Plug in solar

MouldyOldDough

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050353#Comment_82050353

Which is fine - we rarely go anywhere and locally are limited to a weekly shopping trip - so if we managed to get 10-15 hours good charging per week - that would cover our usage - plus would build up for a monthly long distance journey !

lohr500

Somewhere from the back of my mind I recalled that EV charging systems (granny or wall mounted) needed a minimum charging current to operate. I googled this and got an answer of 6 Amps. At 240 volts thats 1.4kW.

If this is the case, then a single 800W max rated plug in solar system is never going to trickle charge an EV.

Qyburn

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050347#Comment_82050347

I see that our network company (SSEN) are offering free battery packs to disabled customers (like myself) - is this a good idea ?

Why not? One of those would run our freezer for more than 24 hours. Or could run our water supply during the day, and freezer overnight.

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050353#Comment_82050353

Sure - I did the "up to" thing and also picked out the best scenario to show the ROI wasn't that great.

But you're right to bring the real-world into it!

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050347#Comment_82050347

Those things are good, but note that you have to keep them charged and they can bleed power if left unused, so it's not just a case of dragging it out from the back of a wardrobe when you find you need it.

There's no harm in having one, but you'd have to think about what you'd use it for: you have to plug things into it to use it, so it's not a full-house automated backup for a power outage.

ie. you'd have to unplug your freezer from the wall and plug it into that, etc.

As far as 1kWh capacity goes, that probably wouldn't cover your whole house for 4 hours anyway.

Things like cooking, boiling a kettle, using the microwave, etc. could use up 1kWh pretty quickly.

It'd still be handy for some things, a lamps, a fan, charging your phone or tablet, and a laptop (thought you'd have to connect to the outside via your mobile phone).

I'm in the process of setting up a similar 1kWh unit with a couple of solar panels to give an off-grid lighting system for my detached garage.

Martyn1981

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050375#Comment_82050375

Yes, the typical variable amp granny chargers go down to 6A. There may be 5A out there somewhere(?) Also some cars can vary the amps. We had one that for home AC charging would operate at 100%, 75% or 50%, so for a granny lead was close to 5A. And Tesla offer amps from 5 to 32 for home charging.

But, powerstations, be they mains in only, or mains in with 800W mains out, also have AC out ports. The rating will vary, but some are over 2kW. So you could have say a 2kWh or 4kWh battery, with 1 to 2kWp of solar, and have it feeding a granny charger via an AC out socket (not mains out) with the amps dialled down a bit. I'm guessing there could be some camping use for such a set up too?

MouldyOldDough

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050502#Comment_82050502

I wouldn't even try any form of heating (home, food, water) - a kettle generally runs at 2kW - So would presumably trip the battery anyway ?

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050488#Comment_82050488

MOD has a previous thread about EV charging: see here. It includes some modelling of what they might expect from a rooftop PV system.

Plug-in isn't really going to help, but a rooftop system could be a solution. A home battery with whole-house backup would handle any power cuts on top.

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82050618#Comment_82050618

I think the battery does 1kWh, so 2kW for 3 mins should be OK to boil a cuppa, but it would use 10% of the stored charge.

My Bluetti Elite 100 V2 is rated at 1.8kW output with a 3.6kW surge, so it might handle that; different models may have different abilities.

Newbie_John

Could anyone tell me what exactly would I need for 2 400W panels on concrete interlocking tiles roof?

I either find complete systems that are ready but too expensive £200+, or too cheap and worried about quality.

But with buying separate parts myself not even sure what all these parts are called, sizes, volume.