How much electricity does charging an electric vehicle consume compared to typical household usage?

The amount of electricity consumed by charging an electric vehicle (EV) depends on the type of vehicle and how it’s driven, much like fuel consumption in a petrol or diesel vehicle.

A typical passenger EV, driven 12,000km per year, will consume about 2,000kWh of electricity per year.  By comparison, a typical mainland Australian home consumes about 4,000-8,000kWh of electricity per year (depending on whether they use gas for cooking/heating or not).

Timing of *when* the electricity is consumed to charge the EV has environmental, grid security, and cost implications for the energy system and the consumer – read more about this in our guide to home EV charging.

 

Arrow-up