Battery Charging Cost Calculator

Estimate the cost to fully charge your battery

Battery Charging Cost Calculator

Estimate your battery charging expenses

Results:

Energy Consumed (kWh): 0.00

Total Charging Cost ($): 0.00

How to Use the Calculator

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Enter the battery's capacity in Ampere-hours (Ah).
  2. Input the battery's nominal voltage in Volts (V).
  3. Provide the charger's efficiency as a percentage (e.g., 85 for 85%).
  4. Enter your local electricity cost per kilowatt-hour ($/kWh).
  5. Click "Calculate Cost" to see the energy consumed and total charging cost.

Understanding Inputs

  1. Battery Capacity (Ah): How much charge the battery can hold.
  2. Battery Voltage (V): The nominal voltage of the battery pack.
  3. Charger Efficiency (%): The percentage of input power that is converted to useful output power by the charger. Typical values are 80-95%.
  4. Cost per kWh ($/kWh): Your electricity rate, usually found on your utility bill.

Tips for Accuracy

  1. Use the battery's rated capacity and voltage for best results.
  2. If charger efficiency is unknown, a common estimate is 85%.
  3. Ensure your electricity cost is up-to-date for accurate billing.
  4. Consider peak vs. off-peak rates if applicable.

Battery Charging Cost Fundamentals

Energy Calculation

The energy stored in a battery is calculated by multiplying its capacity (Ah) by its voltage (V) to get Watt-hours (Wh). This is then converted to kilowatt-hours (kWh) for cost calculation.

  • Energy (Wh) = Capacity (Ah) × Voltage (V)
  • Energy (kWh) = Energy (Wh) / 1000

Charger Efficiency

  • Chargers are not 100% efficient; some energy is lost as heat during the charging process.
  • To account for this, the energy required from the grid is higher than the energy stored in the battery.
  • Energy from Grid (kWh) = Energy (kWh) / (Charger Efficiency / 100)

Key Formulas:

Energy (kWh) = (Battery Capacity (Ah) × Battery Voltage (V)) / 1000

Energy from Grid (kWh) = Energy (kWh) / (Charger Efficiency / 100)

Total Cost = Energy from Grid (kWh) × Cost per kWh ($/kWh)

Calculation Formulas

Energy (kWh):
kWh = (Ah × V) / 1000

Energy from Grid (kWh):
kWh_grid = kWh / (Efficiency / 100)

Total Charging Cost ($):
Cost = kWh_grid × Cost_per_kWh

Example Calculation

For a 100Ah, 12V battery with 85% charger efficiency and $0.15/kWh electricity cost:

Battery Energy (Wh) = 100Ah × 12V = 1200 Wh

Battery Energy (kWh) = 1200 Wh / 1000 = 1.2 kWh

Energy from Grid (kWh) = 1.2 kWh / (85 / 100) = 1.4118 kWh

Total Charging Cost = 1.4118 kWh × $0.15/kWh = $0.21

Energy Consumed = 1.41 kWh | Total Cost = $0.21

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