During day garage' solar cells charge batteries that will charge EV batts at night?

[Big time]

Has this been done before?

An array where garage roof mounted solar cells charge deep cycle batteries (maybe Nickel Iron as they are long lasting). Then at night these batteries charge the EV batteries for truly fossil free driving.

Would these work for "golf cart" sized EVs?
Would some additional solar panels on such lightweight EVs roof and bodywork be worth the added expense?

I'm thinking this for a taxi service in a touristic area in a developing county.
They are intended to replace auto rickshaws.
Auto rickshaw - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Big time

Has this been done before?

An array where garage roof mounted solar cells charge deep cycle batteries (maybe Nickel Iron as they are long lasting). Then at night these batteries charge the EV batteries for truly fossil free driving.

Would these work for "golf cart" sized EVs?
Would some additional solar panels on such lightweight EVs roof and bodywork be worth the added expense?

Yes, but you need to oversize your array by a factor of 3!

For every 3 watts in you would get 1 watt into your EV!

You would definitely need an efficient battery chemistry to do this efficiently.

[Cobb]

If you are going this route it maybe more economic to go a grid tie system with the power service if it offer net metering or discount for off peak usage.

This way during the day you give power to the grid at 10 cents a kilowatt during peak hours. Then at night you use power at 3 cents a kilo to recharge your car.

Its like you are using your power company as a battery to store your energy.

[NeilBlanchard]

If you put as much or more electricity into the grid than you use, then you are driving fossil fuel free. Electric companies need to meet the peak load during the day, and they lower the price at night because it is hard to ramp down their base load plants, so charging at night helps them, too.

[euromodder]

Every energy conversion is a loss, so try to keep these to a minimum.

Could you charge extra vehicle batteries directly , then swap these into the vehicles when the batteries are fully charged ?
(Won't work with built in OEM batteries)

[botsapper]

BMW i3 and i8 EVs will benefit with a collaboration with SOLARWATT GmbH photovoltaic manufacturer by supplying a user-friendly solar-powered carport and garage systems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTlpNHpYxrM

Independence: an added benefit for your carport! - SOLARWATT - Solar Modules and Photovoltaic Systems made in Germany