What would be best as a backup to EV? Powerstation vs foldable solar panels

[Mjuksten]

In terms of weight and charge rate which one is better? And is there a specific model that is particularly good for this purpose?

 

[Ampster]

I need to understand the issue so let me ask a few clarifying questions so I understand the use case. Is this to charge an EV away from home? in either case how many kWhs do you need or how many miles of range do you want to add and during what time frame? Days or hours?

 

[Mjuksten]

I need to understand the issue so let me ask a few clarifying questions so I understand the use case. Is this to charge an EV away from home? in either case how many kWhs do you need or how many miles of range do you want to add and during what time frame? Days or hours?

In a ICE car people would sometime have a gasoline tank in case you would run out of gas on the road. Especially if they are going for longer trips they would bring one. The use case is the same, but instead of an ICE car it's an EV. So yes it's supposed to charge the EV away from home.

Time frame: less than four hours. Preferably less than 2 hours. And give you as much juice as possible, but at the minimum 2kWh.

When it come to knowledge that I urgently need is understanding of how high of a charge rate I can get from max 25kg either invested in solar panels or in a power station/solar panels, assuming money is not a big concern. Getting a decent charge rate is important.

 

[chrisski]

I could charge my EV with level 1 charging fed with a portable array 35’ x 6’. That is 18 x 100 watt panels.

This would go through an SCC and at least a 2000 watt or 3000 watt inverter. At about 5 miles an hour with level 1, I’d get 5 good hours a day in the shorter days of the year.

I have set this array up to run my RV in the winter, and received 800 watts off 9 x 100 watt panels. Twice as many panels would be good for power production for level 1.

Since I have not done this in the longest day of the year, my guess is over 12 hours of charging.

 

[Mjuksten]

I could charge my EV with level 1 charging fed with a portable array 35’ x 6’. That is 18 x 100 watt panels.

This would go through an SCC and at least a 2000 watt or 3000 watt inverter. At about 5 miles an hour with level 1, I’d get 5 good hours a day in the shorter days of the year.

I have set this array up to run my RV in the winter, and received 800 watts off 9 x 100 watt panels. Twice as many panels would be good for power production for level 1.

Since I have not done this in the longest day of the year, my guess is over 12 hours of charging.

How much does your portable array weigh? How big is it? Is portable enough to bring with you? Did you built it or buy it?

 

[Ampster]

Getting a decent charge rate is important.

Do you have an EV now? If so what kind?

 

[Mjuksten]

Do you have an EV now? If so what kind?

It should work with different EVs and be borrowed to friends and relatives that are going on road trips.

 

[Ohms42pA]

Neither, they are not feasible yet.
You'd need to many panels to haul, if you could haul them the additional weight would kill your range. I can't see the weight of additional batteries for a powerstation being feasible either.
If I were going to implement something I'd find a small inverter generator and low current EV charger, store some non ethanol fuel in an approved container. Could also get really creative and build an aluminum framed low profile trailer frame and sheet it with panels, charge in tow ?. Again likely not feasible.

 

[chrisski]

How much does your portable array weigh? How big is it? Is portable enough to bring with you? Did you built it or buy it?

Each 100 watt panel is 25 LBS. transporting 9 panels and the combiner takes up the backseat of a pickup. If I had 18 panels, it’d take up a good part of the bed.

 

[Ampster]

It should work with different EVs and be borrowed to friends and relatives that are going on road trips.

I will presume that you have no experience driving an EV, and this is just an imaginary project based on the typical range anxiety which most non EV owners have. When you do get an EV, the best advice I can give you is pay attention to the range and use navigation to always plan on having a reserve capacity in your battery when you plan journeys.

Again likely not feasible.

I have been driving EVs for ten years and agree this is not practical or feasible. The last time I carried a spare gallon of gas in my trunk was 1975 during the Arab oil embargo when lines at gas stations wrapped around the block and you could only fill up every other day.
It takes me less than a minute to plug in my EV at night and I never have range anxiety or concern about finding a charging station when traveling.