☀️ PV surplus charging – charge electric vehicles cost-effectively with solar energy
If you own a photovoltaic system, you can do far more with it than simply feed electricity into the grid.
With PV surplus charging, you make optimum use of the solar power you generate yourself: surplus energy that your household does not need is automatically used to charge your electric car.
This lowers your electricity costs, increases the self-consumption of your PV system and lets you charge with 100% renewable energy.
⚡ What is PV surplus charging?
With PV surplus charging, your electric car is charged only when your PV system is generating more solar power than your household is consuming.
As soon as sufficient surplus power is available, the wallbox automatically starts charging – no manual intervention required.
💡 Simply put:
Solar power supplies the household first. Whatever is left over flows into your electric car.
🌱 Benefits at a glance
Save money: Charge your vehicle with your own electricity instead of buying more expensive grid power.
Increase self-consumption: Use the electricity you generate yourself instead of feeding it into the grid.
Drive more sustainably: Solar power is renewable – every kilowatt-hour charged from your own PV system reduces the need for grid electricity.
Reduce grid load: Smart charging makes better use of available power and helps relieve the building connection.
🔧 How PV surplus charging works
You need two things for surplus charging:
A smart wallbox that supports PV surplus charging.
An energy management system (EMS) or controller that monitors the building's energy flows – for example, how much electricity is currently being generated and consumed.
When the two systems communicate with each other, your EV is automatically charged at the appropriate power level.
With a small surplus, charging is usually single-phase; with higher solar output it can switch to three-phase charging – depending on the wallbox and control system.
🧰 What do you need?
An existing photovoltaic system
A compatible wallbox with PV integration (e.g. go-e Charger or Compleo eBox smart with an external energy manager)
A smart meter or controller that measures power flows (e.g. Shelly 3EM, Siemens PAC2200 or go-e Controller)
In most cases, installation is straightforward and operation is fully automatic once the system has been configured.
📊 When is PV surplus charging worthwhile?
If your PV system regularly generates more electricity than your household needs, surplus charging can be particularly effective.
Single-phase charging can start from around 1.4 kW of surplus power; three-phase charging requires around 4.2 kW, depending on the vehicle and charging system.
🔍 Conclusion
PV surplus charging is an excellent way to use solar energy intelligently.
Your electric car charges automatically and efficiently using electricity generated by your own PV system.
This turns your solar installation into more than a source of electricity – it becomes a central part of your sustainable mobility setup.
👉 Discover suitable wallboxes and accessories now: SOLO smart
