How much does it cost to charge your car battery?

With fuel prices and the general cost of living increasing rapidly, many drivers are looking at ways to save money and make their budgets stretch further.  CTEK, the leading global brand in vehicle charging solutions has revealed that one of the most frequently questions is “how much does it cost to charge my car battery?”

CTEK calculates that, when using a CTEK CS ONE battery charger, and based on a typical electricity cost in the UK of 36 pence per kWh¹, it only costs about 19 pence to get an almost flat 12V, 75Ah battery fully charged (assuming battery power efficiency of 85%² and charger efficiency of 85%).

So that means that you can charge your car battery for an equivalent cost as watching television for 5 hours, or for less than it would cost you to cook dinner in an electric oven for an hour (68 pence), playing on a games console for three hours (30 pence) or running two loads of laundry through a washing machine (61 pence)!³

The precise costs to change your car battery will of course vary, based on how much you’re paying for your electricity and other considerations such as the size of the battery and the overall health of it. The minimal effort needed to maintain your battery on a consistent basis will not only save you the annoyance of a car breakdown, it could also save you money in the longer term.

Regular battery charging can extend your battery’s life by up to three times and, if your car has technology such as 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 pump prices still high, fuel is a precious commodity that we really can’t afford to waste.

Even a minor change in the level of charge can affect battery health, decrease its longevity and make a costly replacement battery essential. Battery failure can damage your vehicle’s sensitive electronics, leading to expensive repairs, as well as causing lasting damage to your battery, and if you find yourself stuck on the side of the road with a flat battery, you’ll have the cost and inconvenience of breakdown and recovery to deal with.

Consistent battery charging can actually increase your battery’s life, saving you money on battery replacement. Charging your car battery at least once a month prolongs its life by up to three times, so buying a reliable battery charger, and getting yourself into a regular battery maintenance routine, makes perfect sense.