The rising cost of petrol and diesel is making electric vehicles an increasingly attractive option for UK drivers. But for people who have already made the switch to an EV, attention is now turning to another question: how much does it cost to charge it?
Research from the Homeowner Electrification Tracker Study (HETS) shows that the financial benefits of owning an electric vehicle are becoming more important to drivers. More people are looking at the potential savings of going electric, rather than focusing solely on the environmental benefits.
And with fuel prices currently high, it’s easy to see why.
Petrol and diesel prices remain high
According to the RAC, the average price of unleaded petrol reached 174.13p per litre on 28 September 2026, while diesel hit a record 199.18p per litre. For anyone covering a lot of miles, that can add up quickly. The cost of filling a typical family car is now close to £100 for petrol and around £110 for diesel.
Charging an EV at home can work out considerably cheaper per mile than filling up with petrol or diesel. But there’s another way EV owners can reduce the cost of charging, by generating their own electricity.
Solar panels and EV charging
For homeowners with an electric car, solar panels can be a natural next step. Solar panels generate electricity during daylight hours which can be used to power your home, with surplus generation potentially used to charge your EV.
This means that instead of buying all the electricity needed to charge your car from the grid, you can use some of the energy generated by your own roof.
How much you can save will depend on things such as the size of your solar PV system, how many miles you drive, when you charge your car and your electricity tariff. But if your car is regularly parked at home during the day, there can be a particularly good opportunity to make use of your solar generation.
What about a battery?
Solar battery storage is another option worth considering alongside solar.
Rather than sending unused solar electricity back to the grid, a battery can store it for use later. That could mean using stored energy to charge your EV in the evening or overnight, when your solar panels aren’t generating electricity.
EVs and solar panels make a natural combination
The move to electric vehicles is part of a wider shift towards using electricity for more of our homes and transport.
The HETS research has also reported increased interest in solar panels and heat pumps, suggesting that more homeowners are looking at ways to generate and use their own energy.
For an EV owner, solar panels can make sense. You’re already using electricity to run your car, so generating some of that electricity yourself can be a simple way to reduce your reliance on the grid and potentially cut your overall running costs.
With petrol and diesel prices currently at high levels, it’s a good time for EV owners to look at the bigger picture, not just how much they’re saving at the fuel pump, but how they can make charging their car cheaper too.
Already have an electric vehicle?
If you’ve made the switch to an electric vehicle and are looking at ways to reduce the cost of charging it, solar panels could be worth considering.
We can look at your home, energy usage and EV charging requirements and recommend a solar PV system that’s suited to you. We can also advise on battery storage if it could benefit your property.
Get in touch today to discuss solar panels for your home and find out how you could make more of your own electricity.