How many solar panels to charge a Tesla Model 3?
A 2025 Model 3 Long Range RWD uses 24.6 kWh per 100 miles (EPA combined). Driving 30 miles a day takes about 7.4 kWh a day — about 1,910 W of panels, 5 panels of 400 W, at 4.5 peak sun hours.
How to work it out
- 30 mi × 24.6 kWh per 100 mi ÷ 100 = 7.4 kWh a day
- 7.4 kWh ÷ (4.5 sun h × 86%) = 1,910 W → 5 panels of 400 W
The Model 3 uses less energy per mile than any of the other 2025 EVs in the table on the calculator page, so it needs fewer panels per mile. The 30 miles a day here is just an example — put in your own.
Adjust for your project
More options: Losses
- Solar array needed
- 1,910 W
- Charging energy per day
- 7.4 kWh
- Charging energy per year
- 2,698 kWh
- Driving per panel per day
- 6.3 miles
- This sizes panels to make the car’s energy over a day. The car only charges from them directly if it is plugged in while the sun shines; otherwise the grid (with net metering) or a home battery bridges the gap.
Panels for each car at the distance above
| Car | Charging energy per day | Solar array needed | Panels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD | 7.4 kWh | 1,910 W | 5 panels |
| 2025 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD | 8.6 kWh | 2,232 W | 6 panels |
| 2025 Nissan Leaf | 9.1 kWh | 2,359 W | 6 panels |
| 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD | 9.4 kWh | 2,422 W | 7 panels |
| 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning 4WD ER1 | 14.4 kWh | 3,714 W | 10 panels |
What to know about solar for a Model 3
- One panel is about 6 miles a day. A 400 W panel at 4.5 sun hours makes about 1.55 kWh after losses — about 6.3 miles at 24.6 kWh per 100 miles.
- About 2,700 kWh a year. At 30 miles a day, that is roughly 11,000 miles and about 2,700 kWh a year — about a quarter of an average US home’s 10,359 kWh (EIA, 2024).
- Location changes the count. At Phoenix’s 6.6 peak sun hours, about 1,300 W; at Seattle’s 3.8, about 2,240 W.
- Cold weather costs range. EVs use more energy per mile in the cold, just as panels make less — plan winter as your worst case.
For a bigger, less efficient car see how many solar panels to charge a Tesla Model Y. To fold the car into a whole-house system, add its kWh to your bill on how many solar panels for 1000 kWh per month.
Different size? Use the full EV Solar Charging Calculator.
What you’ll need
- 400 W residential-size solar panelPremium price
Fewer, larger panels for a cabin, shed or ground mount. Their higher voltage usually means an MPPT controller.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Plug-in electricity usage monitorBudget price
Plugs in between the wall and a 120 V appliance and shows real watts and kWh over a day — the honest way to fill in a load list, especially for fridges that cycle on and off.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How many solar panels to charge a Model 3 for 50 miles a day?
About 3,183 W — 8 panels of 400 W (12.3 kWh a day).
How many solar panels to charge a Model 3 in Phoenix?
About 1,308 W — 4 panels of 400 W — at 6.57 peak sun hours.
How many 100 W panels to charge a Model 3 for 30 miles a day?
About 20 panels of 100 W.
Other common sizes
- How many solar panels to charge a Tesla Model Y — 6 × 400 W panels (2,232 W) for 30 miles a day
Sources
- U.S. DOE / EPA — fueleconomy.gov vehicle data (opens in a new tab) — EPA combined electricity use in kWh per 100 miles, measured at the wall outlet (charging losses included).
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) — PVWatts® Calculator (opens in a new tab) — Look up the solar resource (peak sun hours) and yearly output for your own address; default system losses 14%.
- NLR (formerly NREL) — PVWatts® v8 API, NSRDB PSM V3 TMY data (opens in a new tab) — City figures on this site: fixed open-rack array facing due south, tilted at the site’s latitude, 14% system losses, queried October 2026.