Can I charge my car with solar panels?
Yes, from the surplus the house does not use. Cars need a minimum of about 1.4 kW on one phase or 4.1 kW on three, so wallboxes that switch phases follow the sun best.
Explained in
How do charging and solar power work together?A roof with solar panels and a car in the driveway: charging from surplus, the minimum power a car needs, and why the car is the household's most flexible solar consumer.A car cannot charge at any power: the control signal of the cable cannot ask for less than 6 A, so that is the least a car can draw. On one phase that is about 1.4 kW, on three phases about 4.1 kW. A wallbox that switches between one and three phases can follow a small surplus in the morning and a large one at noon.
Related questions
- Can the grid handle electric cars?Nationally, EVs used about 1% of the world's electricity in 2025. Locally, the issue is timing: spread into the night, most charging fits existing grids.
- How green is the electricity for charging?The EU's electricity was 49.9% renewable in 2025. Charging can follow hourly renewable data, drivers can choose green tariffs, and public operators state whether a charger's electricity is 100% renewable.
- Is charging cheaper at night?With a dynamic contract, often yes, and also around midday on sunny days. Prices move every quarter hour; a controller can pick the cheapest slots before departure.
- How is a dynamic electricity price made up?The day-ahead price of the quarter hour, plus grid fees, levies and taxes and the supplier's margin, which do not move, plus VAT on the sum. In the deep dive, 7.0 ct wholesale at 2 AM became 27.7 ct retail.
- Beckhoff Automation: EL6761 documentation, IEC 61851 low-level communication: table of duty cycles and the maximum current each allows (6 A at the lowest). https://infosys.beckhoff.com/content/1031/el6761/18724365579.html. Checked 13 Oct 2026.