Solar charging a plugin hybrid car
I have read most of the solar and li battery threads but have never seen how they would ever be cost effective in the way I camp. Having said that I was wondering if solar panels on top of a MH be eff...
Forum Discussion
If you have a 1000w (nominal rating) of solar panels, it should generate around 4kwh/day.
If the above 0.25kwh per mile is correct, your solar system will provide around 16miles of range per day if there are no losses. Add in losses and you might be looking at 12-14miles per day.
If you have a smaller or larger solar array, it scales up or down accordingly.
Keep in mind unless they offer a DC to DC charger, you are going to need a charge controller to take the solar output and put it in a large battery bank, then an inverter to convert it to AC, so you can plug the car into an outlet...that's a lot of conversions each with losses.
Of course, this assumes, you don't use any of the 4kwh for house loads in the RV. If you have a residential fridge, watch a few hours of TV and light usage, you could easily eat up 25-40% before anything goes to the car.
If the above 0.25kwh per mile is correct, your solar system will provide around 16miles of range per day if there are no losses. Add in losses and you might be looking at 12-14miles per day.
If you have a smaller or larger solar array, it scales up or down accordingly.
Keep in mind unless they offer a DC to DC charger, you are going to need a charge controller to take the solar output and put it in a large battery bank, then an inverter to convert it to AC, so you can plug the car into an outlet...that's a lot of conversions each with losses.
Of course, this assumes, you don't use any of the 4kwh for house loads in the RV. If you have a residential fridge, watch a few hours of TV and light usage, you could easily eat up 25-40% before anything goes to the car.
