Can Solar Panels for Houses Charge Electric Cars?
Posted on 15 August 2022
Do you own an electric car, or are you thinking of buying one? With petrol prices at a record high, the idea of buying an electric car may be enticing to many, particularly if it can consume renewable, cheaper energy from your home’s residential solar panels. Solar Power Direct looks at some pros and cons of charging electric cars from solar panels for houses in South Australia.
Types of Chargers Available for Your Home Solar Systems
In order to charge, your electric car needs to be the type that can be plugged into a power source. There are three charging levels available for electric cars.
- The first level, which uses your standard power supply, takes the longest to charge.
- The second level requires a specialised EV charger for your home but is much quicker to charge.
- The fastest charge level is available on public charging devices, but this is not available for home solar systems.
Charging Times for Your Solar Powered Electric Car
The length of time it takes to charge your car battery will be dependent upon your charging source, and how many kilometres your car can travel on a single charge. Often, electric vehicle users will keep charging times down by continually topping up their charge, or only topping up from your home solar systems for only the amount of travel-time they need. If you travel 50kms per day, you might leave your car to charge overnight to fully charge.
Pros of Charging Your Electric Car from Your Residential Solar Panels
There are many pros to charging your electric cars on solar. Circumventing rising fuel costs and reducing environmental impacts by using clean energy over fossil fuels, are two of the most popular. If you generate a lot of excess energy from your residential solar panels, it can be very cost-effective to use this energy to power your car.
Cons of Charging Your Electric Car from Your Home Solar Systems
One of the main disadvantages of using solar power to charge your car, is that it isn’t always possible for people working away from home. Charging your car from solar also has an inbuilt inefficiency. Expect about 10% of the energy to be lost during the charging process. Using a solar battery to store the day’s solar energy will make it possible to charge your electric vehicle at night, but it will also add to the inefficiency.
Solar Power Direct can install robust home solar systems to take care of all your household and electric car charging needs. Contact us on 08 7226 0560 to quote solar panels for homes South Australia wide.
