Minimum power requirement for charging from home solar panels

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Thomas419924
Posts: 100
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:30 pm

Post by Thomas419924 »

white67 wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 7:52 pm Just caught this thread, I agree with ComicGeek - you really need a battery if you want to capture all your solar power.

I'm fortunate to have installed a Powerwall late last year which I'd use if I didn't have free juice at work. So I charge the car (7kW) there when it's stationary.
My solar is also 4kWp and on a good day (Glasgow) so far this year I'm getting 15kW total.

With a full PW battery I reckon I would struggle to feed the car with a meaningful amount after deducting home use, which is surprisingly high even with a small household. (Electric cooking!!)

That said I should be topping 20kW soon, but it's still a way to go to get to even a 1/2 charge on my Enyaq 60. For only part of the year when the sun is useful.

I'd suggest you go to the Energy Savings Trust to see if there are any incentives for a battery if you're interested. A lot of paperwork but I'm happy with my PW and Enyaq.

Hope this helps.
You just answered a lot of my questions, I was looking to splash on solar and the pw also Glasgow but maybe hold off till after mine is delivered . 👍🏻
:D IV80 race blue , Suite interior, heat pump , 125Kw fast charging, Climate plus pack .ordered Oct 16th 2021.

white67
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:02 pm

Post by white67 »

Cheers, another Enyaq in Glasgow?? Only seen one other so far..

Happy to share any info or data with you when the time comes, also the name of my installer.
Enyaq iV 60 Suite, Race Blue Metallic, 21" Betria Alloys, Tow Bar Prep, Comfort Seat Basic - with Heated Seats added, Convenience Pack Plus,
Drive Pack Basic, Light & View Pack Basic, Parking Pack Plus, Assisted Drive Plus, Infotainment Plus
Thomas419924
Posts: 100
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:30 pm

Post by Thomas419924 »

white67 wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 6:55 am Cheers, another Enyaq in Glasgow?? Only seen one other so far..

Happy to share any info or data with you when the time comes, also the name of my installer.
Cheers appreciate it
:D IV80 race blue , Suite interior, heat pump , 125Kw fast charging, Climate plus pack .ordered Oct 16th 2021.
Dad
Posts: 126
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:00 pm
Location: Berkshire/Surrey border

Post by Dad »

Would anyone care to share what is involved in installing a 4KW solar system and a power wall… I’d really appreciate it! I’ve tried reading up on the web but it is all a bit overwhelming to me! I can see that you can purchase kits that include some batteries but what isn’t clear to me is what kit, what batteries, how much space a 4KW solar system needs etc. Ultimately the cost of such a kit. Also with an Ohme Pro that doesn’t appear to support solar.. does that matter if you are feeding in from a battery wall anyway?

The other thing I’m curious about is whether todays solar tech will be out of date very soon? I was reading an article a few weeks ago about a product called a solar arc which uses soft solar strips or something. It wasn’t quite ready for the market yet but almost.

In simplistic terms if I could harvest 15-20 KW per day that would be more than enough for our EV needs. 10KW would probably suffice as we don’t do that much mileage as the car isn’t used every day. I do recognise that paying EoN for the electricity is far cheaper than spending out on a solar system but if I could get something for say £5k max then I may be interested from an environmental point of view.

Thanks in advance if anyone can explain this to an idiot. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is struggling to understand what is actually required.
IV60, quartz grey, suite trim, regulus smoke grey alloys, parking basic, climate basic, 100KW charging.

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white67
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:02 pm

Post by white67 »

First off, nobody's an idiot here, just in front of the tech or slightly behind it. Let's face it, you didn't by an EV because you were daft!

The undernoted is not expert advice, just real experience. I have the spreadsheet to back it up so I must be a geek.

Solar : you can get hold of 4kW kits fairly easily these days, should be about £5k for that. I got in early in 2013 (Cost then £5k!) so have the benefit of a small Feed in Tariff which is nice. The kit will be paid for this year.
In Glasgow over nearly 10 years I've generated between 2.8MW and 3.0MW per year. My panels are East/West oriented though, South facing is better.
Generation totally depends on location and orientation. I'd guess between say April and September you should average more than 15kW/day - it varies a lot due to weather and the condition of the Sun, even year to year. 2017 and 18 were great years for generation in the summer.

Example :
1 Jan to 30 April 2021 = 769kW
1 May to 31 Aug 2021 = 2200kW
1 Sep to 31 Dec 2021 = 411kW

I've only ever had one issue and that was the inverter went phut when it was moved to suit the powerwall. Ebay came to the rescue for cheap.

To see your potential generation look at https://www.pvfitcalculator.energysavingtrust.org.uk/

Powerwall : I chose this as it lets me go off grid if I choose or if there's a blackout. Quite a few battery kits don't let you do that, be careful. Cost about £10k. I made a few quid on Tesla shares having got in very early so thought I'd stay "on brand" - and I can honestly say I've got a Tesla. Just one with no wheels lol.

I got mine in November 21 with an interest free loan for part of the cost from the Energy Savings Trust.

So far I reckon you can discount months November to end February completely - unless you're on the South coast and facing South? but March onwards I'm in the money.
I just wish I had the funds to do it before now, it just makes sense of the whole thing. If I could afford two I would.

Panels really shouldn't be supplied without a battery.


Whatever you do I'd recommend staying away from the businesses that say they'll install kit and give you the savings. Buy outright every time and / or look for grants or loans.

Hope this helps.
Enyaq iV 60 Suite, Race Blue Metallic, 21" Betria Alloys, Tow Bar Prep, Comfort Seat Basic - with Heated Seats added, Convenience Pack Plus,
Drive Pack Basic, Light & View Pack Basic, Parking Pack Plus, Assisted Drive Plus, Infotainment Plus
Archer17
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2021 3:20 pm

Post by Archer17 »

Another thumbs up for the Powerwall and solar. Prices similar to previous poster in terms of cost for the Pw. We had an original 3kw array from 2012 so are fortunate to also get the full fat Feed in Tariff. We fitted the PW in October 2020 and it’s been a revelation as we used 60% of our generation even when we only had the Outlander PHev to plug in. We want to get closer to 80% if we can but know we won’t use all the output. We have the Gateway2 giving battery back up and also appreciate the 5kw output from the battery. The delivery time is now not quite as long as for the Enyaq but getting there.

At the same time as fitting the Pw we also installed a further 1.3 kw of solar bringing our full array up to 1.3.

The average solar production for our old array worked out about 3100 kw per year. The worst being 2913 in 2017 and the best 3249 in 2020. Last year the new combined array produced 4024 kw even with a particularly dismal December.

We have a south facing roof and are in south Lincolnshire.

We have an old dumb Chargemaster 7kw charger which is now semi smart with the Ohme plug in addition. However that’s not able to drip in excess solar like the MyEnergy stuff so as I had a granny charger I use that to dribble in 2.5 kw when the solar started going back to the grid. So far, the plug gets slightly warm but not hot so it seems to work for me, albeit I never leave the house if it’s on just in case

If I need anything more than a 10% top up I use the 7kw charger.

I hope that may be of assitance.
Skoda Enyaq 80 Sportline collected 29/09/21. Quartz grey metallic, Pan roof, tow bar, 125 charging, Comfort seat, Drive Sport+, Climate pack+, Assisted Drive, Parking, Light and View and Convenience pack.
Archer17
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2021 3:20 pm

Post by Archer17 »

Update
The combined array is now 4.3 kw not the 1.3 as stated above. I concur with others, fitting solar without a battery is madness especially as the Vat has been reduced further.
Skoda Enyaq 80 Sportline collected 29/09/21. Quartz grey metallic, Pan roof, tow bar, 125 charging, Comfort seat, Drive Sport+, Climate pack+, Assisted Drive, Parking, Light and View and Convenience pack.
Dad
Posts: 126
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:00 pm
Location: Berkshire/Surrey border

Post by Dad »

Guys really appreciate the explanation and real life experience!
IV60, quartz grey, suite trim, regulus smoke grey alloys, parking basic, climate basic, 100KW charging.

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orrery
Posts: 375
Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:22 pm

Post by orrery »

A further note on trying to use solar through a charger...
I have a Hypervolt with solar charging (which feeds power to the car provided I have more than 1.4kW to spare) and this works fine, other than the charge stops after a while, with the car seemingly flagging an error and offering the 'start charging' button in the app. It seems that it regards the on/off/on/off charging as a fault and gives up.
Anyone else have this working?
iV80 Lounge, Heat Pump, 125kW charging, Tow bar
Previous EVs: Leaf 40 (x2), Leaf 30, Leaf 24. EVing since 2014.
ComicGeek
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:20 am

Post by ComicGeek »

orrery wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 6:51 pm A further note on trying to use solar through a charger...
I have a Hypervolt with solar charging (which feeds power to the car provided I have more than 1.4kW to spare) and this works fine, other than the charge stops after a while, with the car seemingly flagging an error and offering the 'start charging' button in the app. It seems that it regards the on/off/on/off charging as a fault and gives up.
Anyone else have this working?
Yes, I can't do solar drip feeding from my Project EV charger if the solar output drops (or internal load increases) as the charger turns on/off and the car doesn't automatically start a new charging session. I don't bother now unless it's a sunny day with consistent solar generation, I got fed having to unplug/replug to start a new charging session - I now just set the charge rate through the charger using the spare solar generation at that time, and just accept that it's not 100% perfect.
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