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Low Energy: Estimating Electric Vehicle Electricity Use

Author

Listed:
  • Fiona Burlig
  • James Bushnell
  • David Rapson
  • Catherine Wolfram

Abstract

We provide the first at-scale estimate of electric vehicle (EV) home charging. Previous estimates are based on conflicting surveys or are extrapolated from a small, unrepresentative sample of households with dedicated EV meters. We combine billions of hourly electricity meter measurements with address-level EV registration records from California households, including 64,000 EV owners. The average EV increases overall household load by 2.9 kilowatt-hours per day, well under half the amount assumed by state regulators. Results imply that EVs travel less than expected on electric power, raising questions about transportation electrification for climate policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiona Burlig & James Bushnell & David Rapson & Catherine Wolfram, 2021. "Low Energy: Estimating Electric Vehicle Electricity Use," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 430-435, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:111:y:2021:p:430-35
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211088
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    Cited by:

    1. Grigolon, Laura & Park, Eunseong & Remmy, Kevin, 2024. "Fueling electrification: The impact of gas prices on hybrid car usage," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-017, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. James Bushnell & David Rapson, 2022. "The Electric Ceiling: Limits and Costs of Full Electrification," Working Papers 2220, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    3. Lucas W. Davis, 2024. "The Economic Determinants of Heat Pump Adoption," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(1), pages 162-199.
    4. Ashley Nunes & Lucas Woodley & Philip Rossetti, 2022. "Re-thinking procurement incentives for electric vehicles to achieve net-zero emissions," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 527-532, June.
    5. Asad Waqar Malik & Zahid Anwar, 2022. "Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Chakraborty, Debapriya & Hardman, Scott & Tal, Gil, 2021. "Integrating Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) into Household Fleets - Factors Influencing Miles Traveled by PEV Owners in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2214q937, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    7. Muehlegger, Erich & Rapson, David S., 2022. "Subsidizing low- and middle-income adoption of electric vehicles: Quasi-experimental evidence from California," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    8. Tommy Lundgren & Mattias Vesterberg, 2024. "Efficiency in electricity distribution in Sweden and the effects of small-scale generation, electric vehicles and dynamic tariffs," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 121-137, October.
    9. Fonseca, Camila & Jiang, Haiyue & Zeerak, Raihana & Zhao, Jerry Zhirong, 2024. "Explaining the adoption of electric vehicle fees across the United States," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 139-149.
    10. Ross Mckitrick, 2023. "Economic Implications of a Phased-in EV Mandate in Canada," Working Papers 2301, University of Guelph, Department of Economics and Finance.
    11. Peplinski, McKenna & Dilkina, Bistra & Chen, Mo & Silva, Sam J. & Ban-Weiss, George A. & Sanders, Kelly T., 2024. "A machine learning framework to estimate residential electricity demand based on smart meter electricity, climate, building characteristics, and socioeconomic datasets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • L62 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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