Electric Vehicles

How much rooftop solar do you need to charge your EV, too?

Published by

One Step Off The Grid

So you’ve got rooftop solar, and you’ve got an electric vehicle. But can you power both your house and your car with the one PV system?

The answer, of course, is complicated. It depends on the size of your rooftop solar system, the time of day you want to charge your car, the battery size of your EV, and how much you drive around every day.

The short answer, however, from solar brokerage company ShineHub, is that it is possible to get extra panels and batteries to cover most if not all ordinary commutes – as long as you “top up” each time. It will be hard to charge a car battery from near empty to full with only rooftop solar.

“Instead of aiming to recharge a completely flat battery, households should endeavour to be able to recharge the car from a typical day of driving around your community,” says ShineHub CEO Alex Georgiou.

“This is much more achievable and won’t break the bank.”

But it will still mean adding extra panels, and possibly a battery storage system, depending on when you are most likely to need to charge your car.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy sister site, One Step Off The Grid, click here…

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Energy Insiders Podcast: A battery with every wind turbine

Goldwind's John Titchen explains why and how all new wind turbines could come with their…

31 July 2026

Origin reports big dip in gas sales, as demand falls and batteries grab more of energy mix

Australia’s biggest energy retailer reports significant dip in gas sales, as customer demand falls and…

31 July 2026

Two coal state energy ministers come face to face and present wildly different visions of the future

The energy ministers of Australia's two most coal dependent states come face to face. One…

31 July 2026

Labor’s flagship renewable energy scheme has not worked: It’s time to replace the CIS with a CFD

The CIS has not worked. But the capacity it was designed to procure is needed…

31 July 2026

Green bank expands discount finance offer as businesses pile into solar, EVs and bill-saving equipment

Federal government's green bank expands partnership with big-four bank offering discounted finance for business to…

31 July 2026

“Faster and cheaper:” Fortescue says bespoke green grids can tap into data centre, green iron demand

Fortescue says it can build green power for data centres and other energy users faster…

31 July 2026