smkettner
Well-known member
An engineer would test the output to make their own decision. School lab should have some meters and such to discover the partial shade effect.
The outer diameter of 3/4" iron pipe or rigid metal conduit is a hair over 1". There are a wide variety of clamps designed for those pipes. So try a google image search for 3/4" conduit clamp or 3/4" iron pipe clamp, and see which type of clamp would work for you.theleafer said:Can anybody think of a good way of mounting the panel to the top side of the bars without to much drilling? My bars are 1 inch diameter and there is enough space for the panel to fit between the towers.
VoltWagon said:I have tried mobile charging with approximately 3kwhr 24 volt battery pack, 1500 watt inverter and chevy volt evse set to 8 amps. The system will run for about an hour before low battery shutdown and add at most 4 miles of range. I think adding about 600 watts of solar could double this range. The problem is my employer, us federal govt. does not allow workplace charging and the commute is 10 miles further than the winter range of the 2011 Leaf. I need a round trip range of at least 55 miles. I was thinking of carrying the solar panels in the back seat during the commute to reduce drag.
wwhitney said:The outer diameter of 3/4" iron pipe or rigid metal conduit is a hair over 1". There are a wide variety of clamps designed for those pipes. So try a google image search for 3/4" conduit clamp or 3/4" iron pipe clamp, and see which type of clamp would work for you.theleafer said:Can anybody think of a good way of mounting the panel to the top side of the bars without to much drilling? My bars are 1 inch diameter and there is enough space for the panel to fit between the towers.
Cheers, Wayne
waxnet said:The problem with partial shading is more than just reduced output, you could even damage the panel.
Here is a good article describing the issue in detail:
http://solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/q-a-bypass-diodes-improve-system-performance-and-safety" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We (my employer, in the PV industry) have found that even that little bit of dirt that builds up on the "bottom" of rooftop panels just above the frame, obscuring even the smallest portion of a single cell in each string can have a massive performance impact.
theleafer said:VoltWagon said:I have tried mobile charging with approximately 3kwhr 24 volt battery pack, 1500 watt inverter and chevy volt evse set to 8 amps. The system will run for about an hour before low battery shutdown and add at most 4 miles of range. I think adding about 600 watts of solar could double this range. The problem is my employer, us federal govt. does not allow workplace charging and the commute is 10 miles further than the winter range of the 2011 Leaf. I need a round trip range of at least 55 miles. I was thinking of carrying the solar panels in the back seat during the commute to reduce drag.
My Idea came from a similar situation. I enjoy skiing and in the winter there was no way the LEAF would make it to the mountain and back, and if it was possible, it wouldn't be pleasant due to the lack of heating. 250watts was the biggest I could go, there were panels form yosisun that would have allowed me to get three and maybe squeeze on a fourth to allow 400 watts on the roof but, they went out of stock and never came back in. Right now, with current commercial panel efficiency and size it is hard to get anywhere near enough watts on the roof without hurting range somewhere else like from drag or weight.
LindsayNB said:I remember reading about people using electrically heated coats, designed for motorcycle riders and people who work outdoors in the winter, that are powered for a few hours by a relatively small battery that fits in a pocket of the coat. That leads me to wonder if you couldn't provide some sort of system that supplements the heating system to remove the heating load from the main battery rather than trying to supplement the main battery. I know diddly about solar heating but is there any chance you could use thermal solar to reduce heating load rather than PV to charge? Just thinking out loud...
DougWantsALeaf said:I think the goal should be finding a way to get a 1kw/h system on the car and have it feed the traction battery. At full Sun, driving 2 hours at 55 (5 miles per kw), would get you 10 miles of range. City drivers without garages could get very usable range via the sun.
Likely you would need to look at satillite grade panels, dual or triple junction.
Even then, at 30-40% efficiency, would it fit on the car?
TomT said:At high none in a fairly southerly latitude in summer, appropriately 1000 watts per square meter falls on a surface square on to the sun. With a 20 percent efficient panel (which is very good), you would get approximately 200 watts... For 1Kw of output, you would need appropriately 5 square meters (and that assumes a perfect system). Good luck finding that much usable space at the correct incidence angle on a Leaf...
DougWantsALeaf said:I think the goal should be finding a way to get a 1kw/h system on the car and have it feed the traction battery. At full Sun, driving 2 hours at 55 (5 miles per kw), would get you 10 miles of range. City drivers without garages could get very usable range via the sun.
Likely you would need to look at satillite grade panels, dual or triple junction.
Even then, at 30-40% efficiency, would it fit on the car?
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