Solar panels and an electric car

The cheapest way to charge your electric car is with your own charging station and electricity you generate yourself. Solar panels and an electric car are therefore an ideal combination. Why? We are happy to explain.

Combining solar panels and an electric car

Solar panels generate green electricity that you can use in your home, but which you can also use to charge your electric car. Exactly how many solar panels you need depends on how much power you expect to use per year on average for your car and household appliances, what capacity your chosen solar panels can deliver and the position of your roof.
ANWB calculated that the Volkswagen ID.3 of 58 kWh / 145 hp requires 8 solar panels just to charge the car. And then you still don't have power for household appliances. It is therefore a good idea to calculate your approximate energy requirements.

How do I use solar energy to charge my car?

Own solar panels and an electric car are a perfect combination. You can use the 'free' power you generate to charge your car. Our smart EV charger zappi checks if you have generated solar power and uses that power to charge your electric car. Did you not generate enough power or do you have no solar panels? Then zappi uses energy from the grid. Via different modes, zappi can be set to charge your electric car only when the most advantageous tariff applies.

What happens to the surplus?

In the sunny summer months, you may generate more energy than you consume. Electricity that you do not use flows back to the grid. With the abolition of the balancing scheme, you will soon no longer receive compensation for this. You are therefore giving away free electricity. That's a shame, of course. It is therefore a good idea to look at alternative ways in which you can still use the power yourself. If you do not yet have an electric car, it is worth considering buying one. You can then use the surplus energy to charge your car. This way, you will waste less.
Do you already have an electric car and already use your solar energy for charging? In that case, our smart energy converter eddi offers a solution. With eddi, you can in fact use the surplus to heat your home. This way you save even more on your energy costs.