Lion Bus?

[jkrienert]

Someone else discovered auctions for a few lithium buses in CA, then posted the ref at DIYElectricCar. I added a comment about solar panel charge capacity. To extend that muse, I wondered what wisdom the ES folks have. If you covered the ~30m2 roof with 200w /m2 panels, could this self charge in ideal conditions over less a week?

I am to far to bid on these, but maybe someone in CA hasn't seen this yet, and could 'pounce' on this (supposed) lion of an opportunity.

Peace-

 

[amberwolf]

If you covered the ~30m2 roof with 200w /m2 panels, could this self charge in ideal conditions over less a week?

30 x 200 = 6000W x however many hours of panel-sun exposure you have,. and any shading from objects or clouding you get. Realistically you won't actually get that much; you could get half to three quarters of it depending on conditions, most likely.

If the panels are fixed flat on the top and can't be angled, then that's limited; as the sun is angled more and more there's less power generated, only at midday do you get the "full" power for that particular setup.

If the panels can track the sun you'll get more power out of it for longer.

If they can also be angled to match your lattitude vs time of year, to keep the sun perpendicular to the panels, that would also help.

But all of those complicate things for a vehicle, probably by too much for the last one.


How large is the battery pack? That capacity, vs the efficiency of the MPPT between it and the panels, x the actual power you get out of the panels, x the number of total hours of power you get, tells you how long it takes to charge it. (xxxxWh battery x yy% efficiency MPPT x zzzzW panel output x hours of power available)