Can I charge my electric car with solar panels? The simple answer is yes, a solar installation will charge your electric car just like any other home appliance.
Electric cars are more eco-friendly in comparison to petrol or diesel, and charging your car with solar energy will make you greener than ever. Cutting your carbon footprints. Although electricity is cheaper than conventional fuels, it is still expensive to add to your daily electricity bill when installing an EV charger. You can charge the car for free by installing solar panels and charging the car from excess energy. What's more, through apps like Co-Charger, you can rent your solar EV charger to other drivers and earn money!
How Much Energy Does Your EV Need?
Since electric cars with solar panels on the roof for charging are still in their nascent stage, you will need to use a solar system to charge your EV as well as powering your home.
To determine the size of the solar system you need, you need to study the mileage rating of the EV and the amount of power your car uses.
Imagine you have an electric car with a fuel efficiency rating of 30 kWh / 100 miles. That means the vehicle needs 30 kWh of power to run 100 miles. As a result, if you travel an average of 25 miles a day, you will need 7.5 kWh of power per day. This means that within a year, your panels will need to generate 2,700 kWh of power to fuel your EV.
How Many Solar Panels Does It Take to Charge an EV?
This mainly depends on the battery size of the EV and the efficiency of your solar panels, which may vary depending on their material, size, etc.
Electric vehicle available in India TATA Nexon, Hundai Kona, MG ZS EV etc uses 30-35 Units of electricity for full charge. We can use solar power to charge TATA Nexon and all these EV's.
To understand how to calculate the number of panels your EV should power, consider the following example.
We can make the conservative assumption that your 1kW solar panels can generate 4 Units of electricity per day. If you own an EV with a 35 kWh battery, you will need 35 Units of electricity to reach the full capacity of your battery. Which make your solar requirement 8.75kW installation. With this full charge suppose you can drive 300 KM. But fortunately, the average driver only drives 100 KM a day, which means you only need about 11.6 Units/Day power. Which means, you only need a 3kW Installation for electric vehicle charging. Likewise you can calculate your requirement and solar project needed for EV.
How does solar panel charging work
If you are at home during the day, you can charge the electric car directly from the solar panel system. When it produces solar energy. However, like most electric car owners, if you want to charge your EV overnight, a solar battery is worth the investment. With a battery storage system, your battery can charge your EV at night from the solar energy stored throughout the day. This is because a solar battery can store extra solar energy from solar panels when needed for your home appliances, including your EV.
