Phevs (Plug in hybrids): The Math

PHEVs allow you to fill up your tank for less than a dollar a gallon. Here's how (this is oversimplified and leaves out some costs - but on both sides of the equation relatively equally):

1. The average United States electricity rate is 9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

2. At that rate, 30 miles of driving a plug in hybrid electric vehicle will cost 81 cents.

3. The average United States fuel economy of a "regular" car is 25 miles per gallon and gas costs around $3 per gallon.

4. 30 miles of driving a conventional car will cost approximately $3.60.

Even better, PHEVs are often plugged-in at night, and in many places electricity rates are lower overnight.

Finally, as PHEVs start to enter the consumer marketplace, we're likely to see direct support from electric utilities or consumer subsidies from the government that may reduce nighttime rates even further to encourage use of plug-in hybrids and to incentivize off-peak recharging.

Plug-in hybrid electric technology is worth looking in to!