Electric Vehicles

Solar inverter and EV charger trial saves thousands driving on sunshine

Published by

The Driven

A six-month trial using a new two-in-one solar inverter and electric car charger has shown the massive savings to be had from driving on the free energy resource right above our heads – the sun.

Small business owners Garth James had the unique opportunity of trialling the new inverter from SolarEdge, which was first introduced to the Australian market in late 2019, as reported by The Driven.

The vast majority of electric vehicle owners charge their cars at home, much like a mobile phone. While this is often done at night, the new inverter allows EV owners to take advantage of daytime charging.

According to James, who switched from a Mitsubishi Pajero to a Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid, the savings have been substantial.

“I’ve gone from spending $600 a month on fuel to basically driving just on sunshine,” James said in an emailed note.

James says is he now spending a measly $20 a month on electricity instead, and that over a 6 month period driving 10,000km between and home and business, the projected annual savings are around $7,000.

The savings will help offset the cost of buying the PHEV, which he says he chose because it is more affordable than the higher upfront cost of an all-electric vehicle.

To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…


RenewEconomy and its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and The Driven will continue to publish throughout the Covid-19 crisis, posting good news about technology and project development, and holding government, regulators and business to account. But as the conference market evaporates, and some advertisers pull in their budgets, readers can help by making a voluntary donation here to help ensure we can continue to offer the service free of charge and to as wide an audience as possible. Thankyou for your support.

Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.

Bridie Schmidt

Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Renewables hit more than 80 pct of grid demand for first time – despite heavy throttling of wind and solar

Renewables met more than 80 per cent of total grid demand for first time on…

19 September 2026

Explainer: Who will set Australia’s rules for home energy devices such as solar, plug-in batteries and EVs?

A new Consumer Energy Resources Technical Code will define the standards and capabilities required of…

19 September 2026

Businesses “do the math” and want to go electric – right up until they try to connect to the grid

Australian businesses looking to ditch gas and diesel can do the sums, find electrification will…

18 September 2026

Wind and solar hit record share of Australia’s main grid, nearly half of it from rooftop PV

An abundance of rooftop solar generation has helped set a new record high for the…

18 September 2026

Energy Insiders: The “impossible” wind project that broke the investment drought

Windlab's John Martin on the project that broke the investment drought for big wind, and…

18 September 2026

“Massive loophole:” Consultation paper stokes doubt on data centre emissions, wind and solar mandates

Federal Labor's determination to power new data centres with renewables, and to minimise emissions and…

18 September 2026