If you purchase and install 250-watt solar panels for your home, the basic formula of 2.77 kW divided by .25 gives you 11.08. This means you would need roughly 11 of those solar panels to charge your Tesla Model Y with the Long-Range battery. However, if you install 400-watt panels instead, you would only need seven. Of course, these equations have many variables because even one alteration changes everything. The conclusions vary even if you calculate the amount of time the sun is out differently.
The type of Tesla a person owns changes everything as well. Not every Tesla is designed equally, and they each have different maximum ranges they can drive, as well as differing battery capacities. Even a different Model Y will change the equation. The Model 3’s two different trims, for example, contain a 50 and 70 kWh battery. It’s important to remember that these equations only calculate the number of panels needed for a Tesla. That’s on top of however many panels the rest of the house needs to receive sufficient power.
There are online calculators that simplify everything, such as the one at 8 Billion Trees, but it’s unknown what it takes into account to come to its conclusions. However, if you don’t trust your math skills, an online calculator is going to help greatly. There are a few common myths surrounding solar panels, but they’re undoubtedly up to the task of charging any vehicle Tesla produces.
