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{ 2 trackbacks }

Pirated DVDs!
July 9, 2013 at 10:26 pm
Please help support LOOP THE LAKE!
August 14, 2015 at 11:43 am

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Ben N August 14, 2015 at 12:55 pm

Thanks to David S. for his donation to LOOP THE LAKE!

2 admin April 27, 2018 at 11:33 am

Thank you in advance for everyone’s support in the wake of my March 16th 2018 truck/motorcycle collision. It’s been extremely trying between pain, lawyers, bad insurance, and the lack of a standardized healthcare system in the U.S.
Your support means more than I can really express.
Thank you.
-Ben Nelson

3 Ted gates January 21, 2019 at 1:09 pm

I have questions for u can I configure my 20 300 watt solar panels to charge my Tesla model s
Directly off my solar panel ? And could I charge other Tesla with other one ?

4 admin January 21, 2019 at 1:33 pm

No, you can NOT charge a Tesla directly from solar panels. The reason is simple. Solar panels make Direct Current (DC) electricity. An electric car is provided with Alternating Current (AC) electricity from a wall connection EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment).

At a bare minimum, power from the solar panels needs to be changed to AC. That’s typically done with a device called an inverter.

The actual battery pack in an electric car is DC. Charging an electric car more or less directly from a large solar array IS possible, but it has many challenges. It’s much easier on a homebuilt electric car. Commercially built electric cars are designed with safety in mind and have a number of limitations and restrictions which would make it difficult to do.

I expect that in the future, we will have a number of commercially available devices which will be able to connect solar panels, electric cars, and homes together in a way to maximize renewable energy.
To start, Solar edge does sell an inverter which is also combined with an EVSE: https://amzn.to/2RYO3xr
Zappi is an EVSE which MAXIMIZES renewable energy use straight into a car.: https://myenergi.uk/products/
OpenEVSE also has a similar feature to maximize solar into a vehicle: https://www.openevse.com

These are just a start. At this time, solar DC power needs to be converted to AC to get to the car, but the “Smart EVSEs” can certainly help get more renewable energy into the vehicle.

Pika Energy makes a solar hybrid system with battery which all runs on a DC bus. I believe their system would be a GREAT match for sending solar DC power direct to a car. With not much change to their system, I think it would be “ready for primetime” for Direct Current charging of electric vehicles. https://www.pika-energy.com

5 Bill McFarland April 3, 2020 at 3:10 pm

Hello Out There EV World

I have a Solectria 220 volt motor and diff. gear box from a Geo Metro Force.
It needs a home for someone doing an AC conversion or if there are some
of those vehicles still out here needing new motor. Location is So. Calif near Huntington Beach.
Email if interested.

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