Battery charging from solar panels is a renewable and sustainable way to power your electric vehicle. Simply put, solar panels work by converting sunlight into electricity, which can then be used to charge your EV battery.
Most recent EV charger models are solar compatible ✔ Between 8–12 solar panels should be enough to fully power an electric vehicle ✔ Solar panels are rarely used to fully power an EV, but they can top up its charge After paying the installation costs of an electric charger, you’re also faced with the price of the electricity to charge your car.
Solar panel charging is good for the environment. Electric cars are much cleaner than petrol or diesel cars, but if they're charged using electricity from coal-fired power stations, their environmental benefits are reduced. Solar panel charging helps to maximise the environmental benefits of driving an electric car.
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 it’s important to check.
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.
You can absolutely use solar panels to charge an electric car. Your solar panels will come with an inverter that converts the DC (Direct Current) electricity that comes from the sun to AC (Alternating Current) electricity, which you can use in your home and to charge your car.