Er805
New Member
Hello, I want to know what system would be best to charge an electric transit van off of solar panels for 1-4 hours a day?
Ford Electric Transit van solar
- Thread starter Er805
- Start date
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
You need to provide more information. Your question is analogous to:
"What tires are best for my toyota car" in terms of specificity.
What charge rate (amps)?
What supply voltage (120 or 240V)?
How many kWh/day?
yabert
Solar Enthusiast
You can start with the available area on the top you want to dedicate to the solar panels.
Realistically, you can't expect to charge more than 5-6 kWh per day, but it's still feasible.
Realistically, you can't expect to charge more than 5-6 kWh per day, but it's still feasible.
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
yabert
Solar Enthusiast
Yeah! We need more details.I didn't even assume the intent was to charge from van-installed solar...
and in addition to the above questions...What is the capacity of the vehicle?
How far will you drive it a day?
I suspect that it will not be realistic to fully charge an electric tranny in one hour unless you have $$$$$$
justinm001
Solar Addict
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2022
- Messages
- 1,539
I don't think $$$$ would be the issue but space. The Transit electric is 68kWh.... I don't think a transit van could fit 68kw of solar panels and mounting hardware to charge in an hour. Even in a day (5 hours solar) that's 13.6kw of panels. He'd need to lay out across like 10 parking spots lol
Well, to do it properly, you will need battery storage equal or larger than the van has… and an array capable of feeding them in an average day.
How much space do you have for panels?
Are you wanting to fully charge the van in 1 to 4 hours? Or simply want it to charge at a specific rate for those hours, then park elsewhere to finish charging?
Let us know more details of what you wish to achieve.
LOL
... as the OP's question was...I didn't imagine the "system" had to be fitted on the tranny
rustythorn
New Member
while yes, we do need more info on this project, based on what they wrote we can't assume they meant they wanted it fully charged in 1-4 hours, it could be that they will only be charging it from solar for 1-4 hours a day.
What is the capacity of the vehicle?
How far will you drive it a day?
I suspect that it will not be realistic to fully charge an electric tranny in one hour unless you have $$$$$$
rustythorn
New Member
as a possible starting point you can look at my "build" thread in my signature below, however, note it is very incomplete and very disorganized and needs to be updated
i'm planning on an electric only camper van that will only be charged by solar or plugging into the grid. i'm looking at putting 1000-1300 watts of solar permanently mounted on the roof that can be tilted. in addition i will have at least 2800 more watts of portable solar. i will have an awning that is made up of three expanding arrays. each part is 700 watts. i will have a tucked array under the main roof array of 700 watts. when fully setup i should have about 4000 watts but i would like to get closer to 5000 if possible. i will have a 20 kwh cabin battery and a split phase setup so that i can charge up to a 12kw rate, however, faster charging speeds can only be sustained for short periods without grid support.
one section of the awning folded
partially open
fully open
i'm planning on an electric only camper van that will only be charged by solar or plugging into the grid. i'm looking at putting 1000-1300 watts of solar permanently mounted on the roof that can be tilted. in addition i will have at least 2800 more watts of portable solar. i will have an awning that is made up of three expanding arrays. each part is 700 watts. i will have a tucked array under the main roof array of 700 watts. when fully setup i should have about 4000 watts but i would like to get closer to 5000 if possible. i will have a 20 kwh cabin battery and a split phase setup so that i can charge up to a 12kw rate, however, faster charging speeds can only be sustained for short periods without grid support.
one section of the awning folded
partially open
fully open
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