OK Has anyone here considered combining solar panels with an electric vehicle to reduce charging costs?
I’m curious whether charging an EV during the day using excess solar power is more cost-effective than charging overnight when electricity rates may be cheaper. It seems like the best option would depend on your driving habits, solar system size, and electricity plan.
For those who own an EV or have solar panels installed, have you tried charging your vehicle with solar energy, and how much difference has it made to your electricity bills RIGHT?
Everyone’s circumstances will be different depending on driving habits, tariff, home during day or not, previous sunk cost on solar etc.
We already had solar on the roof. No battery. So sunk cost unrelated to the car. Before EV basically paying the connection fee plus a few 10’s dollars per month for household usage mainly 4p-8p now the FIT has been slashed. House is pretty energy efficient with all led lighting, fans for cooling unless really hot and humid. Old fashioned HWS that runs fromnthe sun for 60-90mins from 11am each day. Washing and drying only when the sun is up.
Bought an EV and initially charged it on granny charger daytime when we were generating.
Being a combination of a tight-a.. and intrinsically lazy the watching generation on the app and plugging car in and out all the time not to pay for electricity became a bit tedious.
Bit the bullet and had wall box installed with ihomemanager and now the house and car look after themselves. Now the car is always plugged in when we are home and now charges only when there is surplus generation after house needs and charges at triple the rate of previously. The car (so far) is always ready without thinking about its state of charge when we want to go out.
Not changed to an EV plan so far. Not paid a cent to charge the car so far.
Need to see how we go over wet season with cloudy rainy days etc but anticipate will recoup the cost of wall box, manager and installation in approx 12-18 months (we are not very heavy users of the car and an occasional longish trip for us is 200k return).
If we were going several kms to work in it everyday (not home when generating) and heavier users of the car generally we would probably have to change strategy and use an EV overnight tarrif etc.
Can’t justify the capex cost of home battery at current tariffs despite despite government incentives.
