EV charging with solar — a UK business guide
Chargers that run on sunlight are 5–7x cheaper per kWh than grid electricity. Here's how to size a solar-plus-EV setup for a UK office, depot, hotel or retail park in 2026.
Key takeaways
- Pairing workplace solar with EV chargers allows companies to generate zero-carbon daytime transport fuel directly from commercial roof space.
- Generating solar power at 4p–6p per kWh significantly undercuts public EV charging costs of 70p–80p per kWh for fleet vehicles.
- HMRC 100% First Year Allowances and Workplace Charging Scheme grants offset initial capital expenditure on commercial solar-EV installations.
Short answer
Allow roughly 1.2–1.5 kWp of solar per kW of AC charger you want to run mainly from the sun. Add a battery for DC rapids or after-hours demand. Do the DNO application for solar and EV in one go.
Common sizings
1 × 7 kW AC charger
Needs ~8–10 kWp of solar to run mainly from the sun during a working day. Ideal for staff pool cars and visitor bays.
6 × 22 kW AC chargers
132 kW peak. Pair with 80–120 kWp solar + load management so total site draw stays inside your grid connection.
2 × 50 kW DC rapid
100 kW peak. Solar offsets the daytime baseload; batteries can shave peaks and cut standing charges.
Fleet depot (10–40 vans)
Overnight AC charging + daytime solar top-up. Solar carports typically pay back inside 8 years when the fleet is on-site by day.
Load management and grid limits
Dynamic load balancing (DLB) lets you install more charger capacity than your grid connection would otherwise allow — the system throttles chargers when the site is drawing hard. Combined with solar and a small battery, most UK commercial sites can double or triple charger capacity without paying for a grid upgrade.
FAQ
Can solar panels charge an EV in the UK?
Yes. A typical 4 kWp panel array generates enough for 8,000–12,000 miles of EV driving a year in UK conditions. Commercial arrays scale linearly — 50 kWp comfortably supports several 7 kW chargers running all day.
How much solar do I need per EV charger?
Rule of thumb: 1.2–1.5 kWp of solar per kW of AC charging capacity you want to run mainly from the sun. A 7 kW charger benefits from ~8–10 kWp; a 22 kW charger from ~25–30 kWp. Rapid DC chargers usually need battery storage to run from solar alone.
Do I need a DNO application to add EV chargers with solar?
Any single charger above 32 A (about 7.4 kW) requires DNO notification (ENA Form A) or, for larger multi-charger sites, a full G99 application. Adding solar in the same submission is efficient — one queue, one connection agreement.
Is it cheaper to charge an EV with solar than from the grid?
Yes. Solar generation costs 4–6p/kWh over 25 years; UK business grid rates average 25–35p/kWh in 2026. That's a 5-7x saving on every kWh delivered directly to a vehicle.
Can I sell excess solar EV-charging capacity to customers?
Yes — retail parks, hotels and offices increasingly monetise chargers via OCPP-connected apps (Monta, Fastned, ChargePoint). Solar-fed rates around 40–55p/kWh remain competitive vs public rapid at 70–85p/kWh.
Design a solar + EV package
We handle the solar, chargers, load management and DNO paperwork as a single install.
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