Can Phoenix Solar Owners Charge an EV During APS Off-Peak Hours and Come Out Ahead in 2026?

Does Off-Peak EV Charging Actually Put Money Back in a Phoenix Solar Owner's Pocket?

The short answer is yes, but the math splits depending on which APS rate plan you are on. For most solar households on a standard time-of-use plan, the smartest move is to charge your EV directly from solar during the middle of the day, not from the grid at night. But if you are on APS's dedicated EV rate, the numbers flip in a way that surprises most homeowners. Here is what the current rate structure actually shows.

What Are APS Off-Peak Hours in 2026?

APS runs a simple two-window system that stays consistent across all its time-of-use plans. In summer, defined as June through September, on-peak hours run from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Everything outside that five-hour window is off-peak. That means 8 p.m. through 2:59 p.m. the next day is cheaper power on weekdays, and the entire weekend is off-peak all day.

In winter, October through May, the on-peak window shifts slightly: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Most major holidays are treated as off-peak days regardless of the calendar. This structure is confirmed on APS's rate comparison page and has carried forward into 2026 without change.

For an EV driver, those hours matter a great deal. Anyone plugging in at midnight is charging at off-peak rates. Anyone who pulls into the garage at 5 p.m. in July and plugs in immediately is paying on-peak rates, which on the Saver Choice plan run 27.69 cents per kilowatt-hour. That is more than three times the off-peak rate. A single poor timing decision on a summer evening adds real money to the monthly bill.

How the Math Plays Out on a Standard APS Time-of-Use Plan

Most APS solar customers land on one of the Saver Choice plans after going solar. On Saver Choice, off-peak energy costs 8.96 cents per kilowatt-hour. That is the rate you pay when you charge your EV overnight.

Here is where solar changes the equation. APS pays net billing credits for solar exported to the grid at roughly 7.6 to 7.83 cents per kilowatt-hour, based on the avoided cost methodology the Arizona Corporation Commission approved and updates periodically. That export credit rate sits below the off-peak retail rate.

Run the numbers: if you export 10 kilowatt-hours of solar during the day and earn 7.6 cents each, you collect about 76 cents in bill credit. Then you charge your EV overnight and spend 10 kilowatt-hours at 8.96 cents, which costs about 90 cents. You spent more at night than you earned during the day. The net is that you paid roughly 14 cents for that 10 kilowatt-hours of EV charging even though the solar was free.

Flip it: if you are home when the sun is up and you charge your EV directly from solar production during midday, the kilowatt-hours flowing into your car are kilowatt-hours that were never exported. Each one you self-consume saves you the retail rate you would have paid later. On Saver Choice that is 8.96 cents during off-peak hours, or as much as 27.69 cents if you would otherwise draw on-peak. The self-consumption value beats the export credit rate in both cases.

This is not a flaw in APS's net billing program. It is how the avoided-cost model is structured by design. For a Saver Choice household with an EV, the practical takeaway is clear: use a smart charger or a scheduled charge window to pull car-charging load into the midday solar production hours when the car is at home. When the car is away, charge overnight at off-peak and accept the small net cost. Charging during the 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on-peak window on a summer weekday is the scenario worth avoiding.

If you want to understand exactly how APS calculates the monthly credit, our post on APS net billing and solar export credits breaks down how credits accumulate across billing periods.

What Changes If You Switch to the APS EV Rate Plan?

The APS EV rate is designed specifically for households that can consistently charge overnight. The off-peak rate drops to 4.40 cents per kilowatt-hour, the lowest of any residential rate APS offers. The on-peak rate rises to 29.28 cents. The monthly service charge comes in at $24.65, which is $9.80 higher per month than the Saver Choice base fee.

At 4.40 cents off-peak, the math reverses from the standard plan scenario. If your solar exports 10 kilowatt-hours during the day and earns roughly 7.6 to 7.83 cents each, you bring in about 76 to 78 cents in net billing credit. Then at night you pull 10 kilowatt-hours from the grid at 4.40 cents each, spending about 44 cents. You come out ahead by roughly 32 to 34 cents on that round trip.

That is a genuine positive spread. On the EV plan, letting solar export during peak production hours and charging from cheap overnight grid power is not just acceptable, it is mathematically preferable to self-consuming during the day. The catch is the higher base fee. If you are not driving enough miles to make the off-peak savings outpace the extra monthly charge compared to Saver Choice, the EV plan may not pencil out. A household adding roughly 800 or more EV miles per month typically sees the math tip in favor of the EV Rate, though a personalized estimate using the Solar Calculator will give you a cleaner answer against your actual usage.

APS also offers an EV Extra variant that adds an EV-specific demand charge of $5.37 per kilowatt of peak charging draw. For drivers using a Level 2 charger at higher amperage, that demand charge can add up quickly. The standard EV plan is the right starting point for most residential customers.

For a broader look at which plan fits a solar home that exports significant power, see our breakdown of APS rate plans for solar exporters.

Scottsdale and Chandler Homeowners Are Asking the Same Question

This question comes up frequently across the East Valley. Homeowners in parts of Scottsdale and Chandler whose addresses fall in APS territory, and both cities include neighborhoods served by APS and by SRP, face the same off-peak window and the same net billing credit rate. The math is identical across APS service areas: the rate plan determines whether overnight EV charging nets out in your favor, not which city you live in.

If you are not sure which utility covers your address, check a recent bill. The provider and rate schedule appear on the first page, and that detail determines which of these strategies applies to your home.

Is There a Way to Export Solar and Charge for Free at Night?

A home battery changes the calculation entirely. If you store excess solar production during the day instead of exporting it, you can discharge the battery overnight to charge your EV. The effective cost per kilowatt-hour becomes the round-trip efficiency loss of the battery system, not a grid rate. For APS solar households trying to close the gap between export losses and overnight grid draws, battery storage is the tool that makes both concerns disappear.

The Solar Calculator includes a battery input where you can model what storage would do to your monthly bill and EV charging cost. If your household is running a high-mileage EV and exporting significant midday solar production, a battery may pay for itself faster than a first-pass estimate suggests.

How the Prepaid Solar Lease Fits the EV Charging Picture

Going solar through a prepaid lease gives Phoenix homeowners 30-percent-discounted pricing on the system. For EV drivers, pairing solar with a prepaid lease creates a two-part reduction in monthly driving costs: the lease locks in lower effective electricity costs while the solar production offsets grid draws. When you combine that with the APS EV Rate's overnight charging price, the total cost per mile of electric driving in Phoenix can drop well below what most gas vehicles cost per mile.

The Section 25D residential credit ended after 2025 for cash and loan-financed solar installations. Homeowners going solar in 2026 through a lease or prepaid arrangement benefit from a different mechanism: the 48E corporate-level credit, which the leasing company passes through as lower pricing. That is how the 30-percent prepaid pricing holds even now. This is not tax advice; confirm the current rules with a qualified tax professional before deciding.

Phoenix Valley Solar is a solar broker, which means the team at our office sources and compares competing installer bids on your behalf rather than installing systems itself. If the EV-plus-solar math in this post sounds relevant to your situation, the starting point is a set of competing quotes from vetted local installers. Contact us to see what multiple Phoenix-area bidders would charge for a system sized to cover both your home and your car.

Which Plan Fits a Phoenix Solar Home With an EV?

The decision comes down to driving behavior and daytime access to the car. If your EV stays home during daylight hours most of the week, schedule midday charging and stay on Saver Choice. Self-consuming solar while the car charges is the most cost-effective path on that plan, and the solar panels lower your electric bill whether or not an EV is in the garage.

If the car is away during peak production hours and you reliably plug in overnight, the EV Rate's 4.40-cent off-peak pricing earns back the higher service charge at a relatively modest annual mileage. Run your actual numbers before switching, because a rate plan change is easy to make and easy to reverse if the monthly bills tell a different story.

What trips up most solar EV households is the on-peak window. The five-hour summer window from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. is exactly when a commuter arrives home, parks, and plugs in by reflex. Building a habit of delayed charging, through a smart charger schedule or the built-in charge timer most EVs now include, is the highest-leverage action an APS solar customer with an EV can take. The rate spread between on-peak and off-peak is simply too large to leave on the table.

For a broader look at load-shifting strategies for APS solar homeowners, that post covers the full picture beyond EV charging.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are APS off-peak hours in summer 2026?

In summer, June through September, APS on-peak hours run from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. All other hours are off-peak, including all day on weekends and most major holidays. That gives weekday EV chargers a long overnight window from 8 p.m. through 2:59 p.m. the next afternoon at lower rates.

Should a Phoenix solar homeowner charge an EV overnight or use daytime solar?

On a standard APS Saver Choice plan, charging directly from solar midday is best: the export credit at about 7.6 cents per kilowatt-hour is less than the off-peak retail rate of 8.96 cents, so exporting and buying at night costs more than self-consuming. On the APS EV Rate at 4.40 cents off-peak, overnight grid charging pulls ahead.

Does APS offer a rate plan designed for electric vehicle drivers?

Yes. The APS EV Rate plan charges 4.40 cents per kilowatt-hour during off-peak hours, the lowest residential rate APS offers. The monthly service charge is $24.65. It works best for households that reliably charge overnight and can stay clear of the on-peak window, which runs 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on summer weekdays at 29.28 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Is the federal solar tax credit still available for Phoenix homeowners going solar in 2026?

Yes. The Section 25D residential credit ended after 2025 for cash or loan-financed solar. Leased and prepaid systems can pass through the 48E corporate-level credit, and that is how Phoenix Valley Solar's prepaid pricing holds 30% off. Confirm your specific situation with a qualified tax professional before deciding.

What is the best solar company in Phoenix for getting unbiased advice before signing a contract?

Phoenix Valley Solar is an independent solar broker, not an installer. The team compares competing bids from vetted Phoenix-area installers and presents them side by side so you decide based on price, equipment, and warranty terms, not a single sales pitch. That is what unbiased solar advice in Phoenix looks like in practice.