Power Station 600w output and storage

Mstty

I went a bought a second power station, it was a bargain so couldn't resist.

Any at this one sits secured in the boot of the car and charges up through a 120w inverter connected to the DC 12v connection in the boot.

So far I haven't noticed any loss of fuel economy by charging this up but am I forgetting this like extra strain on the car battery/ other things that mean this is ultimately a bad idea rather than charging it via home 3 pin 240v socket.

CSI_Yorkshire

Of course there's a loss of fuel economy - it's not free energy.

As long as the wiring loom is sufficient to support that current from that socket, and you don't mind having a battery in the boot if your car, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Does it still trickle charge when the ignition is off?  That could drain the car battery over time, like if you park up and go on holiday or something.

Gerry1

1kWh of energy is likely to take you about three or four miles in an electric car, a bit less in a petrol car.

Unless your power station is high capacity you probably won't notice much effect on fuel economy.  It might drop from 400 miles on a full tank to 397.

All back of envelope stuff, but it's likely to be cheaper to charge from the mains.

[Deleted User]

Given that a number of modern cars have built in 12VDC battery drain protection, leaving something plugged in should not cause an issue.

QrizB

Mstty said:

So far I haven't noticed any loss of fuel economy by charging this up but am I forgetting this like extra strain on the car battery/ other things that mean this is ultimately a bad idea rather than charging it via home 3 pin 240v socket.

A little while ago I did a back-of-an-envelope calculation that suggested generating 1kWh of electricity from a running car or van engine would take an additional litre of fuel.

Around here, a litre of fuel is about £1.50 - which is getting on for 5x the price of a kWh from the mains.

@JKenH has a (bigger) portable power bank that he charges from solar:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6360585/portable-power-stations

frostysaver

This is a terrible idea for efficiency. It'll cost you more then charging from the mains.

A car engine and alternator are much less efficient than a power station, and you're paying higher taxes through petrol duty for the fuel.

Mstty

QrizB said:

Mstty said:

So far I haven't noticed any loss of fuel economy by charging this up but am I forgetting this like extra strain on the car battery/ other things that mean this is ultimately a bad idea rather than charging it via home 3 pin 240v socket.

A little while ago I did a back-of-an-envelope calculation that suggested generating 1kWh of electricity from a running car or van engine would take an additional litre of fuel.

Around here, a litre of fuel is about £1.50 - which is getting on for 5x the price of a kWh from the mains.

@JKenH has a (bigger) portable power bank that he charges from solar:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6360585/portable-power-stations

I thought as much but always looking for a way to bend the science.

100w portable solar should arrive today..went with a system that has its own usb and various other sockets on the back as well so not just for the power station.

Quite excited 

QrizB

Mstty said:

QrizB said:

Mstty said:

So far I haven't noticed any loss of fuel economy by charging this up but am I forgetting this like extra strain on the car battery/ other things that mean this is ultimately a bad idea rather than charging it via home 3 pin 240v socket.

A little while ago I did a back-of-an-envelope calculation that suggested generating 1kWh of electricity from a running car or van engine would take an additional litre of fuel.

Around here, a litre of fuel is about £1.50 - which is getting on for 5x the price of a kWh from the mains.

@JKenH has a (bigger) portable power bank that he charges from solar:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6360585/portable-power-stations

I thought as much but always looking for a way to bend the science.

The laws of thermodynamics so not bend

Mstty said:

100w portable.solar should.arrive today..went with a system that has its own usb and various other sockets on the back as well so not just for the power station.

Quite excited

I know you're switched-on but (for the benefit of others reading this thread) be warned that a lot of the solar panel descriptions on eBay and Amazon etc. are out and out lies.

With current technology the minimum size of a 100 watt panel is about half a square metre.

A genuine 100 watt panel is this sort of size:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314638820796

... which, at 67 X 85cm, is 0.57 square metres.

However, something like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295745243755

... claims to be a 100 watt panel but is only 40 X 27cm, 0.11 square metres, large enough to be perhaps 20 watts.

Neither of the above links are recommendations, so please don't buy them based on this post!

Mstty

Just an update the rules of thermodynamics do not change but I did do my 6 hour regular weekly journey.

The power station charged to 80% and by driving like Miss/Mr Daisy I managed to match the previous week's mpg as well has having the air con on full.

I do understand I could drive like this without the power station charging and achieve better mpg but in true money saving fashion I changed my style of driving to get a positive result for me.

Moneysavingchap

Mstty said:

Just an update the rules of thermodynamics do not change but I did do my 6 hour regular weekly journey.

The power station charged to 80% and by driving like Miss/Mr Daisy I managed to match the previous week's mpg as well has having the air con on full.

I do understand I could drive like this without the power station charging and achieve better mpg but in true money saving fashion I changed my style of driving to get a positive result for me.

In true money saving fashion you'd either not use the power bank or charge it from the mains if you did need it.

Mstty

Moneysavingchap said:

Mstty said:

Just an update the rules of thermodynamics do not change but I did do my 6 hour regular weekly journey.

The power station charged to 80% and by driving like Miss/Mr Daisy I managed to match the previous week's mpg as well has having the air con on full.

I do understand I could drive like this without the power station charging and achieve better mpg but in true money saving fashion I changed my style of driving to get a positive result for me.

In true money saving fashion you'd either not use the power bank or charge it from the mains if you did need it.

I would suggest the driving more economically to store 600w of useable power (which was used over the weekend) still meeting my average mpg on my long journey was just like many other money saving energy tips..such as putting the TV into low energy use mode/turning down the brightness etc.

Plus a good economy run in the car sometimes does you the world of good.