How much does it cost to charge your battery?

With the rising cost of electricity and the increasing cost of living, one of the most shared questions we’re being inquired these days is “how much does it cost to charge my car battery?” 

CTEK has been calculating that, using a CTEK CS ONE battery charger and based on a typical electricity cost in Europe of 36 cents (EUR) per kWh1, it costs about 19 cents to get a an almost empty 12V, 75Ah battery fully charged (presume battery power efficiency of 85%2 and charger efficiency of 85%). 

We conclude that you can charge your battery for the equivalent cost as watching TV for 5 hours, and for a minor cost, less than it would cost you to cook in an electric oven for an hour (68 cents), playing on a game console for three hours (30 cents) or do a couple loads of laundry (61 cents)!3 

The precise costs are going to vary, based on how much you’re paying for the electricity and other aspects like the size of the battery and the health of it. The small effort needed to charge your battery on a consistent basis will not only save you the annoyance of a car breakdown, it could also save you money. 

Even a minor change of charge can affect battery health, decrease its life and making replacement essential. Battery failure can similarly harm the vehicle’s electronics, leading to costly repairs, and if you find yourself stuck on the side of the road with a flat battery, you’ll have the cost and troublesomeness of breakdown and recovery to deal with as well. 

If your car has a ‘stop/start’ function, this may not kick in if your battery is drained. This will increase the amount of fuel you’re using, and with current fuel prices, fuel is a valuable asset that we truly can’t afford to waste. And consistent battery charging can actually increase your battery’s life up to three times, saving you hundreds of euros on battery replacement.  

Calculation estimates are subject to change due to market fluctuations. 

1. Average Electricity cost based on: Household Energy Price Index (HEPI) by Energie-Control Austria, MEKH and VaasaETT. Household Energy Price Index 

2. Lead Acid battery energy efficiency based on: Encyclopedia of electrochemical power sources (2009) by Garche Jürgen.  

3. Average power consumption figures based on: Electricity consumption around the home (2022) by National Energy Action.  NEA.org.uk.