I recently heard of someone buying an electric car and fueling it off a home solar setup. That got me thinking, is that cost effective? Both ideas by themselves are great, but pricey. So how’s it work out?
Gas car:
$4/gallon gas, 26 mpg car, 15,000 miles per year (divide by 12 months) = $192.31 per month in gasoline.
Electric car:
sunlight is free
Home solar setup:
Approximent cost of $15,000, 8 year loan at 5% interest is: $189.90 per month.
Now through my incredible powers of MATH I deduce that you save $2.41 cents a month driving an electric car! Alright, not huge savings but the point is, it is actually cheaper to buy an electric car and home solar setup combined than drive a gas car.
The assumption here is that the gas and electric cars cost and perform the same, which isn’t necessarily the case for everyone right now; it is the case for some though. Imagine if the oil company federal subsidies and tax breaks were taken away and given to programs to improve electric cars to make them the equal of a gas car. In a very short time gas would go up until it became non-cost effective for most people while electric cars would become cost effective, homes would become solar powered across the nation over time, so in all likelihood you’d buy a house in the future with a solar setup, thus making your monthly savings $192.31 instead of $2.41, and the air would be cleaner. I’m seeing short term, mid term and long term benefits here.
