Nissan LEAF Owners About The Rise of Their Electric Bill vs Cost of Gasoline Usage

"This wasn't the case for me as my electric bill went up by less than half of what I was spending on gas every month. But it has me thinking, I wonder if people would think differently about the cost of gasoline usage if they paid for it on a monthly basis; getting a big bill in the mail rather than paying a little at a time at the pump," asks Dan in Nissan Leaf Owners group on Facebook, starting an interesting discussion on how much it costs to fully charge a Nissan LEAF at home and how it effects the cost of electric bill.

A LEAF owner Krispy writes that he was surprised at how little her electric charging cost went up. "Granted, I do charge at a free level 3 charger near my office 2-3x/month, but my electric usage for the Leaf is about between $15-20 per 1000 miles."

Charge Your EV Using Solar Power

Some people use solar panels and significantly lower the cost of fully charging their electric cars. I have seen this not only in Nissan LEAF owners but also Tesla Model S owners do it. Solar panels definitely are a huge pro when you purchase an electric car. That's the way to do it. But if you live in a mountainous area or in a canyon, going solar makes it a poor choice. If you are going to buy a new house, make sure it will have a good solar potential because in 15-20 years more electric cars will be on our roads and chances are you will be driving an EV in 15-20 years.

"I have solar panels replacing about 500kWh a month. I pay far more for natural gas each month than electricity," wrote a Leaf owner Steve.

Sometimes it's difficult to calculate the the full monthly electric cost of the Nissan LEAF because of the seasonal changes. This was the view expressed by some LEAF owners. "I can't compare," wrote Matthew from PA. "I do know it costs about 20 dollars to go 1000 miles based on my 8 cent kwh rate in Pennsylvania."

"Yes, my cost is about 110empg if you lay off the accelerator and keep the velocity down. We actually save about $150 a month because we set up appliance timers and programmed thermostats. We also changed rate plans," shares shares David.

The big bill will come eventually in the form of a road use tax. This, of course, varies from state to state. This is why it's difficult to calculate the cost of charging an EV at home vs the cost of gasoline.

"Mine was $25 over normal bill" wrote another Nissan LEAF owner named Matthew. "I replaced my Incandescent and CRLs with LEDs. And now I am $50 below average with powering my EV. Yet, $25 more a month in power and $350 dollars less in gas. Also, about $40 less in oil and maintenance."

Here are few other opinions about the cost of Nissan LEAF charging

"My electric bill went from $37 to $85 and also includes increased AC usage so the increase is more noticeable than someone already paying $100+ for their electric," writes Dan.

"The most my Leaf consumed was 330 kW for over 1400 miles that month. So 330 x $0.11 =$36. No significant change since the lowest bill for the house is $150 and $300 in the cold winter days," writes Boris.

"My power bill went up 18 dollars per month. I pay 20 bucks to aerovironment for unlimited charges a block from my office . Not too bad considering that one tank of gas lasts one week and it's 30+ dollars per fill up," writes Julio.

"Now I charge during the off peak hours. I learned my lesson but Southern California has the highest gas prices in the county," writes Samuel. In fact in some states power companies do offer special rates. Know those hours and rates and charge your Leaf during those hours.

Are you a Nissan LEAF or Tesla owner? How much has your monthly electric bill changed vs the cost of your previous gas bill when chargin your EV fully?