See how long a home charger takes to pay for itself versus relying on public charging or gasoline.
The payback calculator answers a narrow question: if I spend this much to install a home charger, how long until the yearly savings add up to what I paid? The savings figure is the difference between what you would otherwise spend on fueling (public fast charging or gasoline) and what you spend charging at home on your own electric rate.
How it works. Net cost is the installed cost minus any rebates. Each year the saving is your starting annual saving, grown by the percentage you enter. Payback is the first point where the running total of savings reaches the net cost. The total savings figure adds up every year in your chosen horizon.
Worked example (illustrative). Installed cost 1,800 dollars, rebate 250 dollars, so net cost is 1,550 dollars. If you save 600 dollars in year one and the saving grows 2 percent per year, you recover about 600, then 612, then 624, and so on. After roughly 2.5 years the total passes 1,550 dollars.
How to get a real saving figure. Estimate yearly miles, divide by your vehicle efficiency in miles per kWh to get kWh used, then multiply by your home rate. Compare that with what the same miles cost on public chargers or in gasoline. Our guide on cost per mile shows the arithmetic.
Limits. The tool ignores financing cost, electricity rate changes beyond the percentage you enter, and the value of convenience. If you would have charged on a free workplace charger anyway, your true saving is lower.
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Costs and Comparisons
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Mistakes, Scams and FAQ
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