Charging at home is the cheapest way to get back on the road with a full battery every day. Especially when you can charge your car at home with solar panels, the costs per kilometer are as low as possible. However, it is true that you will have to make quite a few investments before you can earn back the costs. However, if you make the right choices from the start, it will be considerably easier to charge cheaply and optimally. That is why we are devoting all our attention on this page to charging your electric car with solar panels and especially what you need to pay attention to in order to achieve the best return.
Why is charging your car with solar panels so ideal?
To create an honest picture right away: charging your car with solar panels has many enormous advantages, but there are also still many challenges and stumbling blocks that can cause problems with charging. When we look at the problems, we also see that there are already solutions or solutions are on the way. And that is a good thing, because charging electric cars with solar panels is an important and big step within the energy transition.
If we want to move towards a more sustainable world in which we use less grey energy and make optimal use of renewable energy sources, then solar energy is indispensable. However, this power cannot yet be stored en masse (in a profitable way), which puts a brake on green energy as the main source of our electricity. However, if you have solar panels yourself and you generate your own power that you can use directly to charge your car, then this whole story changes.
At the same time, charging with solar panels is ideal for your wallet. Not directly of course, because considerable investments are needed to make all this possible, but those investments pay for themselves. Especially when you not only charge on solar panels, but also use the generated energy to reduce your electricity bill to € 0 per year.
Important points to note when charging on solar panels
We've already mentioned the problems with solar panel charging, as well as the major benefits. To really help you get started, we've collected a number of the most important points below that you need to keep in mind when you want to be able to fully charge your electric car from now on with your own green power supply from the solar panels on your roof.
Charging a car directly with solar panels is usually not possible
There is a big problem with solar panel charging and that is the difference between the highest yield of the panels and the highest demand for electricity. This does not only apply to charging your car, but to the entire power consumption at home. Most households are empty during the day because people are at school and work. That is the moment when the solar panels yield the most, but that power cannot be used at that moment.
When everyone has come home after a day of work or school, the demand for electricity is at its highest. The car is put on the charger, food is cooked and the laundry is done. That is the moment when the solar panels no longer produce anything because the sun is no longer shining.
This annoying problem can be solved with a home battery. Although this means another investment, it is also the way to use the yield of your solar panels.
Of course, this does not apply to all households and the story becomes even different when you have solar panels on the roof of your company. Incidentally, this also applies directly to all points on this page: not all advantages and disadvantages apply to your situation, so that is good to keep an eye on.
You need the right system to get the most out of it
What is especially important is that you have the right system to be able to charge optimally. For example, if we look at the charging stations, special charging stations for solar panels have been developed that can charge at a much lower power. This is practical, because it allows you to use the yield even when the sun is shining moderately between the clouds.
The right system does not only mean the charging station, but also a smart meter and a system with your solar panels that can be connected to the charging station, possibly via the home battery. Connecting the right systems (certainly with regard to separate groups) and the right apps and features costs money, but this provides so much comfort and safety that it is a step that cannot be skipped.
How many solar panels are in this correct system?
The number of solar panels you need to charge your electric car depends on too many factors to give a complete answer here. You can calculate this yourself by taking the average yield per hour of one solar panel and multiplying this by the number of hours the car is charged per day. Then take the size of your battery pack and divide this by the number you got from the first calculation. That is the number of solar panels you need.
At the same time, this does not make sense, because your car is often connected to the charger mainly at night and your solar panels do not generate any yield at that time. If the car can be charged during the day, you will probably end up with somewhere between 7 and 15 solar panels. If you have a home battery for interim storage and/or you do not need the full battery capacity while driving during the day, then also include this in the calculation.
When can you charge the car with solar panels?
You can only charge the electric car on solar panels when a number of factors are met. First of all, you need a smart charging station and smart meter to be able to charge optimally. The system then determines at any given moment how much power is going to charge the car. Load balancing is also desirable here, because this ensures that all devices and machines on the other network can continue to work normally and the fuses do not blow.
At the same time, you need a charging station that is suitable for charging at a lower power. That sounds obvious, but this is often missed. If you have a charging station that can only charge at a power of at least 3.7 kW, then nothing happens when the sun is not shining brightly. This means that charging time is lost that you would actually prefer to use optimally to fill the battery.
Of course, it is also important that the infrastructure is well-constructed and that the power can actually come from the solar panels to the car. The right charging station, solar panels plus system, meter cupboard and charging cables all play a major role in this.
A glimpse into the future: bidirectional charging and your EV as a home battery
One of the biggest advantages of home charging with solar panels is still in the starting blocks. This is bidirectional charging, which essentially means charging in two directions. In this case, it involves charging the car battery with solar panels, after which the battery itself can supply power back to the grid. This turns the battery of the electric car into a home battery with a considerable storage capacity. If this can be implemented on a large scale, it could be a huge driver of the energy transition. The problem is that the technology is not yet ready for this at the time of writing and that it is still far too expensive to actually be used by private individuals.
Is charging your car with solar panels an option for you?
Do you have solar panels on your home or on the roof of your company? And do you have a system that you can connect to your charging station, with a smart meter in between? In that case, it is certainly worth taking a look at the costs and the possible return for your situation. If you can actually charge for free at home, you will reduce the payback period of the solar panels (and related investments) at a much higher rate.
Do you not have solar panels yet, but are you considering having them installed in a few years and are you looking for a charging station now? Then choose one of the models that is suitable for charging via solar panels. That way, you do not have to look for a charging station again in a few years and you save yourself hundreds of euros.
Order the right charging station for charging with solar panels directly online
Would you like to be able to charge your electric car with your own solar panels? Then you will find the charging cables and charging stations you need to make this happen with us. Of course, all our products have been extensively tested and are provided with a CE quality mark, so you can be sure that you can charge safely.
Can't find what you're looking for or don't know exactly which charging station is suitable to connect to your system? Then please contact us. Our team is ready to help you personally. If you also place your order before 5:00 PM, we will ensure that the products are shipped the same day.
