I have a 2020 Club Car Lithium Ion HP golf cart with the Club Car factory lithium battery, which from what I have researched is a 58V battery. My current range on a fully charged battery is about 24 miles. I was looking for a solution to extend the range while I’m playing a round of golf or riding the neighborhood before or after (i.e. solar panel on the roof of my 4 seater cart). I’ve reached out to a few different solar companies and received mixed reviews. I reached out to 2 different dealers for one manufacturer and received conflicting information. One dealer said that I would be good with a 180W panel with a solar charge controller and the other dealer said I would need 3 of their 180W panels and there wouldn’t be room for that on the roof, therefore solar panels would not a viable option. The other Manufacturer stated that it was not possible due to “additional electronic components and design implemented into the battery by the manufacturer. Inherently there is no problem working with these batteries, but you have to force the system to accept the solar charging input, which requires engineering on their end.” Therefore, a solar panel would not be compatible. Looking for any advice or insight to if this would be a success for my cart.
Club Car Lithium Ion
- Thread starter Wsmith
- Start date
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
I would start out with some data. You know how many miles. If you know the capacity of the battery you might be able to calculate how may Watt hours per mile it consumes. Then you can use that to figure out how many Watt hours to add for the extra range you want. Also a 180 Watt panel would not put out 180 Watts unless it is oriented perpendicular to the sun so you would have to account for that. You would need a charge controller and more data about the charging parameters which your batteries would need in terms of Amps and finishing voltage. It is more than likely a DIY project.
RoadTurtle
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2022
- Messages
- 367
180 watts? that will hardly put a dent in the battery capacity. What is the battery capacity in either watts or ah?
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Figure on 130ish max watts for only 3 hours a day, with energy collection dropping off dramatically on either side of the 3 hours. The math is not in your favor. You will still get some additional range, and it can be estimated, but you need to know what you're starting with in battery capacity.
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Figure on 130ish max watts for only 3 hours a day, with energy collection dropping off dramatically on either side of the 3 hours. The math is not in your favor. You will still get some additional range, and it can be estimated, but you need to know what you're starting with in battery capacity.
