|
I have that exact solar setup. If you wait for it to go on sale, you can get it for less than $200.
I bought that solar kit mostly with the idea of using it for test experiments. It works great for what it is.
The big deal with solar is that you need to think about how much total energy you need.
That setup is 3 x 15 watt, 12V solar panels. So, you could rig that up as 45 watts to go to one 12V battery OR as 15 watts to each of three batteries for a 36V system.
When I plug in the 72V charger on my car, it usually pulls somewhere around 1200 to 1500 watts. Those little solar panels are NOT going to put out anywhere near that.
The other thing to keep in mind is time.
While I don't recharge my car with those three little solar panels, I COULD recharge my electric riding lawn mower. The trick there is that I let all the panels recharge one battery ALL DAY. The next morning, I would connect the panels to the second battery, and then the third one the day after that.
The mower has smaller batteries than the car, and has nothing better to do than sit on the lawn soaking up the sun anyways.
Also, where is your car when the sun is shining? If you drive to work in the morning, and the car is there all day, the sun shining on solar panels at home won't help you.
I am a big fan of running EVs from solar. However the easiest way might be just to join a renewable energy program through your utility. Otherwise, solar panels on your garage, running to you car would be another good choice.
You could also put one or more of those solar panels on your car to recharge the car's original 12V accessory battery. It would keep that topped off, and reduce recharging from the wall or from a DC/DC converter. If you do that, be prepared to answer everyone's question about how far you can drive on those three little solar panels......
-Ben
Electro-Metro
|