Jump to content

Solar Cart Power, Any Thoughts


Beta Sound

Recommended Posts

I'm selling solar cells for a living, and to make it a feasible solution, you need some pretty darn big solar panels, in the range of 200 watts. Some power is lost in the charger, cables and batteries, so that might give you 150 watts of power in optimal conditions.

The problem is, the optimal conditions rarely ever occur (on my side of the globe at least) - perfect angle of the panels against the sun and no clouds. In Florida it might be a good idea though.

One could make a solution where the panel is flipped up from behind the cart, and then placed on a ball-head to be able to orient it perfectly.

The idea is good, and i'd love to see it working!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use solar, slightly differently though.

I use panels at my house to charge large batteries, which will include my cart batts eventually.

I charge my smaller batteries (AA Nimh and NP-1 etc) off this large battery/off the solar if it's available. I run everything 12volt off the main battery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you could do it but I think the you would need to run primarily off a battery with the solar being for charging purposes only. What might work better is a separate solar charging station if you are away from the grid something that can be packed away and is not connected to your main kit.

I had actually seen some fold up panels at harbor freight intended just for this type of thing, (charging tools etc in the field) I just don't know if they would be good for what I need nor do I really need them for the type of work I do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know this isn't really cart based but this is the little system I set up at home as an experiment. It has no problems charging all my batteries. I've run laptops, lights, power drills and more off it.

3 x Sharp NE-80EJEA 80 Watt 12v panels

1 x Morningstar PS-15M Charge Controller

2 x Trojan L16H 420AH 6V Batteries Wired for 12V

1 x GoPower 300W Sine Wave Inverter

P1090277.jpgP1090280.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...