With Solar Charging, you can automatically charge your electric car using excess electricity from your own solar panels. When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home consumes, Tibber can start charging your car.
This feature is available in supported markets and doesn't require a Tibber energy contract.
If you have a Tibber energy contract and want charging to be planned around forecast solar production and electricity prices, read Smart Charging with solar energy.
What do I need?
To use Solar Charging, you'll need:
- A Tibber Pulse.
- Solar panels producing excess electricity.
- A connected electric car.
- A compatible EV charger.
Not all EV chargers support Solar Charging through Tibber Pulse. Some chargers, including the Tesla Wall Connector, Keba and Garo, are currently not compatible.
How do I enable Solar Charging?
- Open the Tibber app and connect your car and EV charger under Power-ups → Charging.
- Make sure solar panels are added to your home profile.
- Open the charging widget, tap the settings icon and enable Solar Charging.
If you've used Solar Charging before, turn it off and back on once to activate the latest version.
How does Solar Charging work?
Tibber Pulse continuously measures your home's electricity consumption and solar production.
When enough excess solar energy is available, charging starts automatically. If the surplus drops too low, charging pauses.
To avoid unnecessary starting and stopping, Tibber uses the average solar surplus over several minutes. This means charging can take approximately five minutes to start.
When does charging start?
Your car needs enough excess solar power to meet the minimum charging current:
- Single-phase charging: at least 1,380 W.
- Three-phase charging: at least 4,140 W.
Some cars, including certain Renault and BYD models, require more power before charging can start.
Grid Top-Up
With Grid Top-Up, Tibber can use small amounts of electricity from the grid when solar production temporarily falls short.
This helps prevent unnecessary interruptions to your charging session.
Viewing your solar charging history
After each charging session, you can see how much electricity came from:
- Your solar panels.
- The electricity grid.
This helps you understand how much of your car's charging was powered by your own solar energy.
Solar Charging isn't working
Check that:
- Solar Charging is enabled.
- Your solar panels are producing electricity.
- Enough excess solar energy is available.
- Your car and EV charger are connected correctly.
If the problem continues, contact Support below or via the chat in the app. Include your car's and EV charger's brand and model, along with a description of the issue.
For the details that apply to your country, select your market in the bottom-right corner of this page to visit your local Tibber Support Center.