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Is there a 3rd party solar panel system for charging ONLY my M3?
- Thread starter Strasso57
- Start date
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Yes, you can just get one of these. Just optimize the orientation, avoid shading, and you are good. Much cheaper than rooftop solar:
DC Solar trailer used for charging my M3
I recently bought at auction the DC Solar trailer. All in it was just over $5k (bid was $4400). I limit my home charging to 20A no matter the source. I installed a NEMA1450 receptacle, and boom. I achieved the magic four words..."it charges my Tesla".
teslamotorsclub.com
RayK
Active Member
I think what the OP is asking is if there's a solar system that can be installed on the ground that can be used to charge the car at home. Maybe they are living in a townhouse with an HOA that will not allow it, or the house is being rented and the owner will not agree to putting in solar.
@Strasso57 Assuming you are talking about putting a solar (photovoltaic or PV) system on the ground, I don't know of any offhand but let's do a paper napkin calculation to see what we're talking about and see if it's practical....
A UMC plugged into a standard 120VAC 15A outlet in your home results in a best-case charge rate of about 5 miles per hour. That's 1.44kW (120V x 12A) of power.
Assuming that all solar panel systems are outputting 240VAC through an inverter/microinverter (converts the panel's VDC to VAC), required to tie into your home's electrical panel, that means doubling the power (watts) and therefore, the distance. So a 2.88kW solar system should give you 10-11MPH, if it's tied directly to your car. By that, I mean it's not connected to the house and thereby the power grid.
Assuming the solar system is rated for a maximum of 2.88kW @ 240V, you would see the 10-11 miles per hour of charge for your Model 3 for about two hours during the day. The rest of the (sunny) day the solar system will generate less power. As an example, this is my home's solar system output a few days ago when there were no clouds:
Maximum power was only available between 12 and 2pm. My system is on a south-facing roof so it's the best location but does not have any tracking ability (to follow the sun during the day). My best guess would be a total of about 60 miles added to your car during a day like this with a 2.88kW system.
A quick Google search for a "portable" solar system yields this:
It's rated at 1.4kW for $5300 but outputs 120VAC at 12A. So, essentially a standard 120V outlet. But one that depends upon the sun so you're going to get the 12A for only a couple of hours a day.
@Strasso57 Assuming you are talking about putting a solar (photovoltaic or PV) system on the ground, I don't know of any offhand but let's do a paper napkin calculation to see what we're talking about and see if it's practical....
A UMC plugged into a standard 120VAC 15A outlet in your home results in a best-case charge rate of about 5 miles per hour. That's 1.44kW (120V x 12A) of power.
Assuming that all solar panel systems are outputting 240VAC through an inverter/microinverter (converts the panel's VDC to VAC), required to tie into your home's electrical panel, that means doubling the power (watts) and therefore, the distance. So a 2.88kW solar system should give you 10-11MPH, if it's tied directly to your car. By that, I mean it's not connected to the house and thereby the power grid.
Assuming the solar system is rated for a maximum of 2.88kW @ 240V, you would see the 10-11 miles per hour of charge for your Model 3 for about two hours during the day. The rest of the (sunny) day the solar system will generate less power. As an example, this is my home's solar system output a few days ago when there were no clouds:
Maximum power was only available between 12 and 2pm. My system is on a south-facing roof so it's the best location but does not have any tracking ability (to follow the sun during the day). My best guess would be a total of about 60 miles added to your car during a day like this with a 2.88kW system.
A quick Google search for a "portable" solar system yields this:
It's rated at 1.4kW for $5300 but outputs 120VAC at 12A. So, essentially a standard 120V outlet. But one that depends upon the sun so you're going to get the 12A for only a couple of hours a day.
Thanks for your awesome replies.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.
AlanSubie4Life: That's the answer I was looking for. A portable or fixed solar array I can put on the ground next to my home that uses those magic words, "It charges my Tesla M3". Thanks for your suggestions.
RayK: Thank you for your calcs, they are very helpful.
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Definitely a tricky thing to make sure the system has adequate battery capacity, inverter capacity, etc, to provide reliable waveforms to the Tesla without triggering charging shutdown, etc. (that would be super annoying). Sounds like the DC Solar trailer is pretty robust (but no idea, you should PM that guy to see what tips and experience he has - it sounds like he did have to install a 14-50 (not sure if he had to limit the current - he does discuss inverter output specs there), but it was probably pretty easy). The sort of thing to discuss with someone who has done it, to figure out all the key things to watch out for.
Good luck! Nice thing about picking one of these trailers up at auction vs. a ground-based install is I imagine there will be a market for them, so you can relatively easily resell it, and someone can just haul it away.
Yes, you can just get one of these. Just optimize the orientation, avoid shading, and you are good. Much cheaper than rooftop solar:
DC Solar trailer used for charging my M3
I recently bought at auction the DC Solar trailer. All in it was just over $5k (bid was $4400). I limit my home charging to 20A no matter the source. I installed a NEMA1450 receptacle, and boom. I achieved the magic four words..."it charges my Tesla".
Replacing the 240 watt panels will run about 3-4K. What you have to watch out for is the width and length. The with should be aorund 39.25in and the length, can run into problems in you fold them down to transport. You can offshift more to the outside but then the folding gets real heavy as they are not balanced and you are starting to lift more of the 70# per panel weight.
I have a few DC solar trailers listed on offerup and Craigslist near Las Vegas. Ship all around the country. I go up to 4500 watt of panels (10 x 450watt). Mobile Solar Trailers is what to search. I use for my off-grid clubhouse (28' Camper) and Tesla (free power).
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