The UK Government has announced its commitment to ending the sale of all new petrol and diesel powered vehicles after 2030. Major vehicle manufacturers such as Ford, Cadillac, Lexus, Mini and even luxury manufacturers like Bentley and Rolls Royce have announced that they are all committed to having electric vehicles in their line-ups by 2030 as well.
We’re already seeing the effects of this on the UK car market, for instance in April 2022 48.5% of all new vehicle registrations were for either fully electric, or hybrid electric power.
Electric Vehicle Charging
Electric Vehicles (EV’s) are part of the government’s commitment to reducing UK emissions in the future. For the average driver on the road, an EV is a smart choice too. The formula to work out how much it will cost you to charge an EV is very simple: Take the price of electricity (Pence per kWh) and multiply it by the size of the battery in the EV.
For example, if you took an EV with a 60 kWh battery, and 50p per kWh energy price, you would be looking at £30 for a full charge for your vehicle. Each make and model will be different of course, and the range that a full charge could take you may vary which is always something to consider. However, it’s also worth asking yourself, when was the last time it only cost £30 to fill your car up?
Where Does Solar Come In?
With the increase in electric vehicles in the UK market this is where solar power becomes worth its weight in gold. Solar power generates clean, green, renewable energy for your home. Most importantly for this situation, it generates free energy for your home. And solar panels will always power anything in your home that needs to be plugged in and using electricity to function. It will run your fridge freezer, your washing machine, and your air fryer. You can also use it to charge your laptop, or your phone, or anything else that needs to be charged. . . including your Electric Vehicle.
As cheap as an EV is to charge compared to traditional fuels, it becomes even more affordable when you pair the charging with solar power, because the solar power your system produces will also allow you to charge your vehicle using solar as well, giving you access to free fuel every time you charge your vehicle at home!
We already know that solar panels are an great way to reduce your carbon emissions, and to help make the planet a greener place to live. We also know that Electric Vehicles cause significantly less emissions to run than traditionally powered vehicles, so the combination of the two is a wonderful thing for the environment, but when you add in the benefits that come from charging your EV at home using solar power can have to your home and your bills it’s easy to see that they are a match made in heaven!
