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theleafer

Active member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
31
I am moving my thread which covered my general mods and accessories http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=15999 and creating a specific thread just for my senior design and research solar project. The goal of this project is to create a completely off grid system that will give the LEAF a little bit more power when it is not being used. To accomplish this I will have a 250 watt panel on the roof along with a battery and inverter hooked up to the OEM EVSE. before I hear about how this will not work and all the inefficiencies of the project I would like to state this. I realize that inefficiencies and problems with this, I am simply testing for proof of concept and to see what kind of range I can put back into the pack while not being used. With that being said, I welcome any input and potential ways to make this better and more efficient. The goal is to put in somewhere around 10 miles during a work day or school day in my case. Thank you for viewing, enjoy!
 
Here is my 250 Watt solar panel. I got it $250 from someone off of craigslist, and so far it has been working wonderfully.
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Here is the panel on my roof rack system for sizing purposes. It is a little larger on the roof than I thought and I am trying to find a way to get it closer to the top of the car in order to minimize drag and stress on the panel structure due to wind.

photo+1.JPG
 
I would move the panel back so the front edge is just an inch or two in front of the bar.
Thule I think has a front air dam to scoop the air over the bar if that helps.

What inverter/controller are you using?
How do you limit charging to 200w?
 
Interesting project. Keep us posted on your test results.

Here is one that I did a few years back, before you could buy a LEAF.

2058d.jpg

More details here.
http://evalbum.com/2058" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
I was running into an issue with my inverter not passing the EVSE's ground test. I kept getting the flashing green, ready light. After some searching I did find a novel solution that worked with generators. This involved bonding the positive and negative terminals of a three prong plug to the ground. I used a module from Harbor Freight
image_13843.jpg
and 1/2watt 1k Ohm resistors from Radio Shack to do my bonding. The resistors are not needed but they do provide a safety in case there is a ground fault. This set up gets plugged into one outlet and the EVSE into another. Despite my skepticism it actually worked. Upon plugging it into the car I got the beeps and it started charging!
0
 
smkettner said:
I would move the panel back so the front edge is just an inch or two in front of the bar.
Thule I think has a front air dam to scoop the air over the bar if that helps.

What inverter/controller are you using?
How do you limit charging to 200w?

I am running into the issue of the panel hitting the antenna. Any ideas? I am using a cobra 2500 watt continuous inverter along with a 15a MPPT charger and 35ah interstate battery. Please elaborate on what you mentioned about the 200 watt charging.
 
I figured you were getting about 200w out of the panel. Even if the evse was turned down to 6 amps you will be at a huge deficit.
That little battery will provide a buffer but with 200w in vs 720 watts out it will not go very long before the inverter drops out for low voltage.

I honestly think you need four panels, 60 to 80 amp controller and 200 amp/hrs of battery to make this float out.
Even this is marginal.

Some where I read the LEAF charging overheard is close to 300 watts so you may need to focus on charging a larger 12v battery and letting the inverter cycle between voltage cut-off and restart.
 
Took my Leaf downtown yesterday with just he battery in the back and no solar panel.
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The inverter kept cutting out due to an overload protection error code. This doesn't seem right as the charger shouldn't be drawing more than 2500 watts which is what the inverter is rated to. My guess is that it has something to do with the resistor switch to trick the ground. I got lots of interested looks and someone even asked me what was going on.
 
The oem LEAF will pull 150 amps out of that battery. Not going to happen for more than a few seconds. Voltage will drop below 10.5 volts and the inverter will drop out.

EVSE Upgrade could get you down to about 720 watts or 80 amps out of the battery. Still not going to last long.
 
A little 35AH battery isn't going to be able to provide anywhere near the current required. The suggestion above that you go to a 200AH battery is right on, although 100AH might also work, while at the same time damaging the battery in use.
 
smkettner said:
The oem LEAF will pull 150 amps out of that battery. Not going to happen for more than a few seconds. Voltage will drop below 10.5 volts and the inverter will drop out.

EVSE Upgrade could get you down to about 720 watts or 80 amps out of the battery. Still not going to last long.

My understanding is that the evse will Input and output 120v @ 12amps. This should put it around 1440kWh max draw. The battery is to act as a capacitor say to say inorder to provide a buffer between the panel and charger. I have been able to get a continuous charge for about a minuete on a fairly low SLA battery. Today I will park it in the sun and see how if I can fill up my deep cycle. I have ordered a kill-a-watt to watch energy flow.
 
Now look at that battery again. 12 volts and 35ah = 420 watts.

Now add in your panel at 250 watts max and get 670.

Still not anywhere near 1440.
 
To get 12a 120v (1440w) out of the inverter the input will need to be 120a 12v (1440w). Yes 120 amps out of the little battery x12v = 1440 watts.

Also you lose about 10% of the power in conversion. Truth is you need 400+ Ah of battery to properly drive that inverter.
I hope you are using #4 or better wire to connect the 12v battery to the inverter.
 
I toyed with this a bit, no solar panel, but I was using a used 8D AGM, 240a @ 12v (160lbs). It will run the stock 120vac evse for about 30 minutes before I hit the low voltage shut down. Remember at 12v your pulling a lot of amperage, 1400w/12vdc = 115 amps. A 35 amp battery won't stand a chance, I would guess 30 seconds to a minute, which matches what you found. In full sun with your panel and a full battery I would guess 3 minutes before you hit low voltage cut out.
 
BrockWI said:
I toyed with this a bit, no solar panel, but I was using a used 8D AGM, 240a @ 12v (160lbs). It will run the stock 120vac evse for about 30 minutes before I hit the low voltage shut down. Remember at 12v your pulling a lot of amperage, 1400w/12vdc = 115 amps. A 35 amp battery won't stand a chance, I would guess 30 seconds to a minute, which matches what you found. In full sun with your panel and a full battery I would guess 3 minutes before you hit low voltage cut out.

What kind of inverter and how big of a were you using?
 
I test charged my LEAF from my RV trailer.
675 watts of solar, Morningstar 60a controller, 4x GC2 batteries, Prosine 1800 inverter, EVSE Upgrade set down to 7 amps.
Worked fine but only ran it for 30 minutes.
 
theleafer said:
What kind of inverter were you using?
I have the xantrex prowatt sw2000, 24 inch's of #2 wire to the 12v 240ah Deka 8D AGM battery.

For the record I think you are WAY better off with a panel in an ideal location, facing the sun with no obstructions, generating power then on a car with sub optimal tilt and potential shading. I also agree that the added drag on the vehicle with the panel and added weight of a properly sized battery will just about wash out the potential gain. But if its the only place you have for the panel it's better than nothing.
 
BrockWI said:
theleafer said:
What kind of inverter were you using?
I have the xantrex prowatt sw2000, 24 inch's of #2 wire to the 12v 240ah Deka 8D AGM battery.

For the record I think you are WAY better off with a panel in an ideal location, facing the sun with no obstructions, generating power then on a car with sub optimal tilt and potential shading. I also agree that the added drag on the vehicle with the panel and added weight of a properly sized battery will just about wash out the potential gain. But if its the only place you have for the panel it's better than nothing.

I'm sure if you did the math there is no way that the added drag and weight is going to be able to be offset by what little energy a single solar panel on the roof a car and even bunch of lead acid batteries can provide. As the OP has discovered it's not ever worth unrolling the EVSE for the amount of energy usable.

I wish the OP would sit down and do the math so they can see what realities they are dealing with. Then from there they could figure out a plan that will achieve what they want to do.
 
I can see in the near future EV could have solar panel roofs and hoods from the factory. With all the solar cell advancements this is something we could start seeing pretty soon actually.

So your will be charging while driving it to/from work and anytime it is parked in the sun. parking in the sun part might be a bit more difficult in the cities where you most likely have to park in the underground garages.
 
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