Silly idea?

[Mauileaves]

Ok solar tech people, what would I need to make a little solar carport? Only for leaf charging. Not to concerned with impressive charging numbers, half the reason is to get my black Leaf out of the sun all day at work.

[DaveEV]

Grid tied or standalone?

[Slow1]

Not silly at all - a carport (if located in good location) could well provide a convenient surface to install solar panels.

IMO the best approach would be to build it grid-tied. If you go standalone you either only use power when car is there to charge (wasting potential energy collection) or pay a premium to have batteries in place as well to save power generated when car is not there.

Rest of the job isn't really complex. Assuming you have an appropriate location with good solar access you just build the car-port with the weight of the panels in consideration, install panels and grid-tie as normal. Install EVSE (outdoor type) and you are all set. Being grid-tied your rate of charge won't be limited by the panels, and you just might be able to break-even on power usage over long term averages.

There is a company who has created a turn-key system that is a parking spot with battery and panels - can be trucked around. Cost on that unit is out of reach of most of us (and doesn't make sense in terms of cost of power harvested over the lifetime of the unit).

[HighDesertDriver]

Ok solar tech people, what would I need to make a little solar carport? Only for leaf charging. Not to concerned with impressive charging numbers, half the reason is to get my black Leaf out of the sun all day at work.

With a system already on your home, it may be possible to increase power by adding panels even with a 7000W inverter already. If not, the orientation of your carport should have the roof sloping south with minimal shade. As the previous commenter said, size the port for roof and panel weight, making sure it accommodates the largest intended vehicle. Consider Enphase micro inverters for ease of construction, accommodation of shading, and claiming all power above 7000W. Please note that we have 7200W hooked up to our original 6000W inverter, but lose very little power due to sun angle, clouds, and desert temperatures. Of course, your mileage will vary. It will help if you update your info to include location beyond the implied "Maui."

[ishiyakazuo]

You mean like this?
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/envision-solar-ev-charger/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Slow1]

You mean like this?
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/envision-solar-ev-charger/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Indeed I think that was the system I dug into a few weeks ago. My conclusion is that it has value for companies wanting to make a very visible (and expensive) statement OR perhaps for an off-grid solution. However, I doubt that we'll see these popping up in state parks and forests to allow EV drivers to visit. Would be rather nice to have one at a wilderness trail-head, but who is going to pay $40K to put it there eh?

Certainly not worth that cost for a home solution as I'm assuming OP is looking for... I have to imagine that a grid-tied home built solution would come in well under that budget.

[ishiyakazuo]

You mean like this?
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/envision-solar-ev-charger/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Indeed I think that was the system I dug into a few weeks ago. My conclusion is that it has value for companies wanting to make a very visible (and expensive) statement OR perhaps for an off-grid solution. However, I doubt that we'll see these popping up in state parks and forests to allow EV drivers to visit. Would be rather nice to have one at a wilderness trail-head, but who is going to pay $40K to put it there eh?

Certainly not worth that cost for a home solution as I'm assuming OP is looking for... I have to imagine that a grid-tied home built solution would come in well under that budget.

Oh yeah, no doubt! I just thought it was worth bringing in, because obviously someone thought it wasn't a silly idea, and went as far as to productize it

[Slow1]

Oh yeah, no doubt! I just thought it was worth bringing in, because obviously someone thought it wasn't a silly idea, and went as far as to productize it

Agreed. The thing I wonder about is if that company would consider building a grid-tied version (skip the batteries) that could perhaps be deployed to condos/apts/homes as a real turn-key solution. I wonder what the price point on that would be and how it would compare to other options.

However, when portability isn't part of the issue, once you build yourself a carport then ask "can I charge via solar" the optimal approach likely is to look at all available roof structures and optimize to get the best solar coverage possible. Certainly keeping in mind the solar goal when building anything could help here... I really like some of the 'solar sheds' I've seen. If/when I put a shed in someplace, a south exposure in full sun will be a consideration in the location/design....

[KillaWhat]

This is what I built.
If you just eliminated the shed.... you would have a carport.

4000 watts, I charge at 3.3 when I use it.
Works great, plus grid tied.

Did it all myself.
Pretty easy.

[EVDRIVER]

That's a big shadow:)