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Old 01-03-2010, 02:18 AM   #3 (permalink)
gascort
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Saint Louis, MO
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Gascort RIP - '93 Ford Escort Wagon
90 day: 43.01 mpg (US)

WifesCruze - '11 Chevrolet Cruze LT
90 day: 31.1 mpg (US)
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yeah, the whole roof in panels puts out enough on a sunny day to allow me to drive for about 45 minutes. (summer)
Winter and I probably get enough to run for 20 minutes.
Those little guys probably have current ratings or wattage ratings so you could figure out how much power they have.
Power = voltage * current
(Watts = volts * amps)
If you have 2 watts of solar panel and you have it in direct sun for 3 hours, you have 6 watt - hours
Your car probably requires about 200 watts minimum to run (source)
6 watt hours divided by 200 watts = 0.03 hours that you could run your car on stored solar energy.
You might not even see gains from disconnecting your alternator. I saw negative MPG changes. Now I have a really expensive battery maintainer on my roof, lol. (unless I figure out how to get it to like running at 12V)
Matt
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