How Kim’s Solar Powers His EV for $50 a Month

About $50 a month. That is what it costs Kim Leevers to run his electric car. He charges it at home in Renwick, in the Southern Highlands, using solar powered EV charging from his own roof and battery. No petrol station. No fuel bill. Just a steady, low running cost he can count on.

Kim installed solar & a battery to his roof. Now his car runs on the power he makes during the day. This is how he got there, in his own words.

Here is what this story covers:

• how solar powered EV charging brought Kim’s car running cost down to about $50 a month
• why Kim never hesitated about going solar
• what it was like working with Lenergy
• whether solar can really power an electric vehicle

Can solar really power an electric vehicle?

Yes. Kim is proof of it. His rooftop solar makes electricity through the day. His home battery stores what the house does not use straight away. When his car is home, the charger draws on that stored solar energy instead of grid power.

The result is simple. Kim fuels his car from his own roof, not from a petrol pump. On most days the sun does the work.

Getting the mix right matters here. The solar makes the energy, the battery holds it, and the charger puts it into the car at the right time. If you are weighing up storage for a setup like this read more about how it works in our article on EV’s and Solar here.

Why did Kim go solar in the first place?

For Kim, the planet came first. Money came second.

“Carbon footprint reduction was the primary goal, and economic advantage was the other,” he says. “Firstly it was about reducing my impact on the planet.”

He had wanted solar for a long time. The hold-up was never doubt. It was timing.

“I’ve been pursuing this solar journey for a considerable time, and I never had hesitation once the technology was there for the batteries,” Kim says. “It was just a question of waiting until I could afford it.”

Once he understood what solar could do, the decision felt easy. “As soon as I understood I could get that energy, it just seemed to be an absolute no-brainer,” he says. For Kim, more solar and more EVs on the road add up to something bigger. “The more solar we can get, the more EVs we can get on the road, the better off we’ll be economically, but security-wise and things like that for the future.”

Plenty of homeowners reach the same point. If you already have panels, there are practical reasons to add a battery to your solar that go beyond the bill.

What was it like working with Lenergy?

Kim wanted to be heard, not sold to.

“I can talk to them,” he says. “I can say, look, if that’s not what I want, I want something else. They take the time to listen and understand and figure out what you’re trying to achieve. Whereas a lot of others just want to give you what their package is.”

His results reflect that. Kim’s setup was specially sized to suit how he lives and drives which is why it works so well for him.

How much does it cost Kim to charge his EV?

About $50 a month, by Kim’s own account.

His system has not gone unnoticed on his street. Kim was an early adopter, and his neighbours have taken note.

“They see me now with my charger charging my EV,” he says. “They’re always asking, oh, how much is it costing, are you using the power off the roof?” His answer. “It costs me about $50 a month to run my car.”

His story shows how a well designed solar & battery system helps the environment and provides security against rising energy and fuel prices. Kim’s running cost stays low and steady, because most of the energy comes off his own roof. For anyone watching pump prices climb, that is worth thinking about. 

Here at Lenergy, we design solar, battery and EV setups for homes across NSW and the ACT. If you want to know what solar powered EV charging could look like at your place, we can work through the numbers with you and tell you straight. Get in touch for a free, no-pressure solar and battery quote.

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