DIY charge on solar solution?

[Tiger]

Is there a switch that could detect (preferably adjustable) solar irradtiation and connect home charger to power when can guesstimate the solar panels are also producing?

Found some related discussion here: Sunlight Activated Switch

Is there such a switch or a measurement-and-control accessory to a switch?

 

[qnzkrew]

I have not done it but maybe it can be done with home assistant. If your solar can connect to home assistant then you’ll see when it’s producing and activate the charging of your car. This could be a lot more messy

 

[Matt-FL]

The Tempest weather station has a lux sensor on it, giving watts/meter calculations. That has tie-ins to Home Assistant where you could build logic automations into other smart home products, like a charger.

I would suggest something with 'once on, wait x minutes before turning off', as cloudy days may have your charger turning on and off continuously as solar production fluctuates. I'd balance charging with frequent on/offs for the charging equipment that may cause early failure.

 

[Tiger]

I have not done it but maybe it can be done with home assistant. If your solar can connect to home assistant then you’ll see when it’s producing and activate the charging of your car. This could be a lot more messy

No. I don't own a home assistant. I'd prefer an "old school" "it just works" solution where the switch is outside next to the charging box. Preferably without vendor lock-in into anything, simply an off-the-shelf solar (irradiance, not just a night switch) controlled switch.

 

[Tiger]

I'd balance charging with frequent on/offs for the charging equipment that may cause early failure.

It would be on Tesla's warranty so there is nothing to worry about.

 

[Tiger]

This might work so measure current from solar panels and then control a relay which powers the charger:

 

[fhteagle]

No. I don't own a home assistant.

+1 for the Home Assistant solution. It's free and open source software. Solar Forecast + Tesla integrations mean zero hardware control of charge target and charging on/off for the Y. And will grow with a more advanced solar self consumption, fixed storage battery, etc in the future.

 

[Tiger]

+1 for the Home Assistant solution. It's free and open source software. Solar Forecast + Tesla integrations mean zero hardware control of charge target and charging on/off for the Y. And will grow with a more advanced solar self consumption, fixed storage battery, etc in the future.

I don't have any Tesla hardware either that would allow any "integrations", just a Tesla Model 3, that is why I need an off-the-shelf solution.

 

[solarguy7]

I would like to share my project which I wrote to charge my Tesla using excess solar energy.
It combines power usage information gathered from eGauge to control the charging rate over Bluetooth using the Tesla Vehicle Command SDK
It also integrates with TeslaMate for vehicle location and charging need determination.
Check out PVCharge!