Charging Your Electric Car at Home with Solar Power: How Much Do You Save Each Year?

Buying an electric car is half the battle when it comes to saving on fuel, but the cost can vary wildly depending on where you charge it. Charging at a public fast-charging station can cost almost as much as filling up with diesel. Charging at home is already much cheaper. And what about charging at home with your own solar power? Then the cost per kilometer drops to nearly zero. Let’s take a look, with some simple math, at how much you save, and how LEFE combines the two components (charger + solar) into a single system.

How much does an electric car actually cost to run?

It all starts with consumption. An average electric car uses about 15 to 18 kWh per 100 km. For someone who drives 15,000 km per year, that comes to about 2,400 kWh/year just to “refuel” the car. What makes all the difference is the price you pay per kWh:

1. Public fast-charging station: typically around €0.30 to €0.40/kWh, convenient for travel, but expensive for everyday use.
2. At home, from the grid: around 0.15 to 0.20 €/kWh (even less with a two-rate plan, if you charge at night).
3. At home, with your own solar system: the energy you generate and use right away costs practically nothing, and it’s energy that you would otherwise sell back to the grid for very little.

The savings, in numbers (illustrative example)

Let’s use round numbers, based on the same 2,400 kWh/year for a car that drives 15,000 km:

These are illustrative figures (they vary depending on the car, the rate, and your usage profile), but they show the order of magnitude: between public charging stations and solar charging at home, the difference easily exceeds €800 per year. Over the car’s lifetime, that adds up to thousands of euros, which helps pay for the solar system itself.

The secret: charge during daylight hours

To really take advantage of solar power, the car needs to charge when the panels are producing typically in the middle of the day. Those who have their car at home during the day (remote work, days off, second car) get the most out of it. For everyone else, there are two solutions that LEFE usually combines:

• ✅ Smart charger: detects excess solar power and adjusts the charging power to charge mainly with sunlight and avoid overloading the grid.
• ✅ Batteries: store the day’s surplus to charge the car at night using stored solar energy.
• ✅ Two-rate electricity plan: Even without sunlight, charging during off-peak hours significantly reduces the cost of grid electricity.

Solar + Charger: Better Together (and from a Single Installer)

The major advantage of having both the solar system and the charger installed by the same company is that the system is designed as a whole: the sizing of the panels already accounts for the car’s extra consumption, the charger is chosen to “communicate” with the solar inverter, and the electrical installation is properly configured and safe. At LEFE, we do exactly that, from the initial study through installation and ongoing support, so your home can “power” your car with the sun, instead of paying for every kilometer from the grid or at a public charging station.

Conclusion

Owning an electric car is great; charging it with your own solar power is what makes the deal truly unbeatable. If you already have (or are planning to get) an electric car, it’s worth looking at solar power and the charger together, that’s where you’ll find the biggest savings and the fastest return on investment.