About Volt & Ledger
Volt & Ledger answers one question as honestly as we can: what will this EV actually cost you, in dollars and in carbon?
Most EV advice is either a brochure figure or a guess. We do something narrower. We take numbers that government agencies and published studies already report, put them in calculators you can use in ten seconds, and show the source of every figure so you can judge it yourself. Three tools so far: a finder that matches first-time buyers to cars by what they actually care about, a calculator for what charging costs per month, and one for how many miles an EV drives before it repays the carbon cost of building its battery.
Who runs this
Volt & Ledger is run by Jacob Hunka, who also publishes nexusEVnews, an independent EV and renewable energy news site. nexusEVnews covers what is happening in the EV world. Volt & Ledger is where we do the math for people buying their first one. Neither site is affiliated with any automaker, charger company or utility.
Where our numbers come from
- EV efficiency: the EPA's official ratings, from the vehicle data file published on fueleconomy.gov.
- Electricity prices: the U.S. Energy Information Administration's average residential rate for each state.
- Gas prices: the EIA's weekly fuel price update.
- Grid emissions: EPA's eGRID database, by state.
- Battery manufacturing emissions: the ICCT's 2025 lifecycle study, built on Argonne National Laboratory's GREET model, shown as a range because no single official figure exists.
We refresh these monthly and spot-check them by hand against the source before publishing. The how we calculate page shows the formulas and the current data dates.
What we don't do
We don't republish other people's articles or videos. We don't accept payment for a recommendation or a ranking. We don't collect your personal information.
How we make money
Right now, we don't. Volt & Ledger has no ads, no affiliate links and no sponsors. If that changes, our disclosure page will say so first, and every paid link will be labeled on the page where it appears.
Corrections
If a number here looks wrong, tell us and we'll check it against the source. Genuine errors get fixed and noted. Contact us.