Solar cell/panel advice?

[Cobb]

Ok, long story short my 4 kilowatt phev kit is a few miles from getting me around and shuts down before I can plug back in. I also like having a conversation piece and do not use my rear window or mirror. My idea was to mount solar cells/panels that are weather safe to the rear of the car and connect them for 48 volts the phev kit runs from.

Ive spoken to a member here and he talks highly of the cis cells on ebay that are 2.5x2.5 inches, but require a cover to protect them from the elements. That means I need to make a cover for each one, attach it, then mount it to the car, or mount it to a panel and behind the rear glass once I remove the tint I put there.

The other idea is to buy some panels that are weather resistance and configured for 6 or 12 volts, then hook those in groups of 4 and use an adhesive to stick them to the rear.

Ive basically been shopping for them by ebay and looking at watts, size, weather protected and voltage.

Thanks for taking a read and any other advice.

Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

[Purplegate]

Cobb, I'm just wondering (...and this is probably a non-added value reply... ) What do you want to power with these solar cell on your Insight ? When you look at the space you can possibly have, and calculate the power you will get from the cell, it is to wonder if the effort worth the gain.

I take for example the whole roof of the Prius V which only power a fan... or looking at the panels you can buy and put on your dashboard, which will barely top your 12V battery in a very sunny afternoon...

Not to discourage you (...and maybe I'm wrong...) but if it's to add energy into your Engineer pack, your car will probably need to be parked in the sun a darn long time to get something visible isn't it...

[Eli]

He wants to help recharge his PHEV kit, yeah.

Your point is valid though, even in full sun you're not going to get a significant amount of energy from the real estate on the car. Maybe an amp @ 48V if you're lucky. Maybe.

That said, something is better than nothing. Many times projects of this nature are more fun than practical, so I say have at it.

There's no need to design an enclosure for each individual cell though. That will just complicate wiring them together.

[Cobb]

I was looking at 25 watts, so you say 48 watts? I thought solar and lithium batteries worked better vs solar and lead acid? Reason I ask I got a little cell phone charger that is solar powered. It also has a built in battery and of course options to charge it if the light isnt available. It works indoors surprisingly.

I guess at this point I can just play with a small scale model, then scale up if it works well? Guess I can see why solar is still not mainstream. It seems all the solar cells/panels are built on some specs that do not fit anything.

Either Its too big, too small, not weather resistance, too heavy or just too expensive.

Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

[russellc]

Originally Posted by Cobb

I was looking at 25 watts, so you say 48 watts? I thought solar and lithium batteries worked better vs solar and lead acid? Reason I ask I got a little cell phone charger that is solar powered. It also has a built in battery and of course options to charge it if the light isnt available. It works indoors surprisingly.

I guess at this point I can just play with a small scale model, then scale up if it works well? Guess I can see why solar is still not mainstream. It seems all the solar cells/panels are built on some specs that do not fit anything.

Either Its too big, too small, not weather resistance, too heavy or just too expensive.

Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

Could tell me the company that makes this solar cell phone charger and the model? I'm interested in purchasing one for myself. Where did you buy it from?

Thanks


Sent from my Autoguide iPad app

[Eli]

There are dozens of different models on eBay.

[russellc]

I will do a search on eBay.

Thanks

Sent from my Autoguide iPad app

[Cobb]

Sorry for the delay, item number 270504291310. I got it in 2 weeks. Seems next to using a capacitor, lifepo4 is the next best battery to take advantage of solar energy.

I am going to work up the ebay item numbers and my "plans" over the next few days. As you can imagine working from a 3 inch screen is very difficult.


Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

[russellc]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Sorry for the delay, item number 270504291310. I got it in 2 weeks. Seems next to using a capacitor, lifepo4 is the next best battery to take advantage of solar energy.

I am going to work up the ebay item numbers and my "plans" over the next few days. As you can imagine working from a 3 inch screen is very difficult.


Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app

Thanks... Do I need to purchase a separate battery for this solar cell phone charger?

Sent from my Autoguide iPad app

[Cobb]

It comes with everything but an adapter to plug directly into an ipod or iphone. It has a wall charger, several universal phone connectors and a usb connector. It has solar cells on one side and a led to let you know its charging by solar. THe wall plug has 2 indicators. One for power and one for charging. I


Sent from my Autoguide iPod touch app