Find out how you can charge your electric car with solar panels
Here’s a helping guide to how solar panels can charge your electric car and how much it will cost
Solar panels are becoming ever more popular as people seek to generate clean electricity and save money on costly bills. That’s why with more and more people buying electric cars the usefulness of solar power is becoming ever more appealing.
The advantages are endless when you switch to solar panels as a means of generating electricity for your electric car, say the experts at Go Solar, a solar company based in Spain. Not only will you save hundreds on your bills and slash your carbon footprint, but you will also reduce your dependence on public charging stations.
Electric cars work especially well with the energy that comes from a properly set-up solar panel system, but how exactly can installing solar panels charge your car, how much it will cost and which is the right solar panel set up for you?
How solar panels can charge your car
All solar panels 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 or to charge your car.
After you have bought the solar panel and it is working in generating power you will need to get an electric car charger, which will use solar electricity to replenish your car’s battery as it’s being generated by your panels.
Then your charger will usually combine the solar energy you generate with electricity from the grid in order to reach its standard output level, unless you have a large enough solar panel on your house.
To ensure that you’re charging your electric car with solar, you’ll need the technologically advanced solar charger, which will allow you to power your car with solar electricity more effectively and with more options.
Furthermore, you could consider buying a solar-compatible charger, which allows you to choose when you charge your car, and use exclusively solar electricity when you do so.
This method works even more productively when combined with a solar battery, which enables you to store your solar energy up during the day, then charge your car at night.
Owning a solar battery is a good idea because it can further cut your energy bills, as it allows you to consume more of the electricity your solar panels generate each day.
Also, certain storage batteries allow you to set their charging and discharging times, including whether or not they prioritise powering your electric car. If you own one of these batteries, you should be able to tell your battery not charge your electric car at night, so you can take advantage of cheap overnight rates instead.
The advantages of charging you electric car with solar panels
Below are just some of the benefits that can come from charging your car with the use of solar panels:
1. Save money on charging instead of using of forms of energy
Users save around £400 per year on charging costs by getting electricity from your solar panels instead of the grid, on average. Moreover, it’s around £1,000 cheaper to run a car on your own solar electricity rather than petrol.
2. Maximise your savings with smart tariffs
If you use a smart tariff you can save as much as possible on your bills. You can use apps to set how much charge you need and when you need it. Some energy suppliers offer an electric car tariff with a cheap off-peak rate that means you can save by charging your car at a specific time of the day.
3. Cut your carbon footprint and lead a greener life
When you choose for the sun to power your car, you’ll typically save 248 kg of CO2 per year, in addition to the 1.5 tonnes you save by driving an Electric car instead of a petrol one.
4. Protect yourself against energy price rises
Solar panels enable you to cut your reliance on the electricity grid. This softens the blow of any price cap rises, as your Electric charging needs can mostly be fulfilled by your solar panels, so you do not need to rely on others for your energy.
So there you have it, a guide to how and why switching to solar panels can be a great option if you have an electric car and live in a country that has many sunlight hours. It means you can save money, help the planet and not be reliant on others for your energy.
The experts at Go Solar would be happy to talk more about the options for installing, upgrading or maintaining a solar power system in Spain; you can use the contact details below to reach out to them directly today: