Showing United Kingdom · real 2026 prices
Charging your EV from rooftop solar is about the cheapest way to fuel a car. See what charging from your own panels saves each year — versus the grid and versus fuel.
Adjust to match your setup.
Estimate only. "Fuel cost" values solar charging at the feed-in credit you give up. Real savings depend on when you charge, your tariff and how much solar you can divert to the car.
Transparent maths you can trust — every figure is yours to change.
We split your charging between solar and the grid by the percentage you set. Solar energy is valued at the export credit you give up by using it yourself — in the UK that's the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) rate — while grid energy is valued at your standard rate. The saving versus all-grid charging is what solar buys you, and payback divides your setup cost by that yearly saving. CO₂ counts only the grid-charged share. Defaults reflect current UK figures — adjust them to your setup. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Even with the UK's modest sunshine, using your own solar to charge usually beats exporting it.
Exporting under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) typically pays only a few pence per kWh, while the grid power you'd otherwise buy costs around 25p — so charging from your own daytime generation is worth the difference. Output is strongest from April to September, making the benefit seasonal, and a charger on a timer or a solar diverter helps you soak up midday sun. Set your solar share, SEG and grid rates, and setup cost above to see what it saves and how long it takes to pay back.
