CHARLOTTE – Sales of electric vehicles continue to climb around the globe as more people seek alternatives to use of fossil fuels. They also can save you money.

So says a new energy calculator from Duke Energy.

“Our electric vehicle expert did some comparing with his own EV.  Similar $33 fill up with gasoline, would be around $8 for the same amount of kWh [kilowatt hours],” says Randy Wheeless, a media spokesperson for Duke Energy.

And Duke is not just blowing smoke even though it stands to benefit from vehicles being powered by electricity rather than gas or diesel fuel. That’s according to Scot Wingo, a longtime EV owner who has a stake in the power supply game: He’s CEO of vehicle maintenance firm Get Spiffy, which is based in the Triangle.

In fact, he says going EV saves more money than through fuel.

“The Duke Energy EV calculator does a good job of comparing the ‘gas vs. electric’ aspect of owning an EV – that’s one of the biggest areas of savings and an important one, but the calculator doesn’t include the savings in maintenance costs,” Wingo tells WRAL TechWire.

“Across a wide range of EV models, the savings there is an average of an additional $400 [per year.]

Consumers and corporations have driven EV sales up to some 3% market share, according to the International Energy Agency with the world’s major automakers rushing to embrace EVs while Tesla continues to roll out new models. However, costs can be prohibitive with EVs retailing on average above $50,000, according to Car and Driver.

A variety of tax credits can bring down initial costs, though. [Check our details from the IRS.]

Duke Energy unveiled the caculator Tuesday morning. And Wheeless says the development team checked a lot of data in other to ensure accuracy, not hype.

“[The calculator] was developed internally using data we have on EV driving and charging behavior as well as national average data,” Wjeeless explains. “We checked accuracy by having some beta testers run their own personal numbers and check the model outputs versus separately calculated data.”

Duke Energy also is seeking to build more EV charging stations.

More value?

Wingo points out there is other value to EVs.

“Another area I’d encourage folks to research is the residual value.,” he says. “When I sold my first EV, I was shocked that the residual value was significantly larger after 5 years compared to previous ICE [internal combustion engine] vehicles,” Wingo notes. ” I haven’t seen data on this and maybe it’s a short term thing because used EV demand is supply, but definitely a factor.”

Wingo also stressed what he called “intangibles.”

“As an EV owner since 2012 , I’d also point to the intangibles too.  Think of every time you’ve stopped for gas and picked up something you didn’t really need.,” he explains. “Think about the aggregate time you spend at the gas station and on car maintenance.  It’s hard to quantify that time, but it’s another costs savings that the economist in me encourages you to consider.”