Solar car charging stations are EV charge stations designed and engineered to help vehicle owners take advantage of the free solar power readily available in Australia. These charge stations benefit homeowners looking to reduce the long-term cost of charging EVs. Such solar charge stations are also helpful for homeowners looking to live off-grid but also charge their EVs.
How Do Solar EV Charging Stations Work
Charging your EV with a solar EV charging station works by plugging your EV into your home charging station. Ideally, you should plug in your car during the day while the sun is shining to make the most of the free energy available. If you have a solar- and grid-capable charger, electricity from the grid will supplement the solar power your panels produce.
However, you can still plug in your EV at night if you have a battery pack. However, charging your car from the battery will increase the wear and tear of your battery pack, reducing its durability. Additionally, charging your EV from your battery storage system is less efficient as there’re losses experienced from the solar panels to the battery and from the battery to your car’s battery pack.
Benefits Of Solar EV Charging Stations
- Utilise renewable and sustainable energy to charge your EV
- Allows you to lower your overall costs of transportation by charging your EV with ‘free’ solar energy
- A solar car charging station increases your resilience by reducing your dependency on the grid
Considerations When Setting Up A Solar Car Charging Station At Home
#1. Solar Panels That Will Deliver Your Required Range – You need the general solar system to meet your range requirements. Otherwise, you’ll have to complement the charge drawn from solar panels with electricity from the primary grid. So, how many solar panels to charge an electric car.
It all depends on how much you drive and how much you want to charge your EV with solar power. On average Australian drivers need about 50km range per day. You’ll need about 8kWh to attain this range.
Three panels, on average, produce 1kW per day / 4kWh of electricity per day. As such, an average Australian will need to install 6 panels producing 2kW per day to get a 50km range.
#2. Dual Mode Capability – You should determine whether your solar power charging station for electric cars should be capable of charging using solar panels and electricity from the main grid (solar and grid more) or you’ll charge with solar power only.
A charger with solar and grid mode is capable of charging your EV with solar power and grid power at the same time. This allows the charger to draw from the grid to complement the shortfall of your solar system.
On the other hand, the solar-only charger is designed and optimised to charge using green energy produced by your solar panels.
Conclusion
If you’re planning on installing a solar system in your house, consider adding capacity to charge your electric vehicle. While the system might not charge your EV fully, it might help lower the cost of running the EV, which will benefit you financially.
