If you, like millions of other environmentally conscious Americans, are seeking to reduce your carbon footprint, you’ve doubtless already done some research into alternative energy sources, such as solar power and zero-emission transportation. Perhaps you’re already considering investing in a solar panel system to power your home with clean, green energy, and also want to invest in an electric car to ramp up your eco-friendly efforts. If so, you’re in luck, as solar systems and electric cars are a great match, but you will need to know the amount of electricity your electric car is likely to consume, and if it’s possible to charge it using a solar system; how many solar panels you would need.
Let’s look at these points in a little more detail:
How much energy is an electric car likely to need?
Now that you’re seriously thinking about having a solar panel system installed at your home, you’ll need to know what size is needed to power up your electric vehicle, and you’ll need to find out its mileage rating to determine how much you could save by swapping to solar power. More precisely, you’ll need to know how many kilo-hours the vehicle consumes to drive 100 miles, and once you’ve determined this, you’ll be able to calculate how many solar panels you’ll need to have installed, in order to fully charge your car. For instance, an EV with a rating of 40 kWh/100 requires 40kWh to drive 100 miles.
How many solar panels are needed to power an EV and a household?
While the answer to this question will depend greatly upon your household’s average energy usage, it also depends upon your location, and how much sunlight the panels are being exposed to on any given day. To give you an example, the average American household uses around 25 kWh every day, and if you purchase an electric vehicle, the amount will likely increase by about 9 kWh per day. In total, this would add up to an average daily energy consumption figure of around 35 kWh. Even if you had a medium sized solar system with an array of around 20 panels, this would be more than enough to power your home and charge your EV, at the same time.
Now that you know it’s possible to invest in an electric vehicle, and be able to charge it using solar energy, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make the switch to solar and start making environmental and financial savings, right away.
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