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Using Solar To Charge Your EV
Pairing solar with EV charging is a smart move. Learn how to charge at home, the best smart chargers, and what the future holds for EVs and solar in NZ.
Written by
Paul Hollingsworth
Published on
March 06, 2023
Introduction
EVs are becoming more and more common on New Zealand roads.
With over 80,000 EVs (as of Jan 2025) New Zealanders have shown that they are motivated to continue the journey away from fossil fuel powered transport.
A Solar PV system is the perfect partner, if you currently own OR are considering purchasing an EV. Solar power can be the fuel for your car, reducing the running cost of your EV.
Solar and EVs work hand in hand to maximise solar self consumption increasing the ROI for both your solar system and your vehicle.
Reports show that combining rooftop Solar PV with battery storage and an electric vehicle can more than halve the payback period for a home solar system.
Charging Your EV
There are two main ways to charge an EV: home-based charging and public on-the-go charging. Most people will predominantly charge their EV at home or at the office, occasionally topping up their car at public fast chargers.
Home-Based Charging
At home you have two charging options
- A 3-pin plug (standard plug – single phase) that runs off a normal domestic plug. This charges your car quite slowly at a rate of around 1.5kW.
- Or a smart charger that charges your car faster but needs a direct circuit coming from your switchboard and must be installed by a qualified electrician. The charge rate increases to a rate of 7.4kW-22kW, depending on the supply you have to your property.
Standard Plug
The simplest and cheapest solution is a 3-pin standard plug (single phase) that typically comes with the vehicle and doesn’t require professional installation. You can still optimise your EV’s charging as most EVs can set a timer on the car’s dashboard to initiate charging when plugged in. This is useful when you want to coordinate charging with when the sun is shining and your solar is producing, or if you have a lower power ‘night rate’ from your retailer.
Smart/Fast Chargers
Smart chargers help you cut down on importing or exporting power to the grid, making the most of your solar energy and saving you money on your power bills.
Remember, there are multiple factors that will impact your rate of charging at home:
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The supply you have to the property (single or three phas
- The type of Smart home charger you use (if you use one).
- The make and model of the car.
Even if you don’t have an EV yet, it is worth considering adding a smart charger as part of your system installation. It’s easy for our team to do this at the same time and it future-proofs your system.
Our Recommended Smart Chargers
WattPilot
If you have a Fronius inverter and having all your solar and charging data in one place is something you’d like, then the Fronius WattPilot is a great choice.
We’ve worked with Fronius for years – most of our installations have a Fronius solar inverter installed. They are well known for their quality and their intuitive monitoring platform. The Wattpilot integrates with the same monitoring system, Solar.Web, making it easy to monitor and control all components of your system in one place.
The WattPilot can use the data it collects and artificial intelligence to optimise the charging of your EV based on your solar production, energy prices, and your driving habits.
Zappi
If super-intelligent use of your solar energy is what you are after, Zappi probably trumps the competition. This smart charger can monitor and manage the flow of energy between your solar panels, your home, and your car. It then automatically adjusts the charging speed of your EV based on how much solar energy is available. For example, if there any no other energy draws, it will direct all excess solar into your EV. But if you then turn on the oven or washing machine, the Zappi knows to reduce the amount of solar energy being put into your EV rather than drawing from the grid – ensuring that you’re making the most of your renewable energy.
Wall Connector
The Tesla Wall Connector is a solid pick if you’re after a well-priced fast charger. If you’ve got a Tesla Powerwall or a Tesla EV, it keeps everything in one seamless ecosystem, all managed easily through the Tesla App.
While the Wall Connector isn’t technically a ‘smart charger’, you can still schedule charging through your vehicle. And when paired with a Tesla Vehicle and Powerwall, you can tap into features like Charge on Solar to charge from your excess solar.
The Future Of Ev Charging
Bidirectional charging is likely to be normal when using EV’s in the future. This will give you the ability to charge from your solar to your car and then from your car into you home, effectively allowing you to use your car as a large battery on wheels for your house.
The cost and availability of the technology combined with regulatory restrictions and constraints from the vehicle manufacturers mean this isn’t viable right now in NZ.
According to EECA, the government is considering the role of emerging technologies, such as vehicle-to-grid capability, to mitigate the impact on the electricity network and identify any regulatory barriers to their uptake.
We will be watching this space to see what develops, and how it might benefit EV users with solar.
You Might Also Like
Here are some other articles you might find interesting.
Tesla Introduces Charge On Solar
Tesla’s Charge on Solar lets you charge your EV using excess solar energy at home. Learn how it works and how to set it up with your Powerwall.
Electric Vehicle Charging
Got questions about EV charging? We cover everything from charger types and solar integration to cost, charge times, and how to future-proof your home.
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