Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobb
Red, you hadnt tried driving with the panel plugged in vs not?
The insight uses a dc to dc converter that maintains the 12 volt system and more loads causes less mpg, less assist and more regen to take place.
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I have not hooked it up at all. I have a dedicated lead-acid charger for that.
It could charge the old battery all night at 0.8 Amps, twice the panel's output.
A mppt solar charger could help but it really is more expensive than the panel was.
The other reason is that I have not found out yet whether the panel has a diode to prevent it from draining the battery at night. And I'm not sure where to fit it.
Maybe I'll take it apart and rearrange the cells in a long strip at the base of the windscreen.
I could get a small 12V (~ 13.4 V) LiFePO4 battery and charge that with the panel, hook it up with a diode to the battery.
I see the voltage switch between around 13.85 Volt and 12.65 Volt, depending on what the DC converter is doing. In the latter case the extra pack would aid the 12V battery.
It would help, marginally. We're talking a few Watts here while the power consumed is around 10 kW average. You'd need kiloWatts to get a noticeable difference.
If the LiFePO4 pack nears empty its voltage will sag, but it cannot sink below the 12V battery so it won't ruin itself.
I wil put cell overcharge protection in just in case.
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2011 Honda Insight + HID, LEDs, tiny PV panel, extra brake pad return springs, neutral wheel alignment, 44/42 PSI (air), PHEV light (inop), tightened wheel nut.
lifetime FE over 0.2 Gmeter or 0.13 Mmile.
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