--- title: "Charging an EV With Solar Panels: What It Saves" description: "A typical EV uses about 4,523 kWh a year. At 18.16¢/kWh, solar that covers it is worth about $821 a year. How the math works." url: https://evchargecosts.com/guides/solar-panels-and-ev-charging/ updated: 2026-10-26 --- # Charging an EV With Solar Panels: What It Saves Each solar kWh that goes into your EV is worth roughly what you would otherwise pay for a grid kWh. A typical EV driven 13,500 miles a year needs about **4,523 kWh**, so covering it with solar avoids about **$821 a year** at the U.S. average of 18.16¢/kWh, and more in high-price states. By [EV Charge Cost Editorial Team](https://evchargecosts.com/about/). Published September 28, 2026, updated October 26, 2026. Solar panels and EVs are a natural pair: one makes electricity at home, the other uses a lot of it. But the savings are easy to overstate. The key is to value solar power correctly, and that depends on your electricity rate and on how your utility treats power you send to the grid. ## How to value solar power for charging Once a solar system is installed, its output has no fuel cost. What it saves is the electricity you would otherwise have bought. So the value of a solar kWh used to charge your car is roughly your retail price per kWh, including delivery charges that scale with usage. If you are on net metering, where exported power is credited at or near the retail rate, it makes little difference whether the car charges while the sun shines or at night. If your utility credits exports at a lower rate, solar power used directly is worth more than solar power exported, and daytime charging becomes more valuable. Net metering and export rules vary by utility and state and change over time, so check your own. ## How much of a solar system an EV uses A 33.5 kWh/100 mi EV driven 13,500 miles a year uses about 4,523 kWh, or around 12.4 kWh a day. To make that concrete, take an *illustrative* home system producing 6,000 kWh a year. Real output depends on system size, location, roof orientation, shading and weather. - The EV would use about **75%** of that illustrative system's yearly output. - On an average day the system would make about 16.4 kWh, against the EV's 12.4 kWh. - Output is much higher in summer than in winter, while EVs use more energy in winter, so monthly coverage varies. ## What it is worth by state The value of powering the EV from solar is simply what that electricity would cost from the grid. It is highest where grid power is expensive. **Yearly value of 4,523 kWh of EV charging, August 2026 prices** | Where | Grid price | Value per year | Value per month | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Nevada](https://evchargecosts.com/states/nevada/) (cheapest) | 12.72¢/kWh | $575 | $47.94 | | [Alabama](https://evchargecosts.com/states/alabama/) (near median) | 16.33¢/kWh | $739 | $61.54 | | [Hawaii](https://evchargecosts.com/states/hawaii/) (most expensive) | 47.18¢/kWh | $2,134 | $177.81 | | U.S. average | 18.16¢/kWh | $821 | $68.44 | These are values of the electricity, not net savings on a solar purchase. Whether a solar system pays off also depends on its cost, financing, incentives and lifespan, which this site does not track. ## When exports earn less than retail If your utility credits exported solar at less than the retail rate, the power you export and later buy back at night is worth less. The table shows, for illustration only, what 4,523 kWh of charging would be worth at the U.S. average under different assumed export credits, if all charging happened at night from exported-and-reimported power. **Illustrative value of night-time charging under assumed export credits** | Assumed export credit | Credit per kWh | Value per year | Lost vs direct use | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 100% of retail | 18.16¢/kWh | $821 | $0 | | 75% of retail | 13.62¢/kWh | $616 | $205 | | 50% of retail | 9.08¢/kWh | $411 | $411 | In that situation, shifting charging to sunny hours captures the full retail value. Cars that sit at home during the day, or a charger that follows solar output, help. ## Practical tips - **Know your export rule** before choosing when to charge. - **Charge at midday on weekends and days at home** if exports earn less than retail. - **Check time-of-use windows.** In some places off-peak hours now include midday; see [the cheapest time to charge](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/cheapest-time-to-charge-an-ev/). - **Use your real rate.** Enter it in the [charging cost calculator](https://evchargecosts.com/) to see the grid cost solar replaces, and compare states on the [rankings page](https://evchargecosts.com/rankings/). ## Run your own numbers - [Charging cost calculator](https://evchargecosts.com/) - [EV vs gas calculator](https://evchargecosts.com/ev-vs-gas/) - [Charging time calculator](https://evchargecosts.com/charging-time/) - [Cost in your state](https://evchargecosts.com/states/) - [How we calculate](https://evchargecosts.com/methodology/) ## Related guides - [EV vs Gas: Cost per Mile Compared](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/ev-vs-gas-cost-per-mile/) - [Why Electricity Prices Differ So Much Between States](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/why-electricity-prices-differ-by-state/) - [Why Charging an EV in Hawaii Costs So Much](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/why-hawaii-ev-charging-is-expensive/) - [California EV Charging Cost Explained](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/california-ev-charging-cost-explained/) - [Cheapest States to Charge an EV (and Where EVs Save Most)](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/cheapest-states-for-ev-owners/) - [How Gas Prices Change EV Fuel Savings](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/how-gas-prices-affect-ev-savings/) [All 59 guides](https://evchargecosts.com/guides/) ## Questions people ask ### How many solar panels do I need to charge an electric car? It depends on panel size and your location. A typical EV at 13,500 miles a year needs about 4,523 kWh, so size the addition to produce roughly that much per year where you live. ### Is charging an EV with solar free? The electricity has no fuel cost, but it is not free: each solar kWh used in the car is one you cannot export or use in the house. Its value is roughly your grid rate, about 18.16¢/kWh at the U.S. average. --- Source page: https://evchargecosts.com/guides/solar-panels-and-ev-charging/ Data: EIA (electricity August 2026, gasoline 2026-10-19), EPA fueleconomy.gov. License: CC BY 4.0.