Solar Leaf idea.

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IssacZachary

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 13, 2017
Messages
881
Location
Gunnison, CO, USA
Here's an idea for making the Nissan Leaf (or other EV) a solar vehicle.

A 8' x 20' solar panel placed above the Leaf could produce up to 2kW off of electricity, provided the panel could be tilted into the Sun. Now if that array also had two more 8' x 20' panels that slid out to the sides, making one large 24' x 20' solar array, it could produce up to 6kW using average PV cells.

37109638115_f1d0b367ce_b.jpg


Difficulties:

It would have to be make as thin as possible, and have a curve that matches the airflow over the Leaf, without loosing structural integrity in high winds. It would also have to tilt, further adding mechanical stress to the whole thing.

Also the system would have to be integrated into the Leaf's electrical system somehow. One idea would be to make the top panel 400V and just hook it directly to the Leaf's main bus while driving. Then divide the voltages into 48V on all the panels and use an inverter to provide 240V power to the onboard charger when stopped. The system would have to be able to adjust the current of the charger to match the output of the solar array.
 
I stopped looking at the search results after the first few hits. These are for those proposing mounting the panels on the car for "charge as you go":

http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19912&p=426154
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=6316
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20383
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16771

(there are other, more useful threads about making a fixed solar installation for charging when the car is parked).
 
LeftieBiker said:
I think it would be easier to just add a fifth wheel to power a generator as the car moves.
Or skip the batteries altogether and just use one of those free energy magnet motors!
 
sandeen said:
LeftieBiker said:
I think it would be easier to just add a fifth wheel to power a generator as the car moves.
Or skip the batteries altogether and just use one of those free energy magnet motors!
I wasn't talking about charging and driving, or at least getting much energy while driving. On eBay there are 1kW PV kits for $250. Buy 6 for $1,500 and figure out a way to carry them around, set them up, charge your car with them and then you'd have a solar powered car, at least on sunny days.
 
jlv said:
I stopped looking at the search results after the first few hits. These are for those proposing mounting the panels on the car for "charge as you go":

http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19912&p=426154
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=6316
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20383
http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16771

(there are other, more useful threads about making a fixed solar installation for charging when the car is parked).
Thanks!
 
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