Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
You need at least 220w worth of panel for every 1kwh you hope to collect per day.
The flexible 100 watt panels I have measure about 30x40 inches. Multiply that by at least 120 to get 5kw.
I would bet on a generator and fuel as opposed to solar panels and sun for this application.
You might just want to get a generator trailer.
All off grid solar people have a backup generator. Or at some point they kill their batteries and/or go without any power.
Cheap made in China department store panels use OCV times short circuit amps to figure their over rating.
Reputable manufacturers use working volts times working amps.
So they are not over rated nearly as badly.
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Good manufactures use standard test conditions when rating pv(irradiance of 1,000 W/m², solar spectrum of AM 1.5 and module temperature at 25 °C)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zackary
17 feet? What do you mean? I estimate on an 8ft wide trailer that every 10ft is about 1kW. So if it's 20ft it would be 2kW. Then let's say it was three 8' x 20' panels stacked on top of each other that I could slide out and turn into a 6kW array. Of course on a cloudy day that could be as little as 10%, or 600W. Also, could you imagine towing an 8' x 20' trailer with a Leaf! 
Or I could make 24 4' x 5' individual solar panels. If they're 1" or less thick that could fit in the Leaf. |
I did some napkin math for you using
Alta cells which claim to be able to churn out 260Wp/m2.
A quick Google session learns that the roof dimensions of a Leaf are 1.65m2, lets include the hood and and you should be able to put 2 square meters on the leaf alone, getting about 500W while driving in the sun.
To fill the remaining 6kW and be able to charge while driving you'll need a theoretical trailer that has a surface area of 23m2.
If you only want to charge while parked you could use a folding system and fold it twice and then the dimensions becomes 5,75m2 which is regular trailer size.
You're still counting on the available daylight to charge and the setup above wouldn't be cheap and of course towing a trailer eats the range.
So unless you want to do an adventure like crossing coast to coast on only self generated solar I'd put the pv on the roof of your house for now.
Well maybe cover the roof of your Leaf, it may not be the most cost-effective solution but it does add a lot of coolness to your car
