Charging EV with Solar Panel Safety Solution. Beny
BENY Electric is a well-established EV charger and PV equipment producer with over 30 years of expertise. Our expertise in the production of PV components guarantees that all of our EV chargers outperform your expectations in terms of service life and performance.
Our EV charger’s sturdy construction allows you to meet a variety of business objectives while pushing your brand.
With its type 2 connector, this EV charger can power any electrical car. The PV product is appropriate for both outdoor and indoor use due to its wall-mounted structure and IP65 dust and waterproof enclosure. Our EV charger’s power ranges from 16amps to 32amps.
How to Charge EV with Solar Power.
Here are the procedures to charging your electric car using solar panels:
Step 1: Determine how much kWh your car requires based on your driving patterns. You may make an educated guess by calculating the average amount of miles driven every day.
Step 2: Determine how many solar panels you’ll need to generate that kWh. To charge an electric automobile, you’ll need between 10 and 17 kWh of power every day.
Step 3: Acquire solar equipment capable of producing that much power. You’ll need a solar energy system and all of the necessary equipment.
Step 4: Purchase a Level 2 vehicle charger.
Cost of Charging EV Directly from Solar Panels.
According to a survey done by consumer solar panel setup reviews site SolarReviews, using residential rooftop solar to charge an electric car in the US costs only 415 per year, opposed to 662 on-grid electricity at residential and 1,058 with a public EV charger. The survey also discovered that filling a petrol car’s tank might cost up to 1,260 per year.
Rooftop solar panels, a centralized string converter that converts the DC output of the solar boards to AC, and a level 2 EV charger are typical components of a solar EV charging arrangement. According to SolarReviews, five sun panels are required to charge an EV.
Solar roof panels have a lower long-term expense than buying power from the grid, where the average kWh of electricity price is growing over time in practically every country.
What Do you Need for a Solar Car Charging Station for Home?
Batteries
Aside from a solar panel, you’ll need a mechanism to store the energy generated by the solar. There are several choices for home batteries on the market currently.
Station for Charging
You will also require a charging station (often placed in your garage or entrance) where you can connect to your automobile. We suggest level 2 chargers since they charge significantly quicker.
String Inverter
A centralized string inverter that converts the solar arrays’ Dc power to AC, or segments and sub that convert the power of each panel to AC and transmit it to a combiner box that links to your main AC board.
How Can Beny Help Support your EV Solar Charging?
EV Charger
With its type 2 connection, our EV charger provides electricity to any electrical automobile. The PV product is appropriate for both indoor and outdoor environments due to its wall-mounted structure and IP65 dust and weatherproof enclosure. The power of our EV charger varies from 16amps up to 32amps.
BENY Electric is a well-established EV charger and PV equipment producer with over 30 years of expertise. Our expertise in the production of PV components guarantees that all of our EV chargers outperform your expectations regarding service life and efficiency.
Our EV charger’s sturdy construction allows you to meet a variety of business objectives while pushing your brand. Please contact us for a no-obligation consultation.
PV System Safety Components
PV parts like DC switches, circuit breakers, fuses, and lightning guards serve as “safety guardians” for PV inverters and play an important part in the inverter. So, as a component manufacturer, how can we ensure the inverter’s “safety lock”? We are a prominent brand in the production of hundreds of thousands of high-quality DC components for comprehensive and dependable solar circuit protection each year.
BENY Electric, a major global professional electrical producer, has always insisted on high standards and stringent criteria for the quality of its components. We continue to invest in Research and innovation and analytic every year for advancement, establishing the platform for leading and stable goods, with the most sophisticated and rigorous testing facility in the sector.
Electric Vehicle Chargers
The total cost of ownership for EVs has already been shown to be significantly less than for gas-powered vehicles. This is even more significant when you consider the rising gas we see today.
Consumer Reports writes:
“…new research from Consumer Reports shows that when total ownership cost is considered – including such factors as purchase price, fueling costs, and maintenance expenses – EVs come out ahead, especially in more affordable segments.”
Gasoline (AAA):
EV Charger Installation in Knoxville
At Solar Alliance, we recognize that electric cars are here to stay. That’s why we develop convenient solutions to make electric car ownership easier. Having a fast and reliable place to charge your car is essential for any owner of an electric model. Odds are, you’ll perform 95% of your charging from home, so it’s worth the investment to make your in-home charging station as efficient as possible.
You can charge your vehicle at a faster charging rate with an electric vehicle (EV) charging station for electric cars from Solar Alliance. We work with you to install a fast and effective solar-powered (or non-solar-powered) car charger that’s catered to your vehicle and fits easily in your garage. Contact us today for peace of mind about the cost of driving your car.
Chargepoint Installation and
The Solar Alliance team is also here to install ChargePoint solar chargers for homes and businesses, plus models from many other manufacturers. Our team will work with you to determine the best solar charger for your electric car and available garage space. You’ll have the choice between Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast-charging stations for use at home or the office.
When you’ve selected the right model, our team will come to your location and do the installation correctly the first time. Our technicians are familiar with electric vehicle chargers for several manufactures, so you know you can count on us.
Tesla Charger Installation
Tesla’s electric cars are sweeping the nation as the most popular fully electric models. Solar Alliance is proud to be a Tesla accredited installer with the expertise to outfit your home with any charging station from the United States’ leading electric car manufacturer.
With a Tesla solar charger from Solar Alliance, you’ll have ultimate access to a convenient and inconspicuous charging station in your garage or at your business. These high-power wall chargers will have your vehicle ready for a 240 to 250-mile drive after only eight hours.
In addition to standalone Tesla charger installation at your home, the team at Solar Alliance is available to integrate a Tesla charger into your preexisting charging station. With Solar Alliance, you can add a new Tesla to your garage without installing a new charging station. You can also update your commercial charger with Tesla compatibility to accommodate more drivers who visit your facility.
Solar Chargers For Your Electric Car
Solar-powered car charging stations are perfect for homeowners looking to add convenience and further reduce their environmental impact. If your garage already has a charging station, but you want to upgrade to solar to offset your vehicle’s energy usage, Solar Alliance is here to help. We can integrate your electric vehicle charger into our other solar system products for homes and businesses.
Whether your building already features Solar Alliance commercial or Sunbox residential panels or you’d like to have them installed, we can connect your solar solution with your home car charging station for premium energy efficiency. Get in touch to discuss your situation, and we’ll explain how our technicians can help.
See How Solar Alliance Can Help You
At Solar Alliance, we have the experience and industry connections to install solar EV chargers for any vehicle make or model. For more information on the cost to install chargers and how we can implement our solar products at your home, contact Solar Alliance or request a free Sunbox quote today!
How To Build A DIY Solar EV Charging Station
Are you an EV owner/looking to invest in one? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to either, then you need to consider a DIY solar EV charging station. With today’s constantly fluctuating electricity prices, it’s only natural that you’d want to become more energy-independent. Or maybe, you just love a good ol’ DIY project. Either way, a DIY solar EV charging station is a no-brainer! But there’s more — controlling the input electricity for your EV also determines its ‘greenness’. Why? Because, while you may be mitigating tailpipe emissions, your electricity source is still a greenhouse contributor. For example, in the US, 40.7% of electricity is still created from natural gas and 19.4% from coal! So, in this article, we’ll cover what an EV charging station is, what you’d need to make one yourself and how to set it up.
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What Is A DIY Solar EV Charging Station?
A DIY solar EV charging station is a handmade, self-sustaining power point for your car. It will enable you to run your car on sunshine! These stations can be on-grid or off-grid — this post will discuss a DIY solar charging station that is linked to an off-grid system. This means that you won’t be dependent on purchasing any more electricity to charge your EV — after the initial investment you can charge your car for free! A DIY charging station is the perfect partner for your EV and makes total sense. You’ll have your own independent, secure, and reliable energy source.
Components Needed For A DIY EV Charging Station
Additionally, you’ll need to think about where you want to put your solar panels. Will they go on your roof/ garage, or do you need to build another structure?
Working Example:
For our example, we’ll be using this charging station for a Tesla Model Y (top-selling model 2021 in the US). This means that to charge our car from a low battery it would take:
- 20-40 hours with a level 1 charger (120V home outlet)
- 8-12 hours with an AC level 2 charger (220/240V)
- 15-25 minutes with a level 3 charger (480V Tesla Supercharger)
Given that we would not be typically driving your car flat out every day, let’s assume that we’d be driving a reasonable 30 miles per day. This would mean our Tesla would use 7.8 kWh per day, according to a range of 0.26 kWh per mile.
Let’s be conservative here and round this up to 10 kWh per day — just to make sure we have enough power.
We also want to aim for a Level 2 AC charger (240V), as a level 1 charger would take too long and it’d be quite risky to try and install a level 3 charger at home (at 480V and with direct current).
Solar Panels
These panels use photovoltaic (PV) technology to convert photons from the sun’s rays into electricity. These panels will serve as the energy source for the charging station.
How many panels do we need? Well, if we consider that:
- We would get around 4 kWh/kWp per day in the middle of the US, in this example. This will change depending on where you are — check out how much you would get here.
- From our 10 kWh/day for our Tesla, we’d need around 16.67 kWh/day in solar energy. We must consider around 50% power requirements (industry standard) and 90% battery and inverter efficiency.
So, to obtain our goal of 10 kWh a day, we’d need 11 solar panels. Given that each 400W panel will cost you around 300 each, this would set you back 3,300.
We’ll be using 400W solar panels, as they are an outstanding balance between yield and price, as seen in our solar carport post.
To learn more about 400W solar panels, you can read our article here.
Solar Inverter
Inverters for solar panels are a key part of your system. They allow your solar panels to power your electronic devices by converting DC (Direct Current) electricity into clean AC (Alternating Current). Similar to the electricity from your utility company.
You’ll need an inverter as the output power of a solar panel is constantly fluctuating over the course of the day and is strongly correlated to the weather (passing-by clouds, rain, full sun, etc). Because of these fluctuations, all inverters for solar panels include an MPPT solar charge controller that’ll optimize solar production.
The type and size of the inverter will depend on your preferences and setup. In summary, there are three types of inverters:
To choose the most ideal inverter, check out our article — 3 Types of Inverters For Solar Panels.
Charge Controller
A charge controller will regulate the power output of your solar panel and properly charge the battery.
There are currently 2 types of solar charge controllers: PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) and MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking).
To choose the most ideal inverter, check out our article — How To Select The Correct Solar Charge Controller.
Battery
Store your PV energy in batteries — they are your key to autonomy. Lithium batteries are recommended. Although more expensive than lead-acid, they’re perfect for intermittent charging and durable, with up to 10 years of service.
You’ll need batteries to store the sun’s energy, as you’ll probably be using the car during the day and charging at night.
Battery Cost Choice
Battery are the most expensive component for your DIY charging station.
For our Tesla Model Y, we would need 3-4 24V 100Ah Lithium batteries or 6-7 lead-acid batteries. We have estimated this through the following calculation process:
- Convert our Wh to Ah: 4170Wh / 24V = 173.61 Ah
- Calculate required battery capacity depending on Depth of Discharge of battery technology (50% for lithium and 25% for lead-acid). Let’s go with lithium, so we divide our Ah by our DoD: 173.61 / 0.5 = 347.22 Ah capacity
The best battery for your needs depends on whether you’re going to use it for your EV, or if it’ll be part of a larger system.
If you want to see a comparison of lithium batteries, check out our article on the best lithium batteries for boats — these are applicable for home use too.
You may also want to consider a PowerWall for your charging station — consider Tesla’s one or make your own one. For the battery, you’ll need around 10,000.
If you’re interested in learning more about what you can power with batteries at home, please check out our article on What Can I Run Off A 100Ah Battery?
EV Supply Equipment
EVs are not designed to be charged directly from solar panels or batteries. You would need to use proper equipment for this in order to make it safe.
EV supply equipment (EVSE) basically consists of all electrical equipment and software necessary for efficiently and safely delivering energy to your EV.
EVSE is classified according to the charging levels.
As mentioned previously, our aim is to go for a Level 2 AC (240V) charging system.
Breakdown Of Inventory And Costs
Below are expected material costs for a solar EV charging station.
You can install the panels onto a carport, an external area, or on top of your house. As such, you’ll need to account for these further costs and structural/ mechanical requirements.
Please keep in mind that you may need professional installation and setup help — this will also incur further costs.
| Item | Number | Cost |
| Solar Panel | 11 | 3,300 |
| Solar Inverter | 1 | 1,000 |
| Charge Controller | 1 | 800 |
| Battery | 1 | 10,000 |
| EV Supply Equipment | 1 | 3,000 |
| Miscellaneous (cables etc.) | – | 200 |
| TOTAL | 18,300 |
So as a ballpark figure, you can see that driving around 30 miles a day with our Tesla Model Y will require around 18,000 USD.
This will vary depending on your setup but please keep in mind that the key variables here are:
- How many kWh you will need per day (driving range and EV type).
- How much space you have for solar panels, and will you need an additional structure.
- What type of battery technology you want to use.
Assemble Your DIY EV Charging Station (Step-By-Step)
The Assembly of your charging station is relatively simple. If you aren’t comfortable with any aspects, consult a professional.
The key steps for assembly are:
- Structural installation — Plan and install any structural elements you may require for your solar panels, batteries and other components. If you’re looking to build a carport, check out our post – How To Build A DIY Solar Carport (Complete Guide).
- Electrical installation. Install and connect all electrical components mentioned.
Final Thoughts
Making your own DIY solar charging station is a great clean energy investment. It would make you independent from the grid, and could potentially save you in the future against continually increasing electricity prices.
The type of charging station you would need would depend on:
Also, keep in mind that the main costs for your DIY solar charging station would be due to:
- Number of solar panels (how much juice you’ll need and your local solar irradiation level) and if you need any additional structures.
- How much electrical storage capacity you’d need.
Feel free to reach out to us in the comment section below if you have any further questions!
Thomas Mattinzioli
Tom is a civil engineer, specializing in sustainable transportation infrastructure. He has worked for over 4 years in sustainability and research. Sustainable transportation and alternative fuel vehicles are among his specialties.
Which EVs are V2G compatible?
How Long Does It Take To Charge A Tesla?
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Can you expand on how you determined how many solar panels are needed?
I worked backwards and it seemed like you followed the logic of
but these units make no sense. The resulting units of the product would be kWh/m2/day, not kWh/day. What am i missing?
Hey Colin, you are correct, thanks for pointing out that typo. We have rectified the units to read: kWh/kWp per day.
This is not so worth it. When are going to recover the 18,300 investment?
It’s very case dependent based on your driving needs, range of travel, where you live, and current cost of electricity. If you don’t drive much then yes it would be a waste of money. However, if you’re traveling a lot within a fairly local radius and plenty of sunshine then it would be extremely worth it. Not a lot of travel then sure it would take a long time to pay it off. For example I think my dad is a great case of where it would be extremely beneficial. He has to drive within a 50 mile radius of his house and probably drives 100 miles a day 365 in his work truck and has to haul tools around in case something breaks at his work sites. So, if my math is correct: 100 miles per day. 16-21mpg for his truck so we’ll round to 18mpg. 100/18mpg = 5.5 gallons of fuel per day. 3.50 per gallon gasoline x 5.5 gallon = 19.25 per day 19.25 per day x 313 days he doesn’t really ever take off but I am giving him a day off a week = 6103 After 3 years he would be essentially be getting free fuel and I’m being very conservative with how much he drives, I think he puts on closer to 150 miles a day on his truck since he puts somewhere at around 50000-60000 miles per year on his truck.
EV Charging Stations
The auto industry is getting electrified. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption has grown tremendously over the past four years and EV sales will grow exponentially into the future. As EV adoption grows, sodoes the number of charging stations. There are thousands of EV charging stations across theU.S. that offer different types of charging at different speeds, so EV drivers can stay chargedup anywhere they go.
The details of EV charging might seem a bit complicated. But there’s good news: you don’tneed to know much about electricity to charge an EV. It’s like how you don’t need to know allthe differences between regular, plus and premium gas to fuel a combustion engine–you onlyneed to know what type of gas the car takes. It’s pretty much that simple for EVs, too. GigaWatt’s EV charging solutions include the sales and installation of EV Chargers for both residential and commercial customers.
How Does EV Charging Work?
You most likely charge your cell phone or laptop everyday, even if you don’t know a lot about electricity. You just plug in the device and go about your day. EV charging is similar. It connects the battery in your car with a power source that can charge it. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but an EV driver doesn’t have to worry about it. Most power outlets use AC, or alternating current. Batteries typically use DC, or direct current, to charge. This means that part of the charging process involves converting AC to DC. There are three main types of EV charging: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 known as DC fast. Levels 1 and 2 convert AC to DC using an on-board converter in the EV. Each vehicle’s on-board converter has specific limits on how fast it can charge. Here’s a quick overview of how the different types of EV charging work.
types of ev Chargers
Level 1
Level 1 charging uses the same 120-volt current found in standard household outlets and can be performed using the power cord and equipment that most EVs come with. For businesses wanting to make this type of charging available on your property, it is as simple as installing dedicated 120 volt outlets in your company parking lot. Many residents can charge in their garage without any electrical upgrades
- Slow charging time (EVs will get around 3 or 5 miles of range per hour of charge). Can take a minimum of 24 hours or more to charge a EV from empty to full.
Level 2
Level 2 charging uses 240 volt power to enable faster charging of an EV’s battery system. Providing this type of charging requires installation of an Level 2 EV charger and electrical wiring capable of handling higher voltage and amperage.
- Charge time is much faster than Level 1 (EVs will get between 10 and 20 miles of range per hour of charge)
- Significantly more energy efficient than Level 1 for short charge events (around an hour or less)
- Installation costs are higher compared to Level 1 charging
- Higher impact on peak demand energy charges
Level 3 (DC FASt)
Level 3 is also known as DC fast charging. This fast charge can provide compatible vehicles with an 80 percent charge in 20 to 30 minutes by converting high voltage AC power to DC power for direct storage in EV batteries.
- Equipment and installation costs are much higher than level 1 and level 2 charging (20,000- 100,000 depending on equipment and power availability at site)
- Increased peak demand energy charges
Your home‘s solar panels can shave a considerable amount off the cost of charging your EV.
By Jeff Vasishta | Updated Oct 18, 2022 6:48 PM
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How exactly do solar panels work with the electric grid to charge my electric car?
A: Let’s start with the basics. Most homes, as we know, are powered by the electric grid, and that electricity use is billed to us through our local utility or energy company. Solar panels, on the other hand, enable a home to use the energy the panels produce instead of having to purchase energy from the grid. Can we use energy gathered from solar panels to charge an electric vehicle (EV)? Yes. Energy gathered from solar panels can be used to charge your EV the same way it’s used to power the lights in your home. If the panels do not produce enough energy for charging an EV and the household needs combined, you can draw additional electricity from the grid.
In some cases, homeowners install a solar panel setup expressly for the purpose of charging their electric vehicle.
Solar energy is cheaper than electricity from a utility company.
The up-front cost of solar panels runs from 17,000 to 21,000 in 2022 for a 6-kilowatt-hour KWh system, an expense government subsidies can help offset. Despite the size of the initial outlay, in the long run, solar panels can be a worthwhile investment. In a sun-baked state such as California, solar energy is more cost-effective than gas, coal, and nuclear energy. Solar energy costs around 6 to 8 cents per kWh, while the average cost of grid electricity is 16.6 cents per kWh as of July 2022.
Level 2 chargers are the most convenient for home use.
Most EV households use a Level 2 charger that runs off the home’s utility service and delivers 220 to 240 volts of charge, as opposed to a Level 1 EV charger, which delivers a lower charge and results in much slower charging times.
Level 2 chargers can require 6-12 hours to charge your car fully, which means overnight charging will be convenient for most people. However, overnight charging will pull energy from the grid and not your solar panels unless you have a solar battery to store the day’s sunlight.
This long period of charging is set to improve. Tesla says its Model S Plaid can add 200 miles of range in only 15 minutes using one of the company’s powerful Superchargers, negating the need for extensive overnight charging. As EV charging evolves, solar panel options will become even more viable.
You’ll need 6 to 12 solar panels to charge most EVs.
To charge your EV using rooftop solar power alone, you will need an adequate setup.Unless you know what you’re doing, it’s best to hire a professional for installation. You’ll need:
- Rooftop solar panels
- A central string inverter that combines the DC output of the solar panels to AC, or micro-inverters that convert each panel’s output to AC
- A level 2 EV charger
- A storage battery
Six to twelve solar panels should be enough to charge most EVs. However, the number of panels will vary from car to car. If you live in a temperate climate without significant sunlight hours, you might want to err on the side of caution and get more than six panels. To charge a Nissan Leaf year round would require six solar panels at 370 watts each, taking up 132 square feet. The Hyundai IONIC requires five panels at 370 watts, and a Porsche Taycan 45 requires 10 panels to drive 40 miles.
Portable solar panels are not a viable solution for EV charging.
One day, when technology advances, the anxiety of running out of juice on the road will be a thing of the past. Portable solar panels that can simply be taken out of the trunk to charge your car in minutes and send you on your way are every EV driver’s dream.
Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. That’s not to say portable solar panels can’t be used at all to power EVs. They can, in conjunction with a generator and MC4 connectors. However, it would be best to use them only in emergencies because they can only generate a small amount of energy.
A 220 W solar panel connected to a portable 100-watt-hour generator will take 8 hours of charging to get you about 8 miles worth of driving. You might be better off walking or calling an Uber! Portable panels might be enough to get you to a place with better cell phone reception, but don’t expect to go long distances.
Newly designed solar panels closely resemble roof shingles
The EV revolution is upon us. The United States government’s goal of making at least 50% of all cars electric by 2030 means that electric usage is not only going to go through the roof, but also come from the roof.
Panels are transforming from their traditional blue/black photovoltaic sheen into objects more closely resembling roof shingles and tiles, making installation more appealing to homeowners.
While warmer areas of the country will benefit most from the solar spike, the whole country can benefit from using the summer sun. It’s time to embrace your higher power and help the planet—and your bank account too.