** Solar Charging Your EV Batteries? **

OK I answered my own question. Check out his site http://www.solarbike.org/tech/start/array.html
Pretty neat site
 
Cheaper and more efficient to carry more battery to extend range now that lithium is here.

With some freebie sliding glass door panels and about $100 in materials I cut my (electric heat) heating bill by about $50 a month by adding passive solar heating to the house. Combined with another $50 a month saved by insulating the attic, a single months savings can power my ebike for years. It's a much better use of your solar dollar.

Insulate the house first, caulk gaps, etc, replace windows if you can, cover em with insulation at night if you cant.

Then do solar heat, for water or spaces.

The low hanging fruit is the one to pick first, before you buy the expensive extra tall ladder for the rest. With the savings that passive solar gives me, I can consider the bike, the computer, the tv, to all be "solar powered" in a way. I consider the power I used to use heating the house to be new, "free power".
 
This might be good to use with the pushertrailer idea. Park it outside and let it charge.
 
Ive never seen systems before specifically packaged for charging e-bikes, here's how an electrical engineer thinks it "should" be done:

http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/Bike-folder/SolarChargingStation.html

EBikeChargingStation.gif
 
If you are like me an tow a trailer, then i see only a bonus from using flexible solar panels to extend your range. I know that an extra battery is best, but it is also another battery for landfill. If I extend the life of my batteries even .5x it is still slot greener than an extra battery. I not only ride my trike for fun, but since I found this forum, I realized that 100% of my commuting can be done. I print T'S and do alot of deliveries along a railtrail in Pittsburgh and will the right setup I can also accomplish this also. If I am going to do it alitlle, ie e-dirve trike, then why not explore the solar route. I have on average 12-15sf of surface area that could be covered with flexible panels. THe intial $'s should be recupable within a year or so. To me thats a HUGE advantage. So to everyone that thinks these ideas are solved by more batteries, I say" I would rather breather better tomorrow and try to make mt batteries last as long as possible."

KAZUALT
 
Here goes a kit I just found that is for golf carts. It claims to increase distance, in the sun, by 30%. But until the prices come down some its out of my range. Pretty cool deal though. http://cruisecarinc.com/product-solar-roof-kit.htm

Also heres a pannier setup. http://voltaicsystems.com/diy/custom-solar-bike-panniers/

KAZUALT
 
This site is wonderful. I'm usually talking to local friends about this stuff with my "mad scientist" hat on...

Charging the e-bike batteries from solar makes sense, but would recommend the system be setup and cost justified to run other electrical components in the house first. On sunny days, we're producing more voltage than the house bank can store. Running the inverter during peak sun times allows the house bank to regen while channeling the extra current into other storage mediums (laptop, e-bike, cell phones, PDA, RC heli, and AAA, AA cells). At night, the lighting, the laptop, and two TVs (a 19" and 40" LCD) run off the bank. Putting the bike on-line this past weekend, and charging it with the surplus voltage (even at $2.65 gas) reduces energy costs and system payback without calculating system losses. By that I mean..

These systems are efficient at the source. The panels are rated to specific watts/amps, and the good ones perform to those specifications for 20 years. Once that current is moved, stored, and inverted to AC however the losses are great. By channeling the extra power coming in, these transitional efficiency losses are avoided. System payback is accelerated and charging the e-bike from the sun more than justified.

Here's the panels we installed. http://www.altestore.com/store/Sola...135GX-LPU-G-Frame-135W-12V-Solar-Panel/p7655/ Set up for 24V into a MPPT controller. Power out into a Xantrex pure sine inverter - cleaner than from the utility.
 
diver said:
solar motion how many watts of panels are you using. total watts
thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Diver, just two panels - 270W. The controller takes in 24V and lays down 13-14V (15 amps available) across a bank wired for 12V. Not "off-grid" by any measure, but saving $30+ per month on the electric bill running things used the most. That was before the e-bike. Now starting to factor in fuel/wear savings from a vehicle parked. Payback timeline on initial capital is accelerating.
 
I'm about to by 3 200 watt panels and do the same thing you are. I bought a cheep harbor tool 45 watt deal on sale for 149. I have been playing around with that for charging trike but not enough power..lol
thanks
 
diver said:
I'm about to by 3 200 watt panels and do the same thing you are. I bought a cheep harbor tool 45 watt deal on sale for 149. I have been playing around with that for charging trike but not enough power..lol
thanks
Click to expand...

Very nice. Funny, actually got into it looking at that same HF system. Would be happy to discuss specifics and hear about your setup as things unfold.
 
aren't charge controllers really cheap on ebay? like $40? surely its worth $40 for the added efficiency?

what about this, is it MPPT enabled?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOLAR-PANEL-C...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item3ca6e35739

is there a cheaper alternative to MPPT for still getting high efficiency? if the input panel voltage is specified (12v) then just a voltage regulation would be enough to keep the panel working at optimal rate?
 
whats the efficiency of inverters like? can i get away with buying a $20 150w inverter, or will the efficiency be really bad. if you load them to the max then their efficiency is bound to suffer. maybe its best to buy double the power that you need- a 200W inverter for a 100w charger.
 
monster said:
aren't charge controllers really cheap on ebay? like $40? surely its worth $40 for the added efficiency?

what about this, is it MPPT enabled?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOLAR-PANEL-C...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item3ca6e35739

is there a cheaper alternative to MPPT for still getting high efficiency? if the input panel voltage is specified (12v) then just a voltage regulation would be enough to keep the panel working at optimal rate?
Click to expand...

Great question. Honestly, if the panel voltage output is close to the 13-14 range (depending on amps), then you don't need a charge controller. Just need to pay attention to the system and disconnect when necessary. That link did not have anything about MPPT. If your thinking about spending money, would suggest a 3 stage controller for long term battery life. I'm using this one http://www.altestore.com/store/Char...ngstar-Sunsaver-MPPT-Charge-Controller/p6185/ which was the best price/specs I could find on 3-stage MPPT at 15A. Does power-point tracking programming make a difference? It's a DC to DC inverter, looking at panel output and bank voltage to determine charge.
 
monster said:
whats the efficiency of inverters like? can i get away with buying a $20 150w inverter, or will the efficiency be really bad. if you load them to the max then their efficiency is bound to suffer. maybe its best to buy double the power that you need- a 200W inverter for a 100w charger.
Click to expand...

I'll jump in again. A good inverter will be 90% efficient. Check the specs on the one your considering. At that price, modified sine. Consider the output voltage range output (5% or less is good) and the no load draw (in amps) on the bank. Inverters are rated for max power (marketing) and operating or continuous power (important number). Make sure that operating number is what you need. Think about spending the money and get a pure sine inverter. Distortion will be low and AC will be stable and cleaner than the utility. DonRowe is a good place to start on inverter research. Here's the link.http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html Bought a 1500W xantrex from them last year and smoked it. Cost me shipping back and they sent a new one for free. Good stuff.
 
what do you think of this set up? no inverter losses and its cheaper.

solar charger diy.jpg
 
Not clear how that series/parallel switch is converting 12V DC to 120V AC in that diagram. Would be interested to learn more.

The cheapest way to charge batteries solar is matching panel output to battery input w/o storing or converting. Go right from the panel to the batteries using a DC-DC voltage controller like this one. http://www.all-battery.com/tenergyu...establizer--anyvoltagecontrolnew.aspx#reviews Just can't walk away during charging and w/o storage it does not help on non-sun days.

As soon as a bank is added, an inverter gives output flexibility worth the cost IMO.
 
it changes 12V DC to 120V DC by changing packs from parallel to series connection at the flip of a switch. no need to convert to AC as the chargers can all run off DC just as well.
 
I solar charge my 2 EV's at 48 volts

have not tried my new LIFEPO4

Purchased 4 new panels ...... using a BZ products MPPT controller for SLA

Any solar controllers for LIFEPO4 ?

3406616272_92ede9894c_b.jpg
 
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