The
evolution of electric vehicles and batteries technology has made electrical transportation a tangible
reality, and as electric vehicles are expanding and evolving, the more their
charging issue becomes from a point of concern for drivers to a point of their
superiority against internal combustion engines.
The cost of electric cars continues to remain high in our days as it varies between $20,000 and $60,000. On the other hand, electric cars have a very low operational cost, since they can cover a distance of 100 km with electricity, the purchase of which does not require more than $1-2 , but even totally free if their owner has invested in a home-based solar charging station for electric vehicles.
A roof with 3 kW photovoltaic
panels provides enough energy to fully charge the batteries of a typical
electric car of 100-150 km autonomy in winter, and two electric cars of the
above type in the summer when there is more sunshine. The energy produced if
not used directly for charging the vehicles, it is stored to the batteries of
the station, so that electric cars but also electric scooters and bikes can
be charged in the evening or in case the photovoltaic panels performance is
reduced due to cloudy weather. The technical characteristics of a typical solar
charging station with a total nominal power of 3 kW and an indicative cost of about $10,000 are as follows:
• Solar charging station base
• Electric vehicles charger
• Photovoltaic panels with a total nominal power of 3 kW
• Charging regulator of 5 kWp
• Batteries with a rated capacity of 16.8 kWh
Vehicles charging can be done
either slowly through a household socket (in this case 7-8 hours are required)
or other fast charging units, which can lower the charging time to less than
one hour. For a home electrical installation which can reduce the charging time
to 4 hours, an extra cost of around $3,000 is required.