Solar power my EV.... is it even doable???

[lumberjak2007]

Ok so I'm totally new to solar arrays even though I've had 2 installed on my house. I've taken a couple basic "intro to digital electronics" course but other then knowing the difference between positive and negative that's about all I got. Anyways my thought and question is, is it doable and/or feasible to setup a ground solar array in my back yard, that's off grid, that could power my EV over night with say a level 2 charger.

>First off I know anything is doable.
>Secondly my EV doesn't have the biggest battery clocking in at a mere 33kWh
> I'd be looking to put at most 80% charge on my car as I rarely use more than 60% of a full charge
> and this would have to be a project of scale, something that can be built over time as I get the extra cash to add more. so initially, i probably would just do level 1 charging for an hour or two here and there.

So thoughts? Can it be done? I have a long side yard that gets tons of sunshine all year long (I live about 15 min from Davis, CA and charts I've seen put peak sun at about 5hrs). If you think it could be done, what would you use? Layout? Design?

Note: if I get enough input that this is possible, and reasonable I might just give it a go and make a whole youtube series on it.

 

[Steve_S]

An EV with 33kwh pack is not a massive beast to charge up, the bigger ones of course take more. There should be no problem at all BUT some very serious planning is due for something like this... Real estate for panels can easily be an issue and quickly. A few of our members at CleanTechnica (Tesla EV site) have done Solar Car Ports using the high end bi-facial panels as well as standard panels... Now a few things do depend on the EV and what it accepts for charging input and what options there are for it. Unfortunately at this time, standards are getting better but still sort of loose between the companies … gosh it reminds me of the VHS vs BETA battles, but worse...

Much depends on what you currently have running, if you have batteries or just grid connected. Also the question of if you want to / can do V2H (vehicle to home) with the system... again that depends on your ride & options. There may be a way to couple the existing house & new EV "car port" array so that you can max out the house & EV concurrently. Again much depends on your car and what options are available to it.

Assuming you CAN do V2H, that could add 33kwh extra as backup to the home "if needed" (not a bad idea really, if you think of PG&E fun). I would consider looking at building a "Car Port" with bi-facial panels that can push out 400-450W ea and then have a way of switching so that when the EV is full it goes to house charging, or visa versa. There are companies out there making various chargers for different models of EV's and so that needs to be looked at first to determine which options can work for your EV... I would consider one that has potential to charge different types of EV's, who knows what the future will present.

 

[lumberjak2007]

Thanks @Steve_S. This definitely was encouraging. I definitely have some ideas in my head but, I think I still a ways off from getting then off the ground. Like I can picture it all in my head after watching countless videos of other people's solar array.

Don't know of I'd do a tie in system thought as there plenty of permits and inspections and things like that needed, so I could see leaving it as a stand alone system just for car charging. Plus my wife keeps talking about putting a patio in the backyard so i could put more panels there and use this system to power that as well. Lots of options cause I have one of the biggest yards on the block.

Now other than bi-facial solar panels I'll need to figure out storage, inverter, flow controller and all that fun stuff. Open to any recommendations.

Incase anybody is wonder what space I have to play with I've attached a picture. Theres 2 solar arrays feeding the house currently (put up by Vivint, and I'm still not close to make 90% or my energy needs thanks to having 5 kids who have tons of electronics). This off grid array I'd look to put along the fence somewhere.

 

[lumberjak2007]

Thanks @Steve_S. This definitely was encouraging. I definitely have some ideas in my head but, I think I still a ways off from getting then off the ground. Like I can picture it all in my head after watching countless videos of other people's solar array.

Don't know of I'd do a tie in system thought as there plenty of permits and inspections and things like that needed, so I could see leaving it as a stand alone system just for car charging. Plus my wife keeps talking about putting a patio in the backyard so i could put more panels there and use this system to power that as well. Lots of options cause I have one of the biggest yards on the block.

Now other than bi-facial solar panels I'll need to figure out storage, inverter, flow controller and all that fun stuff. Open to any recommendations.

Incase anybody is wonder what space I have to play with I've attached a picture. Theres 2 solar arrays feeding the house currently (put up by Vivint, and I'm still not close to make 90% or my energy needs thanks to having 5 kids who have tons of electronics). This off grid array I'd look to put along the fence somewhere.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

My next car will be electric. I'm generating so much power in summer that I don't know what to do with it. And that's way, way more north that where you are Winter maybe not, but even charging it on the grid for those months is cheaper than gasoline.

 

[lumberjak2007]

@upnorthandpersonal - yes my current two array on the house in summer will generate just shy of 8kW, and my total out put is typically well north of 1000kWh during those months. I think running panels on the ground could work well for an off grid car charging system and if I still have power on top of that there's always the ability to take some of my old bitcoin miners out, dust them off, and get them running to make a little something on the side, lol.

 

[Steve_S]

Now the bigger issue you will have to work on.
What is your EV and what charging can you do with/ to it ?
That is key to figuring out how to deliver the juice, battery sizing and inverter "if" required.
IF DC charging is possible that creates one path, if it's a phev that takes 120VAC/20A that's a completely different picture.
Warning: I am Tesla Long ! so..... I do not own one but got stocks & shares thanks to my wonderous Maggie & her investment genius.

 

[lumberjak2007]

@Steve_S - it's a BMW i3 with a 33kWh battery but it never gets close to being that drained so let's round down to 30kWh. It can fast charge at up to 50kW when I'm out and about cause it has the extra DC inputs that are needed. I was thinking level 2 charging cause that's what recommended for home use, but if we can fast charge straight off the batteries then sweet. Like I said before I'm totally new to this so I'm like an open canvas for ideas.

Will say I do envy the fact that you got stock in Tesla. Was going to buy it years ago but couple people talked me outta it cause they thought it would be the next Fisker, and go belly up. Should have never listened.

 

[Steve_S]

Our first batch cost 140 a share... The Q type naysayer's have lost several billion in the short selling fiasco's, good for them, they deserve it. What is shocking, is that they can put out such pure BS ad outright lies while manipulating the market and get away with it... They all deserve a Molotov Cocktails IMO. Koch should be Blood Eagled Viking Style.

The Beamer is a good machine and it has some good charge ability. Will setup a charger system for his Model-S so we know it can be done at a reasonable price. I'm not up on the specs for BMW but that should be easy enough to get. There are BMW proper $ charging systems and after market ones as well like EVBox and even some made in China and certified UL/CSA too. I don't know enough those to make any suggestions. But there does seem to be a few 30A & 50A charging options which are quite respectable if you want to use solar, the real kick in the pants will be the battery pack in-between. If there is a way to directly take the DC from the solar system, that would likely be a heck of a lot cheaper but with tradeoffs too.

Consider, that if using 280AH cells in a 48VDC config, that is 13,440‬ Watt Hours (13kw) per battery pack, times three battery packs to be side X side.
That being figured, 16 cells @ 280 AH for one 48VDC pack = Total$2,178.84 with shipping + 16S BMS (set $200 USD for that) so rounded to $2400 per pack X 3 packs = $7200 USD

Depending on the charging system abilities it may be possible to do direct DC or alternatively to go through an inverter but that also incurs some losses in conversion up. This is where inter-connecting with the house Solar ca turn the tide as it were. BTW: I have seen some amazing Pergola Designs for Solar Panels which people use in the back yards etc.... There are some really creative & ingenious ideas & doings out there. So if you setup a combo Car Port on a side & Solar Pergola you can likely catch a crap load of sun rays !

Xuba 280AH cell link:

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[lumberjak2007]

Batteries aren't a bad deal. I found some Jinko JKM365-72-V panels for sale near me for $60 a panel. May need to pick me up some. Not sure the wife will let me build like a Pergola in that back yard at the moment but she will let me ground mount them against/near my fence.

For a mttp I was looking at maybe something like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F12RDZ2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_SOCuEb9QABVMJ

Or maybe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GW57RN5/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_mUCuEbRHVRNA0


I think either of these would do for charging. Thoughts?

 

[SolarRat]

Anyways my thought and question is, is it doable and/or feasible to setup a ground solar array in my back yard, that's off grid, that could power my EV over night with say a level 2 charger.

Well, the bold part depends on how much sun you get at night

Say you only use 20 kwh out of your pack. Say you live in the south and get 5 sun-hours a day. You'd need a 4kw array to recharge it during the day (perfect, clear day). That's a big pergola...

 

[lumberjak2007]

@SolarRat according to charts I should easily get 5hrs a day where I'm at. I have a big enough area to place plenty of 300+ watt panels. I agree with @Steve_S that it can be done. I may just need to start with one battery bank and run my bitminers off it till can get up to full scale

 

[Steve_S]

Batteries aren't a bad deal. I found some Jinko JKM365-72-V panels for sale near me for $60 a panel. May need to pick me up some. Not sure the wife will let me build like a Pergola in that back yard at the moment but she will let me ground mount them against/near my fence.

For a mttp I was looking at maybe something like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F12RDZ2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_SOCuEb9QABVMJ
Or maybe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GW57RN5/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_mUCuEbRHVRNA0
I think either of these would do for charging. Thoughts?

I really dunno about #2, that seems way too cheap honestly, especially with those specs. #1 is a good switch over idea but don't buy anything yet.... Time is needed for research & reflection before spendin. Sounds like a fairly good deal on the panels, they are high volt, so that get's trickier, I think those are more aimed at AC Coupled systems and larger solar farms.

 

[lumberjak2007]

I really dunno about #2, that seems way too cheap honestly, especially with those specs. #1 is a good switch over idea but don't buy anything yet.... Time is needed for research & reflection before spendin. Sounds like a fairly good deal on the panels, they are high volt, so that get's trickier, I think those are more aimed at AC Coupled systems and larger solar farms.

Agreed. I think I need to put a list together of everything, and since I want to build this over time and figure out what I need at each stage of the build. So the batteries are definitely making the list. And I think I might stick with those panels or see of I can find some other cheap ones at a lower volt/wattage.

 

[Steve_S]

I found goodies while searching for something else and I immediately thought of you. I don't know anything about these BUT a starting point for the ponderance pile I suppose... see link below.

Just my "personal" thing but I don't particularly mix'n'match when it comes to some things and panels is one of those. Not only on the aesthetic level (which isn't a big deal) but for the specs to be matched. There are so many panels out there now, new / used and all sorts of sizes, watts etc... Used panels will always be available but which & what will be random over time. In that regard, if you can get a good deal on a complete set of panels that would fill your intended space (figure it in square feet, as opposed to wattage or other metric) and once you know you have X square feet to work with then you can figure how many watts worth of panel you can stick in there and I personally would try for max possible. Kicker is panel sizes vary... My panels are "roughly" 6'x3' +/- 1" (60 cell Canadian Solar CS260P's) my 8 panel rack takes up 12'x12' roughly (4s2p) but these are also considered 24V panels.

The catch: Keep an eye on panels prices & availability for the moment. Look at the item linked below and ponder on that and more research on those types of interfaces for charging. Then to figure on SCC, inverter for this and what size battery bank will suit both budget & practicality. Like I said before, I don't know much when it comes to EV Charging via solar and I am not into researching that as it is outside of my uses/needs, as I am focussed on just getting my home project done, so I am sharing what little I have learned in my solar adventure, which I need to finish this year as time for this is running out now. No more construction stuff for me after this year. There are many videos on YT related to this topic, I'm not sure if Will has produced a video on his Solar EV Charging for his Tesla, might be a good start if he did, at least as an overview.

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I hope this helps, sorry I coudln't give a better more complete response.
Steve

 

[lumberjak2007]

@Steve_S the input has been great so far. I've started a list of options for different parts that I'll need. I will say that I missed out on a great deal of somebody in my area swapping out there old system for a new one and selling the entire system for $500. Wish I had seen it just a few hours earlier but oh well, I'm on the hunt now for parts. In the meantime I my put up a posting in my base hobbyshop, as I'm prior USAF and we have some pretty handy guys around here. My hope is to maybe find somebody here to help build on this idea even more in-person. But I definitely see this being a very very doable project, and feel free to keep throwing ideas this way.

 

[Steve_S]

@Steve_S the input has been great so far. I've started a list of options for different parts that I'll need. I will say that I missed out on a great deal of somebody in my area swapping out there old system for a new one and selling the entire system for $500. Wish I had seen it just a few hours earlier but oh well, I'm on the hunt now for parts. In the meantime I my put up a posting in my base hobbyshop, as I'm prior USAF and we have some pretty handy guys around here. My hope is to maybe find somebody here to help build on this idea even more in-person. But I definitely see this being a very very doable project, and feel free to keep throwing ideas this way.

I saw this article yesterday and it peaked my interest and immediately thought of you. This may be an option for part of it in any case. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/2...rging-easy-at-any-speed-cleantechnica-review/

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[lumberjak2007]

Ok so after doing more research and thinking about how to best do this i've come up with the following scale-able and somewhat possible solution.

I have two options for a Shed in my yard, I could get a kit to build and 12'x8' (would like to go this route, or Costco has a Shed, the Lifetime shed (product number 1902228 - for about $800) that has a really nice roofline for easy panel installation.

For batteries i was looking to use a 48v nissan leaf battery system rated at 3.5kWh coming from techdirectclub at a cost of about $500 after tax. Now these do come with there own BMS so no worries there. 48v battery bank with BMS . Also i can start small and run a shed AC off this first and add more to it with time as long as i run them in parallel.

For panels i have sourced out Qcell q.peak-g4.1 305 watt panels. They cost $135 a panel. I know I can get at least 3 on the shed. Maybe 4 if I get creative. So that gets me between 900 and 1200 watts.

Now i would need a 240v circut with the ability to do 40amps. so i can wire a NEMA14-50 outlet and plug in a EV Charger. So I've looked into getting a 5000w 5kva 48v Solar inverter 230v + 80A mppt solar charger, high PV 500vdc. I think will do the trick for everything and make my life a lot easier but i'm really not sure. So if anybody has any input let me know.

 

[Ampster]

So if anybody has any input let me know.

You will also need some engineering for the electrical permit. They will want to see how the uplift load from the panels is not going to blow your Costco shed away or rip the panels off the shed roof.
If you are going to use a 40 Amp breaker the maximum constant load you can draw on that is 32 Amps (125% rule).
You will also need another 240v 20 Amp circuit for your inverter because it cannot be on the same circuit as your EVSE.
If you have 1200 Watts of panels you might in the middle of summer be able to produce 4 to 5 kWhs of energy which might put 12 to 15 miles of range into your EV. It would be less going through your batteries and back out to charge the EV. For starters the least expensive battery is the grid on a net metering agreement.

 

[svetz]

>> Solar power my EV.... is it even doable???


My wife's EV is charged via solar (just a regular grid tied system (don't even have a battery yet), so everything is solar), and of course...

 

[VincentRapide]

You need to do an analysis on your existing system(s). Have you plugged in a slow charger to the i3? Why is there no room left on your existing setup? Do you have A/C running (this may be the culprit). But ignoring your present system makes no sense for such minimal EV usage. If you commuted 100 miles per day 5 days per week, that would be a challenge. Why do the kids use so much juice?

I too have minimal ev usage and am building an off-grid system to cover that and maybe heat water with any accumulated excess. I see no need to bother with grid-tie for the puny reward, and want to see progress in off-grid vehicle charging.
VR PNW
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[lumberjak2007]

You need to do an analysis on your existing system(s). Have you plugged in a slow charger to the i3? Why is there no room left on your existing setup? Do you have A/C running (this may be the culprit). But ignoring your present system makes no sense for such minimal EV usage. If you commuted 100 miles per day 5 days per week, that would be a challenge. Why do the kids use so much juice?

I too have minimal ev usage and am building an off-grid system to cover that and maybe heat water with any accumulated excess. I see no need to bother with grid-tie for the puny reward, and want to see progress in off-grid vehicle charging.
VR PNW
--

Well we have a large family so I typically end up parking on the street. And while I typically charge free around town, as vacaville is one of the highest per capita for free charge stations, I want to be able to come home and top off that maybe last 25-30% most night, maybe more on weekend. Now I have solar on the house with some 40+ panels making some stupid amount of energy, which yes we go through all of it and then some.

Overall this is going to be a bit of a passion project, the goal is to get some of the big things knocked out. Like me and my wife's ex husband are going to build a shed most likely (as I think my costco option isn't going to cut it for all of our kids gear, as we have 5 kids), then we'd like the get the a system installed on the shed, and start small with a small battery pack to run an A/C for the moment. The goal is to expand when the funds are available. I've got the idea, I just need help figuring out the parts, cause I dont want a level 1 charge, i want a level 2, and i found a great outdoor one so that's not an issue. Like I said I just need help figuring out the parts and pieces to make the idea work, and maybe even the schema to make it all work.

 

[VincentRapide]

Coming this fall - Solar Sitcom!! Catch the excitement here on Channel America as local families vie for the Solar Crown!!
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