What Is A Solar Car Port And How Much Does It Cost? (2024)

Building a garage can be a costly venture. If you’re just looking for a way to keep your car cool and protected from the elements, a carport can be an affordable yet effective option. They don’t provide as much security as a garage, but if security isn’t a concern, a carport may be the perfect choice for you.

A non-solar carport will provide shelter for your car and is built out of typical building materials such as concrete, bricks or wood. A solar carport, however, is built out of solar panels and can provide energy to your home in addition to providing shelter for your car.

Solar carports work by harnessing power from the sun and turning it into energy for your home. The roof of the carport is made out of solar panels, which generate electricity. They can generate either all or part of the energy that your home needs to run, depending on how many solar panels you use to build it. This can be a great option for not only reducing your electricity bill, but also for making a positive impact on the environment.

There are a number of benefits to building a solar carport. Some of them are obvious, but there are a few you may not have considered.

Reduced Energy Bills

Solar carports are a great option for reducing or even eliminating your energy bill. Carports can provide enough square footage in solar paneling to create a substantial amount of energy for your home.

Protects Your Car from the Elements

Aside from the financial and environmental benefits, there’s one very simple reason you should install a solar carport: it will protect your car from weather damage. If you live in snowy or rainy areas, a carport can be particularly useful against inclement weather.

Easy Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging

If you have an electric vehicle, you can make it even greener by using solar panels to charge it. You’ll be using no fossil fuels to run your vehicle, which is excellent for the environment. It’s easy to hook up an EV charger to the panels, as your source of electricity is mere feet above your car.

No Risk of Rooftop Damage

If you have an older roof that will need to be replaced in the next few years, installing solar panels on top may be a bad idea—to uninstall and reinstall the solar panels is a costly process. Even if your roof is newer, solar panels increase the risk of damage to the shingles. Damage to the roof in the area surrounding solar panels is often not covered by home warranties or home insurance. Therefore, using a solar carport instead of rooftop solar panels can be a safer option financially.

While having a solar carport can be beneficial in many ways, there are several reasons why it might not be the best option for you.

Building a New Structure

While you’ll save on energy bills in the long run, the initial costs of installing a solar carport can be quite high. If you have an existing carport, the pitch of the roof will likely not be able to support solar panels, which have to be angled a certain way to maximize the amount of power they harness from the sun.

Cost of Installation

The initial cost for a solar company to install a solar carportcan range from anywhere between $18,000 to $25,000. A non-solar carport is much cheaper at somewhere between $4000 to $10,000. Depending on how much you pay in electricity bills, however, you may easily overcome the cost difference in a matter of two or three years.

Space Requirements

You’ll also need to factor in the amount of outdoor space that your home has to fit a solar carport. The average household requires anywhere from 400 to 700 square feet of solar panels to generate enough electricity to run. However, building a smaller solar carport is a great option for those without a lot of space who are okay with cutting down on their energy bills without entirely eliminating them.

Maintenance Fees

You’ll want to call someone out to service your solar panels annually. An annual inspection costs around $150. You’ll also have to clean your solar panels somewhat regularly to ensure they’re operating at maximum capacity.