How Much Does It Cost To Charge An Electric Car With Solar And Without
When you own an electric vehicle, every outlet is potentially a way to get a few more miles into your cars batteries. Realistically, though, youll want to find a level 2 EV charger for home use, or the equivalent of a Tesla supercharger if youre out on the road.
There are basically three ways to get the juice thatll keep your car on the road: the grid, public charging stations, or your own solar panels.
Heres how much each costs:
| Type of charging | ||
|---|---|---|
| $.10 to $40 per kWh | Varies based on location and time cheapest at night cost increases over time | |
| Public charging stations | $.28 to $.69 per kWh | Varies based on location and charging station owner additional idle fees some require monthly subscription cost increases over time |
| Solar power at home | Less than $.11/kWh | Levelized over the course of the solar panels’ lifetime additional solar energy can be used to offset electricity bill |
Charging from the grid at home
You can charge an EV at home without solar, but itll cost you. Image source: Electrek
The ongoing cost of fuel from the grid is whatever you currently pay for a kilowatt-hour . In the United States, that can be between about $.10 and $.40 depending on where you live, but the average is about $.13/kWh. For every kWh in your battery, youll get about 3-4 miles of range, so about 12 kWh will get you a 40-mile round trip every day, at an average cost of $1.56.
Public charging stations
Charging with home solar
The Rising Popularity Of Solar Panels
Its easy to understand the appeal of solar power. Unlike fossil fuels, it is available across the world in enormous quantities and is completely free to use. Its no surprise that global solar capacity doubled between 2018 and 2022, reaching one Terawatt . By 2025, global solar capacity is expected to reach 2.3 TWfor context, that’s twice the energy production of France and Germany combined.
This increase is partially driven by individuals and households installing small-scale solar panels on their roofs, with a view of becoming more independent from the grid, cutting energy costs, and reducing their carbon footprints.
In some parts of the world, generating energy through solar is also a way to give access to electricity to people who previously didnt have it. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, this could be fundamental in extending energy access to millions of people.
Why Dont Electric Cars Have Alternators
An alternator is unnecessary for electric vehicles because they do not have any engines but run solely on motor power. The mechanical energy required for alternator operation must be present. The energy is derived from the engines ability to burn fossil fuels.
An automotive alternator uses an alternating current generator to generate electricity, and a belt in the vehicles engine spins a pulley that connects to the alternators rotor. It is not uncommon for current to induce flip-flops several times per second when moving in a specific direction. Electric car batteries typically have more than 300V of charge, whereas headlights, radio, and other accessories require a 12V system. When we only want to convert direct current from one voltage to another, there is a much more precise and efficient method. The DC/DC converters listed can provide a wide range of input voltage ranges. An example would be 48- 96V IN / 13.5 V OUT. The converter can generate up to 15 Watts of power.
In a car, you must have sufficient power to run the headlights, radio, and other necessary accessories. The use of alternators allows us to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Similar technology is used in large-scale power plants to generate electricity. The alternator is an excellent choice for fossil-fuel-burning vehicles because it is simple and relatively inexpensive, but it is also very expensive and requires a lot of maintenance.
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Do You Need Home Solar Batteries To Store Energy For Ev Charging
Many people worry that theyll need a battery such as the Tesla Powerwall to store solar energy they will later use to charge their EV. Were here to tell you thats not necessary, and it may not even be very practical.
Take the Tesla Model 3: depending on which version you choose, it will have a battery of between 54 and 82 kWh. You would need between 4 and 6 Powerwalls in order to store enough energy to fill the cars battery from stored solar energy. Those Powerwalls would cost you at least $30,000, in addition to the cost of solar panels and a car.
Luckily, its not necessary to drop 30 Gs on sleek home batteries. First, you wont often need to charge the full battery in one go. Second, youll likely get net metering benefits, meaning you earn credit for extra solar energy that you send to the grid during the day, which you draw from when charging your car at night. With net metering, the grid acts as your battery.
As an added bonus, net metering and TOU billing can combine to make solar car charging a heck of a good deal. When your solar panels make electricity during the day, you earn net metering credits at the higher daytime prices, and are then able to charge the car at the low overnight prices. Its the best of both worlds!
Smart Charging Is A Must
The UniSA team is not the only group to advocate for midday charging.
A Stanford University team found demand for energy from the grid in Western US states will actually increase by 25 per cent if charging takes place at night. Moving charging to daytime hours makes use of the regions huge capacity for solar and wind generation and will require fewer batteries.
The potential strain on electricity grids of a significant new source of power demand is a worry for regulators and infrastructure owners alike, as Australian EV drivers look to charge their vehicles at home.
But many drivers are already picking the times when a charge is cheapest. The Electric Vehicle Council and Tesla Owners Club of Australia ran a survey in 2022 that showed a majority of Tesla owners charged during the nightly off-peak of 12am-2am, and the middle of the day .
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When Solar Charging Isnt A Good Idea
The numbers we gave above are averages that show the general benefits of solar and EVs together. There will always be specific cases where charging an EV from solar isnt the best choice.
Specifically, if your state doesnt offer net metering, your utility has very low overnight energy prices on a TOU plan, or your roof isnt right for solar because its too shaded, you might be better off charging your electric car from the grid.
Learn more: 7 reasons why you should hold off on solar panels
Can You Use A Regular Ev Charger With Solar Panel Charging
Yes, you can use a regular EV charger with solar panel charging but you’ll need a PV inverter unit that converts solar energy into electricity in order to start charging your EV with solar panels. Most installations will have an inverter as standard but its important to check. The inverter is what changes the current from DC to AC so you can use electricity from the panels to power your home and devices. EV home chargers use AC.
Some EV chargers already have this technology in the box so you can start charging straight away, but again, it’s important to check.
Secondly, solar panels generate power during daylight hours , but most people charge their electric car overnight while theyre sleeping. So, if you want to charge your EV using that solar power at night, youll need a battery storage system that stores the energy generated throughout the day and then releases it when you need it – such as at night when charging your EV.
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Things To Consider Before Installing Solar Panels:
- Solar PV systems can be expensive to install. The initial cost of buying and installing a solar PV system can be substantial. The government offers generous financial incentives for domestic solar PV installations in many countries, so it’s worth checking whether you could get a grant or subsidy to help with the cost.
- Solar panel charging requires sunny weather. Solar PV systems only generate electricity when the sun is shining, so if you live in a cloudy climate, solar power may not be the best option for charging your EV. But it’s worth noting that solar PV systems can still generate some electricity on cloudy days, but you may need to supplement your solar PV system with power from the grid in wintertime.
- Solar panel charging can take longer than grid charging. Yes, it takes longer to charge an electric car using solar power than it does to charge from the grid. But, if you have a solar PV system installed, you can charge your EV overnight while you’re sleeping, so it will be ready to go in the morning.
Overall, there are loads of advantages to using solar panels to charge your EV. Solar energy is renewable and sustainable, it’s usually cheaper than grid electricity, and it doesn’t produce any emissions. So, if you’re considering making the switch to solar panel charging for your EV, it’s definitely worth exploring further.
Are Any Companies Developing Solar
Ford has been developing solar technology for vehicles for about a decade, but other companies such as Aptera Luna and Squad Mobility have also been developing prototypes in recent years.
Unfortunately, where the technology is right now, a fully solar-powered vehicle still doesnt have a desirable cost-to-efficiency ratio.
Maybe something will happen in the next 5-10 years, but its hard to imagine the current offerings will go over well enough to launch a new line of solar-powered vehicles.
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A Dirty Secret Reason Against Ev Pv
I promised to tell you the dirty secret reason EV manufacturers do not want to put solar on electric cars, so here it is
Nearly all EV manufacturers dont offer PV as an option because they want them to stay pretty.
Parking in the sun can fade the paint, trim, and upholstery. The last thing electric car manufacturers want to do is give people an incentive to park them in the sun by adding PV. Theyd rather you go without its benefits so they can make extra sales.
But this situation is changing. People want solar panels on their cars, the cost has come down, and increasing numbers of new market entrants are saying theyll either provide it as an option or make it standard on every vehicle. Current large EV makers wont want to lose sales, so theyll also offer it. They may try to keep most of their cars looking good by making PV an expensive option, but if demand for vehicle solar power is nearly as strong as I expect it to be, competition will drive down the cost.
Putting PVs on EVs mean more people will complain about sun damage to their vehicles, but it should also slightly extend the life of battery packs. This will benefit manufacturers, as theyll have to replace fewer under warranty.
The Energy Captured Is Insufficient
Only about 55 percent of the energy received by the earth from the sun actually makes it to the ground. And thats only on the clearest of days.
Peak energy typically happens at noon.
Even with the most efficient solar panel out there, only 33.7 percent of the solar energy captured can be turned into usable electricity.
Youd typically only get enough energy to run at around 12 mph. Thats fine if your EV is a golf cart but its not very efficient if you plan on going onto any highways.
Electric cars charge pretty slowly and this would slow the process down much more.
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What Is The Future Of Solar Energy
As the world pushes to transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources, renewables such as solar will play an increasingly crucial part in our electrical supply. Solar power is an attractive way for households to reduce their energy costs, gain independence from the grid, and guarantee sustainably generated electricity.
Pairing solar panels with an electric vehicle unlocks further cost savings, allowing you to use the solar power you generate to charge your car. Smart charging can help you realise these savings by giving precise control over the charging process and ensuring optimal energy use. For more insights into smart charging, have a look at our detailed blog.
Would Using Solar Panels On Cars Actually Help The Environment
Solar panels have been used for a long time as a clean source of energy. But the question is, are they a clean source of energy for cars? It may be more damaging to the environment to produce enough of them for cars because they do not give much return in energy levels.
The production of solar panels is found to create CO2 pollution, but not as much as burning coal would for the environment. This means that if the technology for more efficient solar panels were made, then the output would not matter in the long run, because you would be using much more energy.
The other problem of solar panels comes from harmful chemicals that can be found in the creation process for making solar panels. These chemicals, like hydrofluoric acid and sodium hydroxide, can leak into the soil and create more earth pollution. Even though this is very rare, this would degrade the entire purpose of solar panels. There are many other toxic things found in solar panels like lead, cadmium, and arsenic that can harm the earth. These problems would become much more pronounced if they were mass-produced for cars.
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Do I Need A Smart Ev Charging Station If I Want To Charge My Ev Using Solar Energy
You may be asking yourself then, can you just use the power you generated from your solar panels to charge your car? The answer is a little more complicated than simply plugging your EV charging station into solar panels.
The problem is that the power generated by a photovoltaic panel is uneven and highly variable and cannot be fed into an EVs battery directly.
In any case, any solar panel installation needs to have an inverter installed to convert the energy so it can be fed into the electricity network at home and used to power appliances or charge your car.
Whilst having a smart charging station is not required to use electricity from solar panels, it can greatly help manage the charging process and control when and how much electricity from your solar panels is used to charge your EV.
For example, with a smart charging station you can choose to only charge your EV when your solar panels output electricity. The charging station, in combination with an Energy Management System, can forecast when its the best time to charge. This ensures you use the energy you generate and guarantees it is produced sustainably, avoiding having to buy electricity from the grid.
How Many Solar Panels Do You Need To Charge An Electric Car
Speak to your car dealership to find out the battery capacity of your EV.
Once you know this youll be able to work out how much electricity you need specifically to charge your car. This will inform whether or not your current solar panel system needs adapting to meet your needs you may need to have more panels installed. If you dont have panels at all its well worth mentioning youre planning on charging an EV before installation to calculate how many youll need in total.
To fully charge your EV to the top, its likely youll need a lot of solar energy but you wont need to fully charge your EV everyday depending on how far you travel and how much electricity it takes to charge your particular model of car.
In essence, using solar panels to power your EV is a great step towards a greener lifestyle. Using free, clean electricity to power your car will help to reduce the levels of pollution driving causes and help you to live a cheaper, more environmentally friendly life.
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Why Dont Electric Cars Have Solar Panels
Every year, an increasing number of people in the United States acquire electric automobiles. While electric vehicles may be charged at home or at a variety of charging stations, many people are perplexed as to why these vehicles lack solar panels. Installing solar panels on residences makes sense, but does it make sense to put solar panels on cars? The following guide investigates some of the primary reasons why electric vehicles do not have rooftop solar panels.
Solar panels generate electricity by converting sunlights energy. Modern solar panels are extremely efficient, with many of them capable of converting more than 60% of the suns energy into electricity. They do, however, have some serious drawbacks.
With direct sunlight, a 10 square foot solar panel may produce roughly 50 watts. This is the equivalent of one light bulb. Because most automobiles only have 10 to 25 square feet of roof area, the greatest amount of power they can create is 50 to 150 watts.
For instance, while parked at home, the majority of electric cars utilize a 240-volt outlet. These 240-volt outlets may supply around 30 miles of range per hour of charging. A car would only be able to travel one to three miles for every hour it was charged with solar electricity.
This means that for a 300-mile-range electric car, it would take around 90 hours of direct sunshine to fully charge the battery. For many automobiles, this is impracticable.
