EV owner installs solar panels to help with costs and shares the surprising real-life results

Most of us, by now, are pretty familiar with the concept of solar panels.

But have you ever wondered how much they would help with charging your EV?

Well, one EV owner had that exact thought.

So, he decided to put the theory to the test, measuring the results after 14,000 miles of driving.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

EV owner gets solar panels to power Chevy Blazer

Last week, peakd.com user KSteem took to the forum to share the data from his 2024 Chevrolet Blazer RS AWD.

He has put 14,000 miles on his EV over the past two years – solely powered by his solar panels.

“I don’t drive a whole lot of miles compared to some,” writes KSteem.

“But the total for the the 2 years is 14,480 miles, or about 7,000 per year.”

“This averaged about 3.4 miles per kWh. I don’t drive softly, or attempt to conserve energy, I like to punch it and feel the acceleration way too much, so you could say these are conservative estimates, lol.”

Here is where the test gets quite interesting.

KSteem guessed that driving in a similar fashion in a vehicle that gets 20mpg would cost about $2,100.

This is on the basis of gas costing $3 per gallon.

The figure would, in theory, drop to $1,400 for a vehicle that gets 30mpg.

Yet KSteem’s savings were absolutely extraordinary.

Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology

How much he saved

His total costs were just $617.65 with an average price of just $0.15 per kWh.

“So as you can see, generally half or one third the cost of gas for the vehicle.”

KSteem noted that that is not the only area where savings are made.

“Other cost savings occur through not having to oil changes, brake pads lasting years longer due to regenerative braking, no tailpipes to rust out, etc.”

In fact, the EV owner has performed just one piece of maintenance over the past few years.

The maintenance in question? A tire rotation.

“You will definitely want a Level 2 charger,” he wrote.

“I had to install a higher 50 Watt 220volt power breaker in the breaker box and run dedicated line to the Autel charger.”

“I get right about 285 miles range from a full charge if driving normally.”

The solar panels themselves saved the EV owner around $2,300 off his total energy bills.

Talk about a monumental change in powering things.