Chris’ Corner: Save Money with EVs as Your New Year’s Resolution

It’s 2026, everyone—Happy New Year! I know a lot of people are setting resolutions and goals for the year. Mine is to start and continue this blog series! Hope to see you in my corner each month as we delve into electric vehicles, virtual power plants, and the future of our energy systems.

Speaking of new year’s resolutions, I’m guessing many of us are setting goals related to money—Fidelity found that 64% of Americans were considering a financial resolution in their most recent study. So, for those of you who have an EV, let’s help you reach those goals. How does saving $3,500 a year sound?

Let’s Get the Math and Assumptions Out to Start 

I always hate when articles save the good stuff for the end, so I promise to frontload my blog posts with the headline upfront. I’ll say it plainly: if you have an electric vehicle, the biggest savings will come if you’re someone who drives more. Probably not the most intuitive, and I’m not telling you to find more excuses to drive. Just keep in mind that my assumptions are based on someone who drives 12,000 miles a year. Sounds like a lot, but that’s a conservative estimate. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the average American driver is banking closer to 13,500 miles per year. If you drive less than this, your mileage may vary (ha).

A Note on Winter Optimization

I rolled a lot of the savings opportunities into the first category, but if you live in a cold area, this is the time to optimize. Heating your vehicle is the biggest strain on your battery for the next few months. Take advantage of covered or garage parking where available and preheat the vehicle while you’re plugged in. (There’s no risk of turning on your vehicle in a garage. No tailpipe emissions!) I often get questions about preheating and battery health. Keep in mind that, when the option is available, most EVs will take power directly from the outlet instead of the battery for heating. So, you don’t need to worry about degrading your battery with plugged-in preconditioning.

Also, you might overestimate how much heating you need! Steering wheel heating and seat warmers are often enough for me when I’m driving in the winter. Give it a try! If you prefer a preheated cabin, consider setting that up 10-15 minutes before your trip. Often, you can do that remotely. There’s truly an app for everything these days, isn’t there? Check out those associated with the brand of car and charger you chose; you may be surprised by the options available.

Some Other Rules of Thumb

The reality is that EV savings are not complicated, and most of the value comes from a few high-leverage behaviors. If you’re like me, then you’re a disciple of the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule. You don’t want to waste time, so focus on the high-impact 20% of things you can do. I’ll break it down into three things for you:

1. The real savings come from not buying gasoline. Driving electric and charging primarily at home is the foundation of all EV savings. Everything else is secondary. If an owner relies heavily on public fast charging, they give back a meaningful portion of that advantage... Charge at home, charge at slower speeds (L1 or L2), and charge off peak if you can help it. A lot of utilities are starting to support this with lower electrical charges. Program your charger to start between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
2. Incentives matter A LOT. Capturing state, utility, and federal (if you purchased before October of 2025) incentives at purchase materially lowers the total cost of ownership. When spread over the life of the vehicle, this often rivals or exceeds annual maintenance savings. Missing incentives is one of the few ways to make an EV unnecessarily expensive.
3. Charging discipline preserves battery life and long-term savings. Off-peak home charging and minimal DC fast charging keep electricity costs predictable and low. This is where many owners unintentionally erode their fuel advantage and put too much strain on the battery. The occasional DCFC on a trip is okay, but it should never be your primary charging solution.

After that, the rest is icing on top. Remember to precondition while plugged in—especially in winter—to prevent cold-weather inefficiencies from inflating energy costs. Use seat and steering wheel heaters instead of blasting cabin heat for an easy efficiency win. Then consolidate short winter trips to avoid repeated cold starts.

Finally, there are incremental but legitimate optimizations like keeping tires properly inflated (I’m preaching to myself with this one), driving smoothly, shopping insurance policies after purchasing, and avoiding abusive charging habits. Battery-health discipline does not lower your monthly bills, but it preserves resale value and prevents depreciation from undoing earlier savings.

The Core Point is Simple

EV savings come from a few habit changes that should be easy for you. Most of the value comes from eliminating gasoline and charging at home, but you should be capturing incentives too. Don’t assume it’s too late to get the Federal EV tax credit or any state/utility credit—many are point of sale, but some can be redeemed afterward. We’re not leaving money on the table in 2026—let's meet those financial goals!

Thanks for joining me today. I’m grateful for another year and I look forward to talking more about this topic! Next time, I want to dive into some of the fleet programs we’re running at Resource Innovations. If you want to have your questions answered, I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email or reach out to me on LinkedIn. 

‘Til next time folks! Happy 2026!