According to the instant survey “What do users think about electric cars?”(Repower, 2024), 57 percent of Italian owners routinely recharge in their garage or parking space. In other words, home charging of electric cars is already the norm for the majority of eco-drivers. With a PV system and a smart wallbox, this habit can turn into total energy independence.
How solar charging works
A photovoltaic system generates direct current(DC) electricity by harnessing solar radiation. This energy, through an inverter, is converted to alternating current (AC) compatible with household consumers, including electric vehicle charging systems.
If the system is active during sunshine hours and production exceeds the instantaneous consumption of the home, it is possible to use that surplus to recharge the electric car directly, avoiding grid withdrawal.
What it takes to recharge your car with your photovoltaic system
To take full advantage of solar energy in home charging, we need:
- A photovoltaic system of adequate power (generally 3 to 6 kW as the minimum threshold).
- A smart wallbox compatible with photovoltaic integration, equipped with specific charging modes such as “Solar” or “Solar surplus.”
These technologies enable the column to recognize and use available solar energy in real time.
“Solar” recharging for intelligent surplus management
Photovoltaic self-consumption compatible wallboxes adopt a dynamic logic: they analyze instantaneous solar production and detect the share of energy not used by other household loads-the so-called “surplus.”
If there is sufficient surplus, energy is directed to the car. If the surplus is insufficient, charging can be suspended or supplemented partially from the grid, depending on the set configuration.
Advanced systems such as Silla Industries’ Prism Solar allow for minimum and maximum thresholds to be set, intelligently automating the entire process.
In Italy, bonuses and tax deductions are available for the installation of photovoltaic systems and home charging systems: find out about current regulations to further reduce purchase and installation costs.
What happens when the sun is not enough: hybrid solutions and storage
PV production is naturally variable: cloudiness, shading, and evening hours can reduce the availability of solar energy.
In such cases, an intelligent wallbox can manage mixed charging modes, combining solar and grid power according to user-defined priorities. For example: exclusively solar charging when available or scheduled charging during advantageous time slots.
In the presence of a storage system(home battery), it is also possible to use the energy stored during sunshine hours to recharge at night.
Why choose a PV-compatible wallbox: 4 concrete advantages
- Economic savings: it reduces or cancels the withdrawal from the grid, lowering costs in the bill.
- Zero emissions: solar energy is clean and renewable.
- Smart control: smart systems allow charging to be optimized according to production and user needs.
- Energy independence: the car becomes an extension of one’s domestic micro-grid.
Smart solutions for photovoltaic electric car charging
Wallboxes Prism Solar and the portable charger Homer from Silla Industries natively support charging with photovoltaic energy thanks to the “Solar” mode. Through wired sensors or Chain2 wireless technology, these devices can detect the availability of solar energy in real time (including from battery storage) and start charging the vehicle only when a surplus is present, avoiding unnecessary drawdown from the grid.
Save up to 100% on utility bills with smart solar charging
All you need is a PV system and a wallbox or compatible charger.
Buy now Prism Solar, the smart wallbox for solar charging.
Discover Homer, photovoltaic charging even on the go.
