Getting a solar power system is already a savings-filled investment on its own. The good news is that the money you can save in the long run doesn’t stop there. And if you have gone full-on sustainable energy, chances are you’ve also switched to an electric car. Having a solar power system and an EV is actually a great combination because thanks to evolving solar technology, you can now integrate solar power with your EV charger, resulting in bigger savings and a greener environment.
Here’s everything to know about solar power and EV charger integration.
The Benefits of Combining Solar Power with EV Charging
When you pair your solar energy system with an EV charger, you’re charging your car with sunlight instead of electricity from the grid. Knowing that grid electricity costs more, the benefit of the aforementioned integration is crystal clear. Other advantages are as follows:
- Not solely depending on the grid: The less reliant your household or business is on the grid, the less affected you will be during price hikes and power outages.
- An act of kindness to the environment: Charging your EV with clean energy is just simply better for the environment. Besides, collective efforts from homeowners and businesses implementing this setup guarantee decreased greenhouse gas emissions.
- The system pays for itself sooner: The more solar energy you use to power your daily life and that of your family’s, the faster it is for the system to pay for itself.
If you’re resolved to make this happen, here are helpful tips to follow:
Site Assessment and System Compatibility
For business owners who want to get started, it’s always safer to hire a professional installer to assess your commercial space’s energy needs and check your existing solar system’s capacity. They will also make an assessment of the best location to install an EV charger. With system compatibility, this is where you need to ensure that your solar inverter and electrical panel can handle the added load of the EV charger.
Choosing the Right Equipment
Your existing solar panels must yield enough power to support both office and EV charging needs. In case it is discovered that your current system isn’t enough, no worries, you can have additional panels installed.
It’s not only the solar panels that need checking. The inverter must also be in sync with your solar power system and your new EV charger.
Charger Installation
The positioning of the EV charger is often dictated by where it will be convenient the most, so that will be your carport or garage for easy connection to your electrical panel. Control your eagerness to go DIY on this one because a licensed electrician will need to connect the charger to said electrical panel to ensure safety and precision. This way, you can be confident that your EV charger is properly wired to your solar power system.
Finally, System Integration
Once the EV charger is integrated into your solar power system, it can now draw power from your solar panels so that you’re charging your car with sunlight instead of energy from the grid.
Testing will then be performed to make sure that everything is working properly. Any electrical issues and compatibility problems between components must be crossed out in the safety check list.
This integration is renewable energy technology at its finest. Even better, some EV chargers are built to let you schedule charging times based on when sunlight is most prolific. Again, another innovative smart feature, signalling a much more exciting future of solar technology.