Solar Charging an EV

[vfx]

Guiness?

 

[TEG]

 

[TEG]

...
When a hurricane hits, power lines go down all over town. Power can be out for a couple hours or 6 weeks. Where I live, rarely is power out more than 1-2 weeks. During that time, the weather is still HOT and we need A/C to sleep. I would also like it if the milk in the fridge didn't go bad. Even though the sun goes down late in hurricane season, it is still nice to have light to read at night... also a TV to watch to keep up with the news would be nice.
...

Some of these might do the job:

 

[vfx]

omg
How many things are wrong with this?

 

[Doug_G]

omg
How many things are wrong with this?

Brilliant. A solar power control panel that you can't see in sunlight.

 

[vfx]

Compass: EVs Powered by the Sun

 

[zack]

On-site storage can also be provided by flywheel.


http://www.beaconpower.com/products/smart-energy-25.asp

 

[Eberhard]

and 3-phase charge can be done at any power output depending what the charger can take 11kW-44kW easily made.

 

[Eberhard]

thats no SPAM!!! the beaconpower can deliver up to 1MW at three phase. Model S can be charged with 20kW+. Looks like this may provide a perfect charging infrastructure. Loaded with cheap power through the night and deliver high power when needed.

 

[dpeilow]

If the panels are making DC and the battery in the car requires DC then surely in this case it would be better to do the charging via DC?

 

[TEG]

Although I think some sort of DC/DC would likely be needed to get the voltage just right for the batteries.

 

[rabar10]

Although I think some sort of DC/DC would likely be needed to get the voltage just right for the batteries.

And for the solar cells as well, to get peak power from the array.

Maximum power point tracking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We used peak-power-tracking DC/DC converters a decade ago for our college solar-powered car.

 

[doug]

He's pissed off at solar-charged electric cars

Well, DUH!! :tongue:

 

[JRP3]

When a hurricane hits, power lines go down all over town. Power can be out for a couple hours or 6 weeks. Where I live, rarely is power out more than 1-2 weeks. During that time, the weather is still HOT and we need A/C to sleep. I would also like it if the milk in the fridge didn't go bad.

Don't know your situation but if you're building from scratch it might be worth it to go with a ground source heat pump system. So much more efficient than a traditional A/C system so you could get by with much less energy storage. Also super insulation and below grade construction if you can do it.

 

[vfx]

Has anyone configured their solar to charge their car without grid access? Say on a sunny day during a long blackout?

That would have to be pretty frustrating if you know you were generating Kw while having a dead car.

 

[bonnie]

I talked to the solar company doing my installation about redirecting solar generation during a power outage. The inverters that would allow that are significantly more expensive and I opted not to go that route (but an upgrade for the future when the technology price goes down). Instead, I'm installing a propane generator that will allow me to charge the car, run basic appliances, etc. for a few weeks. Imperfect solution, but seemed the most reasonable.

 

[doug]

Instead, I'm installing a propane generator ... Imperfect solution, but seemed the most reasonable.

But at least now you know where to set the charges for when you need to make a quick get away and destroy all the evidence.

 

[bonnie]

But at least now you know where to set the charges for when you need to make a quick get away and destroy all the evidence.

Yes, exactly. That was a non-negotiable feature.

 

[DaveD]

Make it easy for yourself and have them put in the charges and wire it up to a big red button. Just don't put that big red button next to the other big red button that makes coffee.

 

[bonnie]

Make it easy for yourself and have them put in the charges and wire it up to a big red button. Just don't put that big red button next to the other big red button that makes coffee.

Everyone is so helpful on this forum.