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EcoCivic · 05-09-2023, 07:19 PM

Hello fellow hypermilers, I have decided to do an experiment with my K24A2 swapped 04 Civic to see how well I can charge my Odyssey AGM battery just using a practical solar panel setup without any help from the alternator or an external charger. I also plan to experiment with using the solar to assist the alternator instead of disabling it entirely.

I have calculated that I can theoretically get around 330 watts of power from the roof and around another 80 watts from the trunk deck under ideal conditions with currently available solar panel technology, but since I'm limited to commercially available sizes and shapes and the roof panel would have to be flexible to not significantly affect aerodynamics, about the most power I can practically get would be around 50 watts from the trunk and 200 watts from the roof. Not bad!

For now, I have ordered a 50 watt Newpowa solar panel to put on the trunk, which I'm going to connect to a very nice Victron 20 amp fully adjustable MPPT charge controller I got from a friend. Although very overkill and maybe not ideal for a single 50 watt panel with a short circuit current of under 3 amps, if I decide to add a 200 watt panel to the roof in the future, I won't have to worry about my charge controller being capable enough.

As for weight and aerodynamics, I don't think the effects would be significant if set up properly. The 50 watt rigid panel I'm putting on the trunk apparently weighs around 6 pounds and I don't think the effect on the aerodynamics will be significant at all with the panel only being about an inch tall and mounted flush. A flexible panel flat on the roof shouldn't affect aerodynamics significantly either and although I haven't been able to find any exact weights, a 200 watt flexible panel seems to weigh under 10 pounds. So factoring in 1-2 pounds for a charge controller, wiring, and mounting hardware, an entire 250 watt setup would still weigh under 20 pounds.

Anyways, I'll post an update as soon as the 50 watt panel arrives and I have time to get something set up. In the meantime, thoughts and suggestions are welcome as always!

05-09-2023, 07:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
EcoCivic Master EcoModder Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Memphis, Tn Posts: 463 Thanks: 320 Thanked 107 Times in 81 Posts	Solar panel battery charging experiment Hello fellow hypermilers, I have decided to do an experiment with my K24A2 swapped 04 Civic to see how well I can charge my Odyssey AGM battery just using a practical solar panel setup without any help from the alternator or an external charger. I also plan to experiment with using the solar to assist the alternator instead of disabling it entirely. I have calculated that I can theoretically get around 330 watts of power from the roof and around another 80 watts from the trunk deck under ideal conditions with currently available solar panel technology, but since I'm limited to commercially available sizes and shapes and the roof panel would have to be flexible to not significantly affect aerodynamics, about the most power I can practically get would be around 50 watts from the trunk and 200 watts from the roof. Not bad! For now, I have ordered a 50 watt Newpowa solar panel to put on the trunk, which I'm going to connect to a very nice Victron 20 amp fully adjustable MPPT charge controller I got from a friend. Although very overkill and maybe not ideal for a single 50 watt panel with a short circuit current of under 3 amps, if I decide to add a 200 watt panel to the roof in the future, I won't have to worry about my charge controller being capable enough. As for weight and aerodynamics, I don't think the effects would be significant if set up properly. The 50 watt rigid panel I'm putting on the trunk apparently weighs around 6 pounds and I don't think the effect on the aerodynamics will be significant at all with the panel only being about an inch tall and mounted flush. A flexible panel flat on the roof shouldn't affect aerodynamics significantly either and although I haven't been able to find any exact weights, a 200 watt flexible panel seems to weigh under 10 pounds. So factoring in 1-2 pounds for a charge controller, wiring, and mounting hardware, an entire 250 watt setup would still weigh under 20 pounds. Anyways, I'll post an update as soon as the 50 watt panel arrives and I have time to get something set up. In the meantime, thoughts and suggestions are welcome as always!