EV charging · 3 min read
Quick answer
Yes. If your car is plugged in at home during the day, a charger can run on your solar power. Smart chargers can match the charging rate to your surplus so you use your own solar instead of exporting it. Charging from a home battery at night is possible, but it drains the battery quickly.
Your inverter sends solar power to whatever is using power in the house, and an EV charger is just a large load. If the car is plugged in while the panels are producing, it charges on solar first. Any shortfall comes from the grid or battery.
A smart charger with a solar mode watches your surplus and adjusts the charging rate to match it. On a sunny day it charges faster; when a cloud passes or the dishwasher starts, it slows down. The goal is to charge on spare solar instead of exporting it at a low feed-in rate.
Then daytime solar charging only works on weekends or work-from-home days. Options:
An EV battery is usually much larger than a home battery. Charging a car from the house battery can empty it fast and leave the evening uncovered. Most owners keep the home battery for the house and charge the car from daytime solar or off-peak grid power.
It depends on how far you drive. More driving means more charging, which means more solar is useful. If an EV is coming, tell us when we size your system.
We installed 14 kW of Jinko panels with a 48 kWh Sigenergy battery and a 7 kW EV charger in Dulwich Hill. The solar, battery and charger work together, so the car can charge on the home's own solar when it is parked during the day.
Tell us when you request a proposal. We will size the solar, battery and charger together so they suit how you drive.
A real Panda Power install that shows this topic in practice.
Home batteries from $6,999 to about $15,999
base prices after rebates, inc GST, as at October 2026
What affects the price: battery size, brand and inverter, whether you already have solar, backup wiring, and any additional work at your home.
Base price for a standard install, after government rebates, inc GST, as at October 2026. Additional work such as switchboard upgrades, three-phase changes or complex installs is reviewed and quoted separately.
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Install before 1 January 2027
