Getting an Electric Vehicle? How many more solar panels will you need?
How exciting! You’ve decided to buy an electric vehicle. You are going to love the silent, clean ride! So, how much more solar will you need to charge it? Well, that depends on how big your new ride’s battery is and how many miles a day you drive on average. No idea how many miles you drive a day? Let’s use the average daily miles… about 30 miles here in Las Vegas .
The formula we use to figure out how many additional panels you might need goes something like this:
Your awesome new EV has a 60 kwh battery – letting your drive about 300 miles on electrons! It’s one of the most efficient EVs and get 4 miles of travel per kwh of battery charge.
30 miles / 4 kwh per mile = 7.5 kwh of nightly recharge x 30 days =225 kwh a month x 12 = 2,700 kwh a year
Our 380 watt LG solar panels make about 600 kwh per year, per panel … so if you need another 3,600 kwh, that comes out to 4 or 5 panels.
The higher your average daily miles, the higher your charging demand will be. When you call for a quote, we’ll ask you the model of your car, the battery size and your expected daily driving distance so we can accurately size you expansion or new solar system to charge your ride.