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Charge your electric vehicle for free using Solar power – Fully explained

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The solar power market is getting hotter with every passing week. Especially with the entrance of electric vehicles solar power and other renewable energy sources have gained a lot of traction. The most significant advantages of solar power are its availability, energy density, cost of energy conversion, and environmental friendliness.

Rise of solar power

And at the other hand, we have a few challenges and scope of improvement in the newly emerging electric vehicle industry. This can be solved by what solar power is offering i.e., recharging our electric vehicles.

Why charge your electric vehicles with solar power:

Charging up your EV with solar power is “free of cost” and hassle free. Charging with solar power supports sustainability and encourage the use of renewable energy. In most of the metro cities the energy comes from coal fired power plant which is extremely harmful for both environment and Indian economy, so using renewable energy is the key for achieving zero emission. We generally install more than one solar panel and if you install more than one solar panel at your place you will generally end up having more energy than required for your daily home requirement and you can use the remaining energy for charging purpose which will save you a ton of money for lifetime and will provide us a greener future.

Solar electric vehicle

How can you charge, your electric vehicle using solar power?

To recharge your vehicle from solar power firstly we need to understand the energy density and amount of energy provided by solar panels and how much energy is required to juice up your EV. Here is the complete calculation:

  • Average energy provided by one solar module according to Indian climate conditions is 300 W per hour.
  • Effective usage of solar panels comes into act between the period of 10:00 AM to 4:30 pm i.e., 6.5 hours of effective solar energy that can produce approximately 2kWh (2 units) of energy.
  • Combining at least 3 solar modules will require 180 sq-ft or 20 sq-yards of land space.

Till the date, there are two ways with which solar power can charge your EV 1. Rooftop solar panels 2. On the go solar charging.

  1. Rooftop solar panels: This setup is simple and isn’t very new to the market. To use this all you need is adequate and open land space, batteries capable enough to store all daytime energy from the solar panel, and powerful sockets to deliver all the electricity without damage.
    With this setup, you first need to store all the energy into the battery and at the end of the day, you’ll be charging your EV through that stored energy.
  2. On vehicle solar charging: With this system, you don’t need to wait till the end of the day. All you need to do is attach the solar panel with the vehicle itself and the vehicle will keep on charging itself as the energy is draining using solar power. To get more idea over this concept you can go through this article.
    For this system, you require to have good quality solar modules as the module should be capable enough to give better efficiency even in low-intensity sunlight as while traveling the solar intensity is more likely to fluctuate.

Read this for better understanding – https://www.iitm.ac.in/happenings/press-releases-and-coverages/iit-madras-develops-autonomous-solar-vehicle-survey-water 

How to charge your EV while driving it:

This method of charging your vehicle works best with three wheelers but is quite unrealistic with two and four wheelers because two wheelers don’t have much space and four wheelers require more energy that a solar panel can’t offer.

Step 1 – Put at least three solar panels over the vehicle and connect all the three panel in series connection.

Step 2 – Connect the solar panels with batteries in the place of their charging port.

Step 3 – It’s advised to use a sensor-based switch which can cut the connection when the batteries are fully charged to avoid overcharging of the batteries.

Step 4 – Start using it!

Advantages and disadvantages of both the systems:

Rooftop solar panel:

Advantages

Disadvantages

Free energy with no harm to the environment

The energy delivered keep fluctuating

Low maintenance cost

Highly dependent on constantly changing Indian climate

Additional subsidies and support from the government

Prone to get dirty in the dusty environment, more heat and dirt can reduce the efficiency

On the go solar charging:

Advantage

Disadvantages

No need to wait for a longer period to recharge your electric vehicle

Less efficiency due to fluctuation in solar intensity.

More profits from the commercial electric vehicles using this technology

Prone to damage due to open placement of the delicate solar panels

Don’t need more land space

Highly dependent on the climatic condition.

Where to buy and best solar system manufacturers in India:

If you are a specialist or have some sort of experience in the solar power field, then you should be able to do it all on your own. You can get all the equipment required through your nearest solar system provider or also you can refer to these products because these are some of the best products available out there in the market.

Who are the best solar system providers in India and where to buy them:

If you are a specialist or have some sort of experience in the solar power field, then you should be able to do it all on your own. You can get all the equipment required through your nearest solar system provider or also you can refer to these products because these are some of the best products available out there in the market.

luminous solar

Luminous solar panels

Monocrystalline solar panels

If you don’t have any experience in the solar or battery vehicle-related fields, you can also get in contact with some of the best solar integrated vehicle providers.

This is a Haryana-based startup dedicated to providing full solar solutions a one-shop stop. Loom solar also provides individual products require to set up or maintain solar modules.

The reason why you can prefer ‘Loom solar’ is, they have a costumer-base spread all over India and they are being recognized by several awards at the state and national levels. Having appropriate experience and components ‘Loom solar’ can provide you with better services.

Nexus power is an ‘Uttar Pradesh’ based full solar solution providing company. The reason why you can prefer Nexus Power is, their excellence in customer support.

This startup not only targets to provide their services but also spread awareness among the people and provide them knowledge about the solar power.

“You can consider the above two companies to get your electric vehicle powered with solar power”

Other best companies for solar rooftop panels:

Tata Power solar

Adani solar

FAQs:

If maintained properly (i.e., proper cleaning, and damage proofing) the rooftop solar panels can last up to 25 years, according to Indian conditions.

A similar case as above applies in solar electric vehicles also, if panels placed over the vehicle are save of any shocks and damages the panels are going to last very long but because according to the Indian weather and road conditions it sounds impossible to save the panels of shocks and dirt, so, therefore, these panels last 10 years less than the rooftop solar panels i.e., 13- 15 years.

Fitting your electric vehicle with solar power can cost you 30,000 to 50,000. The price can vary depending upon the quality of the solar

Theoretically yes but practically you may require waiting in an open area for some time in order to let the solar panels juice your vehicle up or this setup may fail in the winter season or rainy season (when no sun appears).

Conclusion:

Technology is changing every day and due to this startup and business wave in India complete sustainability doesn’t look too far. Charging your EV with solar power is now possible and you can also do that. It’s true, right now this technology is only available for electric three-wheelers but in the continuously changing world we’ll soon be seeing solar electric two and three-wheelers also.

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