EV Milage Efficiency Comparison
2026 Milage Tracker
Looking for real word comparisons from the data nerds among us. How much are you saving? (Money, Energy, CO2 emissions)
I’ll go first,
Mileage tracking 1st half of 2026.
Vehicle - 2023 Ford Lightning XLT Standard Range (odometer just past 40k).
Distance & Cost - In the first half of 2026 (1/1 to 7/1)
Distance Driven 7,066 miles,
Energy Usage 3,044 kWh
at a cost of $641.30.
This averages out to be $0.09/ mile. (2.321 mi/kWh)
Additional Information - 89 % of the charging took place at home, where a solar panel array provides power at a lower rate compared to local utilities or fast chargers. Of the remaining 11% spent charging at fast chargers, just over half was spent pulling a camper trailer which drops the mi/kWh. (2.0 mi/kWh under 50 mph and down as low as 1.5 mi/kWh while at highway speeds)
ICE Comparison Vehicle - If comparing to an ICE F-150 (getting 20 mpg) gas would have to drop to $1.80 / gallon for cost per mile parody.
The average price of Gas in Massachusetts for the first half of 2026 averaged $3.65 (according to AAA). Driving the same distance in an ICE F-150 would have cost roughly $1,290 (or just over twice as much money spent)
Even paying the average utility rate for Western Mass ($0.33 / kWh) the cost per mile still works out to $0.14/ mile (or $2.80/ gallon if driving an ICE F-150 for cost per mile parody)
Energy Usage Comparison - A gallon of gas contains roughly 124,340 BTu’s of energy*. A kWh of electricity contains roughly 3,414 BTu’s of energy*. Based on this information, just under 10.3 million BTu’s worth of energy has been used to move my truck the 7,066 miles. An ICE F-150 would use just over 43.5 million BTu’s to travel the same distance. (4.2 times as much energy consumed)
CO2 emissions comparison - *note* - This one varies quite a bit depending on what fuels make up your electricity mix.
Typical CO2 emissions per energy type*
Coal - 1,000 grams of CO2 per kWh
Natural Gas - 500 grams of CO2 per kWh
Solar PV - 50 grams of CO2 per kWh (emissions come mostly from assembly & transportation amortized over the life of the panels)
The national average energy mix - 588 grams of CO2 per kWh (in 2025)
Massachusetts energy mix average - 392 grams of CO2 per kWh of energy produced (in 2025)
My personal energy mix 99.6 grams of CO2 per kWh (85.5% from solar, 14.5% from the MA grid during the first half of 2026)
My estimated CO2 emissions this year is only 1/3 of a ton of CO2 (using my personal energy mix). An ICE F-150 would emit roughly 4.5 tons of CO2 driving the same distance (assuming that burning 1 gal of gas emits 11,500 grams of CO2) (over 13 times as much Carbon dioxide emitted)