Rant: My electric bill doubled after I bought a used EV last month

I finally pulled the trigger on a used Nissan Leaf from 2018 back in September. The guy selling it swore up and down that charging it at home would only add like $30 a month to my bill. Well I got my first full month's electric bill yesterday in Cleveland and it went from $85 to $185. I about dropped my coffee. Turns out my house has an old electric panel from the 70s and the charger I'm using is super inefficient. Plus I've been plugging it in every night even when I only drove like 10 miles. Anyone else get surprised by hidden costs after switching to electric? What did you do to fix it?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewgonzalez28d ago

Wow, I heard Level 1 charging is basically like heating your house with a space heater.

the_christopher28d ago

Dude, that $30 a month promise is the biggest fairy tale in the EV world (I totally fell for it too). Your first step is to ditch the Level 1 charger that came with the Leaf and get a proper Level 2 unit installed, because those old 120V plugs are stupidly inefficient and waste like 20% of the power as heat. I had an ancient panel too, but a good electrician can usually piggyback a new 240V circuit off your main breaker without a full panel swap (cost me $600 but cut my charging bill in half). Also, stop plugging it in every night unless you really need the range, set it to charge only to 80% and you'll save a solid chunk of change.

annaw7325d ago

Plugging it in every night" - guilty as charged. I treat my Leaf like a needy pet that needs constant reassurance.