Solar panel and battery kit for plug in hybrid
Discussion
You would need a big array of panels to charge up a hybrid.
I have a Renault Twizy which takes 2.5 hrs or less on a 2 pin plug to give 50 miles of range, it took 6 panels and a battery to charge a Twizy from solar.
My friend has over 3kw of panels on his roof and a Tesla battery, he can only add about 60 miles to his BMW ev on a summers day.
I have a Renault Twizy which takes 2.5 hrs or less on a 2 pin plug to give 50 miles of range, it took 6 panels and a battery to charge a Twizy from solar.
My friend has over 3kw of panels on his roof and a Tesla battery, he can only add about 60 miles to his BMW ev on a summers day.
James6112 said:
A decent Phev, range 40 miles, will take 4-5 hours to charge, via a 3 pin plug.
I’d just get a tariff that does 7pKwh overnight.
If you can, load shift washer/drier/dishwasher to run during that period.
Will save a fair bit.
Quite.I’d just get a tariff that does 7pKwh overnight.
If you can, load shift washer/drier/dishwasher to run during that period.
Will save a fair bit.
You would need about 2-2.5kw of power to charge a PHEV. Most panels are probably producing around 200-300watts in full sun….that’s 10 panels without any losses.
There was a chap on the Twizy owners pages of FB thinking he could put a panel on his Twizy roof and keep it charged up….it wouldn’t even make enough power to register as the battery is 60v
My BEV averages 3.6 miles per KWh. It charges at a little under 3KWh from its granny changer. So that's about 10 miles/hour.
My 21 panel PV array CAN produce up to 8KW peak in the summer, and when that happens, it can charge both the car and the 9KWh battery array I have in the loft, which itself can then charge the car if the PV output drops below 3KW.
Once the loft batteries are empty and the PVs drop below 3KW, the car starts pulling from the grid to keep the car charging at 3KWh.
At this time of year, especially with the grey skies we've had of late, the PVs aren't doing nearly as well as they were throughout the summer, and I've got 21 of them remember.
It's about "rate of charge". If you use a 7KWh charger, you will be pulling from the grid far more frequently and for higher amounts than from a granny charger for any size of solar array. I don't need a quick charge, so a granny charger works for me and ensure I am charging from sunshine as much as I can, rather than from the grid.
My 21 panel PV array CAN produce up to 8KW peak in the summer, and when that happens, it can charge both the car and the 9KWh battery array I have in the loft, which itself can then charge the car if the PV output drops below 3KW.
Once the loft batteries are empty and the PVs drop below 3KW, the car starts pulling from the grid to keep the car charging at 3KWh.
At this time of year, especially with the grey skies we've had of late, the PVs aren't doing nearly as well as they were throughout the summer, and I've got 21 of them remember.
It's about "rate of charge". If you use a 7KWh charger, you will be pulling from the grid far more frequently and for higher amounts than from a granny charger for any size of solar array. I don't need a quick charge, so a granny charger works for me and ensure I am charging from sunshine as much as I can, rather than from the grid.
Mars said:
My BEV averages 3.6 miles per KWh. It charges at a little under 3KWh from its granny changer. So that's about 10 miles/hour.
My 21 panel PV array CAN produce up to 8KW peak in the summer, and when that happens, it can charge both the car and the 9KWh battery array I have in the loft, which itself can then charge the car if the PV output drops below 3KW.
Once the loft batteries are empty and the PVs drop below 3KW, the car starts pulling from the grid to keep the car charging at 3KWh.
At this time of year, especially with the grey skies we've had of late, the PVs aren't doing nearly as well as they were throughout the summer, and I've got 21 of them remember.
It's about "rate of charge". If you use a 7KWh charger, you will be pulling from the grid far more frequently and for higher amounts than from a granny charger for any size of solar array. I don't need a quick charge, so a granny charger works for me and ensure I am charging from sunshine as much as I can, rather than from the grid.
Interesting and useful.My 21 panel PV array CAN produce up to 8KW peak in the summer, and when that happens, it can charge both the car and the 9KWh battery array I have in the loft, which itself can then charge the car if the PV output drops below 3KW.
Once the loft batteries are empty and the PVs drop below 3KW, the car starts pulling from the grid to keep the car charging at 3KWh.
At this time of year, especially with the grey skies we've had of late, the PVs aren't doing nearly as well as they were throughout the summer, and I've got 21 of them remember.
It's about "rate of charge". If you use a 7KWh charger, you will be pulling from the grid far more frequently and for higher amounts than from a granny charger for any size of solar array. I don't need a quick charge, so a granny charger works for me and ensure I am charging from sunshine as much as I can, rather than from the grid.
That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
Caddyshack said:
Interesting and useful.
That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
Well, yes. My point was that a small panel will not afford you the "local mileage" indicated in the OP for two reasons:That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
1. If your PVs are generating less than your charger is designed for, you'll be pulling from the grid.
2. If you're not connected to the mains at all, and only relying on your PV, and your PV is a "small panel" (I have 21x415W panels and I only generate a max of 7-8KW peak in the middle of the summer), then you'll be on-charge for a very very long time.
I have 3.9kWp panels and a zappi. If I set the Zappi to use solar only, then it will only charge when the there is sufficient power coming from solar and stop charging when than falls below 1.4kW.
So the Zappi will cut off the charge if the rate falls below 6A. This is a standard for EVSE, i.e it's not a Zappi thing.
I do not know if a PHEV will have a minimum charge rate in itself so that a granny charger would work below 1.4kW.
So the Zappi will cut off the charge if the rate falls below 6A. This is a standard for EVSE, i.e it's not a Zappi thing.
I do not know if a PHEV will have a minimum charge rate in itself so that a granny charger would work below 1.4kW.
Mars said:
Caddyshack said:
Interesting and useful.
That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
Well, yes. My point was that a small panel will not afford you the "local mileage" indicated in the OP for two reasons:That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
1. If your PVs are generating less than your charger is designed for, you'll be pulling from the grid.
2. If you're not connected to the mains at all, and only relying on your PV, and your PV is a "small panel" (I have 21x415W panels and I only generate a max of 7-8KW peak in the middle of the summer), then you'll be on-charge for a very very long time.
I think many people had a solar powered calculator with the tiny panel and assume a 2x4ft panel will charge up a small EV.
Ben Lowden said:
Thanks for all of the insight here, very helpful. I knew I could rely on PH to have the answers, even if they weren't what I was expecting 
So it certainly seems like just getting the cheapest overnight tariff is the best solution here.
Possibly! So it certainly seems like just getting the cheapest overnight tariff is the best solution here.It depends really, if you can shift some more usage into the cheap period. As the day rate is usually marginally higher on these tariffs.
Standard rate may work out better..
I have a full EV & wife has a Phev, so a no brainier for us.
Caddyshack said:
Mars said:
Caddyshack said:
Interesting and useful.
That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
Well, yes. My point was that a small panel will not afford you the "local mileage" indicated in the OP for two reasons:That is a million miles apart from what the OP suggested with a small panel and battery.
1. If your PVs are generating less than your charger is designed for, you'll be pulling from the grid.
2. If you're not connected to the mains at all, and only relying on your PV, and your PV is a "small panel" (I have 21x415W panels and I only generate a max of 7-8KW peak in the middle of the summer), then you'll be on-charge for a very very long time.
I think many people had a solar powered calculator with the tiny panel and assume a 2x4ft panel will charge up a small EV.
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