ksmithaz1
Solar / EV Junkie
I charge two(2) EV's from my Solar. I'm playing with extending my afternoon output with west facing panels, but for me my charge window is 1030-1630. I charge with a cheapo Adjustable 10-40A 120/240 charger at 24A on 240, so about 5600kw. The mean load at my house is between 4 and 5 kw, and my panels kick up to around 10kw at 1000, and falls to 9kw around 1630, the peak is around 12-13. This enables me to have at least 80% charge on my 30kw solar batteries, by the time my solar output falls below my house mean to take it past 2000/TOU. The inverters claim 99% efficiency PV->AC, so the idea is to maximize effiency PV->AC->EV, and avoid BAT->AC->EV. 110v charging is pretty abysmal, but for home you really don't need a 60A charger unless you just drive hundred's of milies a day. if you have (for example) an electric hot water heater in the garage, there is a box you can buy that splits it, giving you 30A (24@80%) for your EV whenever the HWH is not running. This is a really inexpensive way to add a L2 charger, and generally 24A will charge a car with a 65KWH pack from zero to full in about 12-14 hours. To that end with a 6 hour solar window, I can generally get from 50% to 95% on Friday, and top up on Monday in mine, the Lady gets to plug in Saturday and Sunday, she generally doesn't drive as far during the week, and we generally take my car around on the weekend, so it kind of works out.
The biggest problem is being at work when I need to be charging. I'm actually considering a 3rd EV to keep plugged in during the week to absorb my excess solar. That way I always have a fully charged vehicle I can use.
The biggest problem is being at work when I need to be charging. I'm actually considering a 3rd EV to keep plugged in during the week to absorb my excess solar. That way I always have a fully charged vehicle I can use.