 per month.

Less if you have solar, less if you’re on TOU and charge during off peak hours.

 

 

How is that compared to normal petrol fuel ?

[DonniePeverley]

My condo has EV chargers - how would i gather if they are using the LA rate, and not adding their own charges on top ?

[motdaeng]

6 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

My condo has EV chargers - how would i gather if they are using the LA rate, and not adding their own charges on top ?

 

just ask them ...  

that your condo has ev chargers is a good thing ...

[Andrew Dwyer]

I was lucky to get a TOU meter installed for EV use only, additional to our regular meter.

Rate is 2.6 baht per kw, with taxes and a standing charge ( 24.62 baht ) works out at just over 3 baht .

 

I pay on an average month about 700 baht , this on a 19,000 km usage in 12 months.

 

My previous car ( a HEV SUV ) cost me 2 baht per km, my EV works out around 40/50 satang per km.

[DonniePeverley]

3 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

just ask them ...  

that your condo has ev chargers is a good thing ...

 

 

Only problem being theirs always cars on them. I wonder how difficult it will be to get owners to shove along. Some i notice have been their overnight. Not many own EV's at moment, but could be a problem down the line. 

[Pib]

For fuel savings comparison between my Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel and my BYD Atto EV see below....it's a partial snapshot from a spreadsheet I made to determine my cost and cost savings between my ICEV and EV.   This is based on charging at home using my wall charger and my MEA electric company average total cost per KWH (i.e., basic rate, Ft, tax, just all fees) is Bt5.16/KWH (non-TOU).

 

Typically a person's fuel cost will be approx 75% lower when switching from a full size diesel-powered vehicle to a electric-powered vehicle assuming they can charge at home.  I expect when switching from a compact petrol-power vehicle to a electric powered vehicle the savings will be in the 60-65% ballpark when considering the higher cost of petrol over diesel and the higher gas-mileage a compact petrol gets compared to a fuel size vehicle.   

 

And of course if you can charge from solar then the EV fuel cost is zero if you don't want to consider the cost of the home solar setup which was originally installed just to power your home...before a person got their EV.    

 

If you can't charge at home with a wall charger where you get electric company rates of around Bt5/KWH (including ALL costs) but must use commercial chargers then plan on paying around Bt6.5 to 9.5 per KWH....cost per KWH varies among  the commercial charging companies.  If charging at home but paying some inflated landlord KWH rate then be sure to take that into consideration.   

 

I expect in almost every case depending on the type of ICEV you are switching from, whatever home electric rate you are paying, how many kilometers you drive, whether you charge at home or at a commercial charger, etc....etc...etc., that a person will save "at least" 50% in fuel cost....most will probably be saving 60-80%....and some (the solar dudes) 100%.    

 

[Gweiloman]

On 3/14/2025 at 10:05 AM, motdaeng said:

 

no, not anymore... the pea denied our request to install a TOU meter ...

 

I was talking about switching from a regular home meter to a TOU, not a second meter purely for EV charging. Is that also not allowed anymore? I would be surprised if that’s the case.

[Andrew Dwyer]

34 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I was talking about switching from a regular home meter to a TOU, not a second meter purely for EV charging. Is that also not allowed anymore? I would be surprised if that’s the case.

I think that is still allowed but obviously one would have to do some calculations to see if economically it makes sense as the on peak rate is higher than the normal rate.

i.e. if you only use air conditioning at night time and are prepared to do your washing at weekends etc then maybe it is worth it.

 

Presumably there is also a charge for the new meter plus installation ?, my TOU meter cost 4,800 baht to PEA and 9,300 baht for the “ free “ BYD installation.

Some rough calculations and i worked out it meant the ROI was when i realised 9,000 kms.

[KhunLA]

13 hours ago, Pib said:

Typically a person's fuel cost will be approx 75% lower when switching from a full size diesel-powered vehicle to a electric-powered vehicle assuming they can charge at home.

For us it would be about 78% cheaper, if we had to charge the BEV using the grid.  Minimal use would only be ~฿4 / kWh, or 70% if ฿5 / kWh vs 91 @ ฿35 / L MG ZS EV vs ICE version.

 

When O&A, ฿7.5 / kWh = ฿347 per 340 kms vs ฿850 if using petrol.  Still 60% savings 👍

[Pib]

Very recently the wife and I did 13 daily round trips of 165Km each to visit a close relative in the hospital....totaling 2,145km.  Thankfully that relative is back home now and recovering well.   

 

We did all 13 daily trips in our BYD Atto EV....below is a comparison of the cost between the Atto and if we had made those 13 trips in our Toyota Fortuner 3.0L diesel.

 

[Gweiloman]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I think that is still allowed but obviously one would have to do some calculations to see if economically it makes sense as the on peak rate is higher than the normal rate.

i.e. if you only use air conditioning at night time and are prepared to do your washing at weekends etc then maybe it is worth it.

 

Presumably there is also a charge for the new meter plus installation ?, my TOU meter cost 4,800 baht to PEA and 9,300 baht for the “ free “ BYD installation.

Some rough calculations and i worked out it meant the ROI was when i realised 9,000 kms.

I have solar which goes a long way towards offsetting the high peak rate. In my opinion, it only makes sense to have a TOU meter only if one has solar and don’t normally draw much current during weekdays. Even though I have a wall charger connected to a 2nd TOU meter, I normally charge with my granny cable on weekends as I’m fully utilising my solar production coupled with off peak rate.