How many solar glass panels do you need for your EV?

So many of us are driving electric these days. Also, why wouldn’t we? It’s cheaper, they’re fun, and the technologies come so far that you can depend on the vehicle. However, you might be wondering how many solar glass panels it takes to charge your electric car?  Fortunately, there’s a variety of home charging stations, and if you connect them to solar glass panels, you can practically charge your car for free. No small fee when you consider the price of gasoline these days. The short answer to the question is that the number of solar glass panels is directly proportional to the size of your vehicle’s battery.

However, how many solar glass panels do you need exactly to charge your electric car?

As pointed out above, the number of panels needed for charging your electric vehicle will depend on the size of your vehicle’s battery. However, to consider this question, we’ll use the standard Tesla Model S as a baseline for estimates. This Tesla has a battery with a 75-kWh capacity. Your specific needs for your particular car may be different from this, but you can find that information on your manufacturer’s website.

To figure out how many panels you need to charge your electric vehicle, you have to know the amount of power each of your solar glass panels can produce. If you don’t already have panels, I’ll save you some time – SunPower panels are the highest efficiency.

The average 250 W solar glass panel can generate around 30-40 kWh of AC power each month. Let’s make use of the lower number (30 kWh) in our calculations.

Given that single, low output solar glass panel produces roughly 1 kWh per day of electrical power; this indicates that you need to install as many as 75 solar glass panels to generate electricity to power your Tesla Model S each day – assuming that you start the charging process with a battery totally drained of electricity.

However, since the average driver will travel approximately 37 miles a day – this translates to roughly 12 kWh of electricity. With that in mind, a much more realistic set would require approximately 12 solar glass panels. Also, even this is a conservative estimate that’s based on the use of low output solar glass panels.

If you choose a higher efficiency solar glass panel system, the number of panels you need for charging up your EV may drop even more. In addition to this, if you drive less than 30 miles a day, the number of panels would drop even further. So a realistic appraisal of not only your car battery capacity – but also use of your car and your solar glass panel efficiency – can significantly impact the number of solar glass panels you need. The rough amount for most cars is between 6-12 additional panels.

Bottom Line

When you compare solar glass panels to the cost of gas or the cost of standard electricity from the utility company, they’re the clear, mathematical winner. Solar is the cheapest form of electricity and getting cheaper all the time. It’s also a lot more convenient than driving to a charging station which may or may not be anywhere near your house. So finally, you’re helping to reduce your carbon footprint and protect our environment for future generations.