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Electrify Your Ride

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Whether you want to reduce your carbon footprint, contribute to a healthier community, spend less on maintenance and repair, or reduce monthly fuel bills, there are many reasons to choose to drive electric. We have compiled resources to help you understand the technologies, capture available incentives, and find key information to make the switch.

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Through Santa Barbara Clean Energy’s Residential EV program, City of Santa Barbara residents can apply for rebates from $1,000 to $4,000 when purchasing an electric vehicle, a Level 2 EV charger, or completing make-ready work for the future installation of an EV charger. Find details and apply Here.

The Federal government currently offers incentives in the form of tax credits for both Alternative Fuel Vehicles (includes electric and fuel cell vehicles) and charging infrastructure. You can receive up to $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an Electric or Fuel Cell vehicle and up to $1000 tax credit for the costs of EV charging infrastructure or electrical upgrades. Learn more about the IRS rules for alternative fuel vehicles at Clean Vehicle Tax Credits.

Drive Clean California which helps you capture all the incentives available to you based on the location that you live in and the vehicle that you want to purchase.

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Alternative Vehicle Refueling and Charging Maps

EV Charger Connectors, Types, and Charging Times Explained

1 Note that charging speed is affected by many factors, including the charger manufacturer, condition, and age; air temperature; vehicle battery capacity; and vehicle age and condition.

2 Different vehicles have different charge ports. For DCFC, the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector is based on an open international standard and is common on vehicles manufactured in North America and Europe; the CHArge de Move (CHAdeMO) connector is most common for Japanese manufactured vehicles. Tesla vehicles have a unique connector that works for all charging speeds, including at Tesla’s “Supercharger” DCFC stations, while non-Tesla vehicles require adapters at these stations.

3 AC = alternating current; DC = direct current.

4 Assuming an 8-kWh battery; most plug-in hybrids do not work with fast chargers.

5 Assuming a 60-kWh battery.

6 To 80 percent charge. Charging speed slows as the battery gets closer to full to prevent damage to the battery. Therefore, it is more cost- and time-efficient for EV drivers to use direct current (DC) fast charging until the battery reaches 80 percent, and then continue on their trip. It can take about as long to charge the last 10 percent of an EV battery as the first 90 percent.

Electrify Your Ride

Incentives

Permitting EV Chargers