solar panels ON my Tesla Model X

[someguy in KC]

Is there a commercially available solar system that can generate some electricity and charge my battery while my car is parked in the sun? it sits out all day, five days a week while I'm at work. I'm sure someone has considered this and figured out why it doesn't work... but I can't find any discussion of this.

 

[android04]

You are asking the question in relation to charging your Model X under the Model 3 sub-forum, but it doesn't matter because the answer or solution would be the same. If you are talking about charging your high voltage battery through a photovoltaic system, it can be done. It will be expensive though. At the minimum, you need an array of panels and an inverter that converts their output to between 120-240VAC. That output would go through your Tesla mobile charge connector or wall connector to your Model X charge port. You would only be able to charge at whatever rate the panels can output at the time, unless you install a Tesla Powerwall or other battery storage system to buffer the energy from solar.

See here for an example

This example shows using a portable system that will charge extremely slowly

 

[roblab]

I have 66 solar panels which put out about 11 kWh of power. This means that I would need about 9 hours of full sun (hard to find in the winter) to charge my car. There is no way I could put 66 panels on my car, and one or two panels, besides making for poor aerodynamics, would hardly make a dent in my battery's charge. Solar panels do not produce high voltage or current, so two panels or so would do hardly anything. This is why my panels feed a bunch of batteries AND the grid, and I use the grid as a huge battery to fill my car when the sun goes down. Then the grid prices drop.

The problem seems to be that folks think solar panels really pump out the juice: They don't. Leave them hooked to a battery system at home and charge off of that later. It's MUCH easier than fooling around with a couple panels at work to act as a trickle charger. My electric grid allows me to send them power during the day and then pull it back at night, and as long as I send them more than I use, I don't pay much, if at all.

This subject comes up several times a year, and folks never get tired of hearing it just doesn't work.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Yes, solar panels on a car is just silly. Sorry to burst any bubbles.

I know I have some old posts on here detailing just how awful an idea it is.

New owner questions

Hello everyone, I placed an order for a Model 3 about a month ago and I'm very excited for it to arrive soon. The estimated delivery window has changed many times but I did get my VIN today. I just read an article online today where a Model 3 owner made reference to having solar panels on his...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[RayK]

Is there a commercially available solar system that can generate some electricity and charge my battery while my car is parked in the sun? it sits out all day, five days a week while I'm at work. I'm sure someone has considered this and figured out why it doesn't work... but I can't find any discussion of this.

So here's some hard numbers which should explain why it's not really feasible (practically and economically) to charge your car using portable solar panels:

• I'll assume that you meant you would set up the solar panel(s) once you are parked at work and are not thinking about mounting them to the top of your X.
• At best right now, a single photovoltaic solar panel, with a built-in microinverter (converts the small DC voltage from the solar cells into 240VAC), will only supply about 350-400 watts in the best of conditions; i.e. full, constant sun between noon and 4 in summer months. You'll get much less during the winter and on cloudy days.
• Three such panels, in series, will generate about 1kWh of power.
• Assuming a perfect 100% efficiency transfer from your mobile connector, 1kWh from a solar array will equal about 3 miles of range per hour, which is about the same amount you could expect from plugging in your mobile connector into a 120VAC wall outlet using a long extension cord.
• Those three panels, not including any hardware to mount/aim them will probably run you $300-$350 per panel; so around $1000 for the system.
• Would spending $1000 to get (at best case) a 3MPH charge rate be worth it?
• If an 120VAC outlet is available in your work parking lot, would spending $70-$100 for a 12/3 100' outdoor extension cord to get a constant 3MPH be better?

 

[Sophias_dad]

with a built-in microinverter (converts the small DC voltage from the solar cells into 240VAC),

Note that a microinverter will shutdown if it doesn't see a sine wave coming from the grid. I'm not exactly sure how they work that magic, but its there to make sure on a sunny day when there's a power outage the microinverters don't power-up the grid and fry the line workers trying to fix it.

 

[RayK]

Note that a microinverter will shutdown if it doesn't see a sine wave coming from the grid.

Good point. A separate, external off-grid inverter would be needed in this situation.

 

[jjrandorin]

You are asking the question in relation to charging your Model X under the Model 3 sub-forum,

(moderator note)

Thread has been moved to model X subforum. Mentioning it so that your comment above does not look out of place).