Quote:
Originally Posted by bennelson
I have several of those Kaneka panels.
It would be ideal to run a couple of those to a 48V electric vehicle. (I happen to own two - a motorcycle, and a Citicar, both are 48V)
By keeping everything at that same voltage, and not converting DC to AC to DC, it should actually be very efficient.
Still, check with your utility on if they have a renewable energy program. Usually you are charged a couple bucks more per month to get energy from renewable sources. Your extra cash goes to help build more windmills, bio-gas plants, solar, etc.
My electric bill is about $35 a month, INCLUDING, the green energy surcharge.
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Our local utility is horribly antiquated. Most of our electricity is purchased by the city from GRDA, Grand River Dam Authority, which sounds nice, except that most of the power is not from the dam but from a coal plant about a half hour from here. When GRDA charges too much, the city fires up their diesel generator. The kicker is that they have three generators from the 1950's that they keep on standby "just in case". In other words, they continually pump warmed coolant through them 24-7 so that they are ready on a moment's notice. Who knows how much energy they use for this. The foreman informed me that it has been many years since those generators were used. What a waste. But I digress. While GRDA has great programs, my city offers none.
It looks like the biggest hurdle to overcome is inverter loss. Maybe I should run my car 48v for kicks and see what happens?
