Who charges with solar?

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FairyFloss
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Who charges with solar?

Post by FairyFloss »

Hi Everyone,

We are thinking of buying a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and are also looking at getting solar panels.

Does anyone charge using solar? Could you tell me what size panels you have and any tips for doing this?

I guess we would try and charge the car (about 5 hours) in the daytime when the solar is active, this may be 3 times a week, the other 4 would be at night. I'd expect to charge the car daily.

Our current average daily usage is about 13-18kWh. I think the PHEV is about 12kWh.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers,
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mikedufty
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Post by mikedufty »

We try to charge the i-MiEV from solar when possible. I think it charges at about 3kW. At this time of year our 5kW system facing NE makes more than that from about 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. http://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id=328 ... 3&gs=0&m=0

So basically we try to plug it in, in the mornings if it is at home and the sun is out. I think we'd rarely drive more than about 30km a day, so it doesn't usually need a full charge. I think 5kW is the most you can have grid connected in most areas, so would recommend getting that if you want spare to charge cars.
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Richo
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Post by Richo »

In Perth the biggest Grid connect typically is 5kW so that will be your limit unless you go off grid.
It would only just do it in summer but not in winter.
Sydney may have different solar PV limits.

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Gabz
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Post by Gabz »

Sydney (ausgrid) is 5kW per phase limit so if you have 3 phase you can go higher.

we have 3.27kW of sunpower.
http://www.pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id=20008&sid=18568

and using the mobile cable on a 2012 we charge at ~2400W so if we are home and not using much else we can get most of the power into the car. but car rarely is home during the day too much stuff to do.
Last edited by Gabz on Tue, 17 Mar 2015, 10:29, edited 1 time in total.
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reecho
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Post by reecho »

Perth's limit is actually inverter size. In other states it is rated panel output mostly.

You can overdrive most inverters with extra panels. I did this with my system but can go further...



PV Output
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Post by rhills »

reecho wrote: Perth's limit is actually inverter size. In other states it is rated panel output mostly.

You can overdrive most inverters with extra panels. I did this with my system but can go further...
PV Output

That's right. We have a 5KW inverter but 5.7KW of panels.

Even so, with a system that's now 4+ years old (and panels that face NE rather than N) we only rarely seem to reach the 5KW max these days (compare recent "peaks" here with the frequency in 2012).

I must get some more panels up on the roof, then maybe I could get power production like this guy! I guess that's called "PVOutput Envy" Image
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antiscab
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Post by antiscab »

If you get a 5kw inverter, it would be worthwhile putting in 3kw north, 2kw east, 2kw west.

that will keep the inverter maxed out all day, assuming you have the roof space
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Gabz
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Post by Gabz »

antiscab wrote: If you get a 5kw inverter, it would be worthwhile putting in 3kw north, 2kw east, 2kw west.

that will keep the inverter maxed out all day, assuming you have the roof space


most inverters only have at most 2 MPPT and you have at least 3 panel string inputs with 3 panel directions... so it's unlikely to stay maxed out, in reality. so for that idea to work you need to find a 5kW inverter with 3 MPPT.
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Post by coulomb »

You could split the north array into two; pair one half with the east panels, and half with the west.

Of course, you need an inverter that can handle that many panels in series, or figure out a series/parallel arrangement.
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antiscab
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Post by antiscab »

Gabz wrote:
antiscab wrote: If you get a 5kw inverter, it would be worthwhile putting in 3kw north, 2kw east, 2kw west.

that will keep the inverter maxed out all day, assuming you have the roof space


most inverters only have at most 2 MPPT and you have at least 3 panel string inputs with 3 panel directions... so it's unlikely to stay maxed out, in reality. so for that idea to work you need to find a 5kW inverter with 3 MPPT.


you put the north facing panels on one MPPT and the east and west panels in parrallel on the other

The East and West panels won't have significant sun at the same time, unless the sun is over head
The MPPT will naturally bias towards the panels with the greater sunlight

have a look at the PV Output site - all the systems that put out more than 40kwh/day are in this configuration
Last edited by antiscab on Wed, 18 Mar 2015, 05:51, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by MrD »

Hi All...many EV owners also have solar (as you can see from the posts above). You can access my article on "Solar and EV's" on Giles "RenewEconomy" website.Once the GROSS FiT's end in 2016 in NSW and Vic. many Solar owners will invest in an EV to 'soak up' their day-time generation. Some may re-orient their panels west, to extend generation into the afternoon when they are more likely to 'self consume' their solar generation - including plugging in their EV. I currently have 1.8kW of panels NE and 1.5kW NW which is plenty to charge the i-MiEV.
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Johny
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Post by Johny »

MrD wrote:... Once the GROSS FiT's end in 2016 in NSW and Vic. many Solar owners will invest...
Victoria's high FiT (mine is $0.66/kwh) doesn't end until 2024.
Last edited by Johny on Wed, 18 Mar 2015, 07:06, edited 1 time in total.
MrD
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Post by MrD »

Hi Johny - yes there are three FiT's in Victoria, two of which end on 31 Dec 2016......
Premium FiT (2009-2011)60c NET ends in 2024 -88,000 customers
Transitional FiT (2011-2012)Replaced above 25c NET-Ends 31 Dec 2016
Standard FiT (2011-2012)Replaced above-One for One tariff -Ends 31 Dec 2016
The other States also have "multiple" legacy FiT's.....with varying end dates...
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Post by reecho »

If you have to split up arrays on multiple facings it may be viable to consider micro inverters. They should also be considered if shading is an issue...
FairyFloss
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Who charges with solar?

Post by FairyFloss »

We bought the Outlander PHEV Aspire in Arctic Silver. I saved $10,000 off the the list price which make me feel better.
Now it's time to get quote for solar.
Thanks for all the advice, my hubby was supposed to do the research on solar but I have a feeling I'll be taking this over now the I've done the research and deal on the car.
I'm sure I'll have more questions to come as I get further into the research.
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carnut1100
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Post by carnut1100 »

I put 5kw of solar up around 18 months ago for about $11k.
I have a legacy feed in for five years at 1:1 so it doesn't matter if I charge at night.
So, I can run off solar.
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