Combining Solar Generation, Energy Storage, and EV Charging Into a Complete Home Ecosystem
Key takeaways
- The demand for electric vehicles is rising globally, along with the need for clean energy to charge EVs.
- Solar-powered EV chargers ensure your solar PV system is used more efficiently while cutting utility bills.
- Hoymiles’ new PV-ESS-EV solution combines solar generation, energy storage and EV charging to fully utilize your solar system and reduce your home’s reliance on the grid.
- Hoymiles’ EV charger offers three modes: the Charge Now mode for standard charging; the Scheduled Charging mode, which is estimated to save 40% of your electric charging costs per year; and the Green Power mode, which optimizes charging to cut costs, saving you roughly 260€ per year.
Table of Contents
The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is surging globally. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Global EV Outlook 2024 report, electric car sales approached nearly 14 million in 2023, bringing their total number on the roads to 40 million.
With the increasing demand for EVs, there has been a surge in demand for clean energy to power them, as more and more consumers move away from fossil fuel energy in efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.
Enter solar panels: an economical and eco-friendly charging option.
When you have solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on your roof, or on the balcony of your apartment, getting an EV charger is the natural next step to making your home a truly eco-friendly one.
That’s why at Hoymiles, we offer a comprehensive solution that combines our innovative PV technology, Energy Storage System (ESS), and EV Charging, so you can power your home appliances and charge your EV at home – completely carbon-free. This allows EV drivers to not only significantly reduce their carbon footprint, but also save on fuel costs.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how Hoymiles’ new PV-ESS-EV solution works, and how you can reap the most benefit from your solar energy.
What is a solar-powered EV charger and how does it work?
Before we explore the whole system, let’s first take a look at the EV charger.
Put simply, an EV charger is a device that draws power from the power source and feeds the energy to your EV via a plug. A solar-powered EV charger works with an existing solar PV system, making the charging process 100% green.
If you have already installed a solar setup for your home, then your solar EV charger sources power from your solar harvest, or solar battery when solar production is low. Your EV charger is just like other home appliances, so you can flexibly decide when you want to charge your car.
What are the benefits of having a solar EV charger?
When your solar battery is full, you will still have surplus solar power. In this scenario, you can sell the excess power back to the grid, effectively letting your PV system “earn money back” for you.
If you have an EV, then combining solar power, energy storage, and EV charging will give you more freedom in how you use your solar energy. Not only will you save money by charging your car at home instead of at a public charging station, but you will also maximize the energy your system produces.
- Solar panels generate renewable energy, which can be stored in batteries for later use. This stored energy can power homes and charge EVs, reducing reliance on the grid and optimizing energy consumption.
- By using solar energy to charge EVs and power homes, you can significantly reduce your electricity bills.
- If you have battery backup in your system, your system can stillcharge your EV in case of grid outages.
- By choosing a solar EV charger, you are actively contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution for a cleaner environment.
Introducing the Hoymiles PV+ESS+EV Charging solution
- PV modules (also known as solar panels):These are responsible for capturing sunlight and converting it into DC power.
- Energy storage inverters: This type of inverter works in two directions – from DC to AC and from AC to DC. It can power your home with solar energy, and convert any excess energy back to DC for battery storage.Hoymiles offers the DC-coupled Hybrid Inverter and the AC-coupled Inverter. The former is used for any new solar setups and the latter is for retrofitting your existing PV system.
- Solar batteries:By connecting your solar battery to the hybrid inverter, you gain backup energy for your home. When the grid is unstable, you can use stored power from your battery to power your home.
- EV charger:Instead of using grid power (which normally relies on fossil fuels), a solar EV charger powers your car with renewable, affordable energy, helping you make full use of your solar plan while cutting your utility bills. Hoymiles’ newly added EV charger comes in three models: the single-phase VAS-7-G2 with a power rating of 7 kW and the three-phase VAT-11-G2 and VAT-22-G2 with a power rating of 11 kW and 22 kW.
- S-Miles cloud monitoring platform: this platform allows you to easily monitor, manage, and troubleshoot your PVs and solar power system to ensure they are performing at their best.
In this case, you can either choose the single-phase HYS series or the three-phase HYT series.
If you want to add energy storage to your PV system:
In this case, you already have microinverter in your system, so all you need is to install our AC-coupled HAS (single phase) or HAT (three-phase) inverter, and then connect your solar battery to the inverter.
Key advantages of the Hoymiles solar-powered EV charger
Economical solar solution
Adding the solar EV charger to our PV-ESS-EV solution ensures greater long-term cost savings for homeowners.
You can fully utilize three power sources – solar from PV systems, power stored in batteries, and electricity from the grid – to power your home appliances and your EV, lowering electricity costs and giving you more energy freedom.
Ultimate safety
Safety is the most important factor to consider for any electrical product. That’s why we built the Hoymiles EV charger with comprehensive safety settings to give you complete peace of mind.
Equipped with Type A 30mA +DC 6mA double electricity leakage detection functionality, our charger can effectively detect and cut leakage current, thus providing all-around protection during charging. Moreover, we have seven types of electrical protection including overcurrent, overvoltage, undervoltage, residual current, over temperature, grounding fault, integrated surge protection.
The charger also comes with Emergency Power Off (EPO) functionality to shut down in case of any emergencies. The charger is also more secure with a no-screw anti-theft design, so users will receive a special O&M key to open the front cover.
Intelligent energy use and control
Just like other Hoymiles products, the EV charger can be monitored on the S-Miles cloud platform, allowing you to remotely check your EV charging status wherever you are. From the app, you can turn on and off charging and modify settings.
The PV-ESS-EV system is also integrated with load control and an incoming current protection mechanism to ensure the system is operating stably.
Reliable performance
The Hoymiles EV charger is built to last with its IK10 impact protection rating – the highest degree of protection for electrical equipment against external mechanical impacts. This ensures that the enclosure is safe and protected in case of collisions or impacts.
The enclosure has an IP65 rating to withstand dust and moisture, meaning the charger can be used indoors or outdoors regardless of harsh environmental conditions.
The Hoymiles EV charger is also embedded with a 4th-generation smart chip. Not only is this more durable than previous generations, it also guarantees millisecond-level responses to instructions from the energy storage inverter.
Different charging modes to save you money
To suit your EV charging needs, the Hoymiles PV-ESS-EV solution offers three different charging modes to choose from and alternate between.
Scheduled charging
In this mode, you set the charging time period by day (Monday to Sunday). The EV charger will only begin charging at the pre-set time. You can stop charging via the app, or by swiping your RFID card.
By scheduling your charging periods, you can save roughly 40% of your electric charging costs per year.
Green power
Besides the basic peak shaving functionality that aims to reduce your electricity bill, the system allows a unique green power mode that prioritizes any surplus PV as the only power source for the EV charger.
To enable this mode, you first need to set the maximum grid input power， so that when the PV power is not enough to sustain the car, the EV charger can switch to the grid.
To put it simply, the priority of power supply in this mode is PV > grid.
After supplying other loads and fully charging the battery, the remaining solar energy will be the sole source for the EV charger, so little to no grid power is used. Moreover, the EV charger will act as a dynamic power regulator, adjusting its own power based on the power consumption of other loads in the system. This in turn maximizes solar production and offers the best value for customers, and most importantly, cuts utility bills by as much as 260€ per year.
Charge now
This is the standard plug-to-charge and unplug-to-stop mode, where plugging in the charging connector charges your EV and unplugging stop charging. You can also start charging on your phone app or by swiping your RFID card. The charger automatically stops when your car is fully charged or when a command is sent.
Scheduled charging | Green power | Charge now |
● Set the charging time period by day (Monday to Sunday). ● The EV charger will only start charging at the pre-set time. ● Stop charging when time is up or with app/RFID card. | ● The EV charger prioritizes surplus PV power to charge the vehicle. ● Setting maximum grid input power means the EV charger can switch to the grid when the PV power is not enough to sustain the car. | ● The EV charger starts to work at its highest output power upon the user’s request. ● The charger automatically stops when your car is fully charged or there is a command to stop. |
How to install the Hoymiles Solar EV Charger at home?
The Hoymiles solar-powered EV charger can be installed in two different ways: wall mounting and pole mounting.*
Wall mounting
To mount the EV charger on the wall, you first need to find a suitable solid surface to ensure the charger will be firmly installed.
- Mark the installation position on the wall.
- Place anchors and self-tapping screws, as instructed in the user manual.
- Hang the charger on the screws and fix the front cover with your cover key.
Pole mounting
If you don’t have a proper foundation to fix the pole, you need to construct a solid, level concrete foundation before putting up the pole.
- Prepare the cabling for the pole.
- Fix the pole to the ground.
- Hang the charger on the top and secure the screws.
Then, complete the electrical wiring and your EV charger should be ready to use.
Remote data checking and O&M
When you integrate the solar system (PV), energy storage solution (energy storage inverter and battery) and EV charger in your home solar system, you can use the app to remotely check how each component of your system is performing, control their status, and change any settings based on your needs.
*Please refer to the user manual for details.
Conclusion
Switching to clean energy is an unstoppable trend. As the entry-level cost of the PV industry decreases, solar solutions are becoming more and more affordable.
By following the latest innovations, you can significantly shorten your payback period and let your solar make money for you in the long run. Most importantly, you will gain more independence over how you use your own energy, regardless of grid uptimes.
The Hoymiles PV-ESS-EV solution makes your home an organic solar ecosystem, By adjusting itself to help you get the most from your solar energy, the system allows you to live smarter, more independently, and with lower energy expenses.
Learn more about the innovative new solution, and start your journey towards a low-cost, low-carbon life today.
