Simple Off Grid Solar Option?

[Bobthebuilder352]

I think the answer is no or else I would have found it but I’m looking for a short term ~year solar option to charge this car and maybe some other small other AC appliances like power tools (mostly battery powered). I don’t care about battery/night storage as this is a secondary structure.

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[Gshenderson]

A Tesla draws 12 amps from a 120v outlet which would equate to 1,440 watts. So just to charge the car, you’d be looking at a 2kW system minimum - more if you want other things connected simultaneously. That would be 8 250w panels which would be a 12’ x 8’ array. Not exactly something I would describe as “temporary”. And even with all of that, you’re only going to get about 1-2 miles of charge per hour. Not really a viable solution in my mind.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Generac and Tesla make solar-connected battery packs. But the cost is such that I wouldn't consider them for "temporary" use.

 

[Bobthebuilder352]

A Tesla draws 12 amps from a 120v outlet which would equate to 1,440 watts. So just to charge the car, you’d be looking at a 2kW system minimum - more if you want other things connected simultaneously. That would be 8 250w panels which would be a 12’ x 8’ array. Not exactly something I would describe as “temporary”. And even with all of that, you’re only going to get about 1-2 miles of charge per hour. Not really a viable solution in my mind.

Thanks. I will eventually be building around a 50kW system. Probably more. My hope is I can efficiently reuse any components. panels are cheap enough so it’s really everything else. I’ve got plenty of room to ground mount.

 

[Babbuino]

Personally, the R1S is too big for my garage, so I was thinking about adding a carport and putting some panels there to charge the car... not sure if this is a good idea or not...

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Personally, the R1S is too big for my garage, so I was thinking about adding a carport and putting some panels there to charge the car... not sure if this is a good idea or not...

That would have to be a MASSIVE carport to have a roof large enough to support 11.5kW of panels.... unless you only want to offset some but not all of your charging needs — then it’s just a matter of how much you expect.

 

[Rhidan]

Looking forward to hearing how folks are able to integrate solar for their Rivian.

Out at the ranch, we have a smaller solar setup that was built to power a small homestead, but it doesn’t get a ton of regular use today. It was originally built in the early 1990s and only been updated a few times. There’s a couple more posts and panels than what is pictured below. I’m hoping it will be enough to “trickle charge” the R1T from the sun while out there. I don’t know if I will need to get a special inverter or make other modifications to make it work, or if I can just plug in to the house.

To create a real solar charing solution for the vehicle, I expect I would need to build out new battery storage for the solar system. That’s probably way too expensive for the occasional use while I am up there. It would just be awesome to get a couple of miles of range directly from the sun.

 

[SeaGeo]

Thanks. I will eventually be building around a 50kW system. Probably more. My hope is I can efficiently reuse any components. panels are cheap enough so it’s really everything else. I’ve got plenty of room to ground mount.

Now I'm curious. Why in the world do you need a 50kW system?

 

[Gearhead500]

I was just looking and got one quote for a 37kW install. I would cover 70% of my monthly usage.
I don’t know much about solar as most on here

 

[jjwolf120]

I was just looking and got one quote for a 37kW install. I would cover 70% of my monthly usage.
I don’t know much about solar as most on here

That is an enormous system, do you have a very large estate? I have a 3.3kw system that provides 80% of my power, as an example. That is why bobthebuilder asked about why you needed a 50kw system.

 

[SeaGeo]

That is an enormous system, do you have a very large estate? I have a 3.3kw system that provides 80% of my power, as an example. That is why bobthebuilder asked about why you needed a 50kw system.

Yeah, a 12kw system would cover most my usage each year and I'm in Seattle with a PHEV, a hot tub, A/C, and plenty of other electricity running through the house. 37 kw and 50 kw is a ton!

 

[Gearhead500]

Yeah, a 12kw system would cover most my usage each year and I'm in Seattle with a PHEV, a hot tub, A/C, and plenty of other electricity running through the house. 37 kw and 50 kw is a ton!

I’m 4600sqft putting new 30 new windows in next month. Efficient water heat off natural gas, but central air is a killer. It’s needed /wanted in humid summers. I hope the windows help before going solar, but just started getting quotes.

 

[timesinks]

Yeah, a 12kw system would cover most my usage each year and I'm in Seattle with a PHEV, a hot tub, A/C, and plenty of other electricity running through the house. 37 kw and 50 kw is a ton!

In Seattle too, but low-mileage drivers (and only charging a Volt, so we still burn a bit of gas for transport) and no hot tub (yet), but we used a little shy of 18,000kWh last year (no natural gas, heat pump for heating and cooling). Using the area's "1000 hours of insolation per year" rule of thumb, we'd need an 18kW system for just our current annual usage. And that assumes the "grid is our battery."

If somebody is building an off-grid system where they're on their own, even on those dreary winter days where you may only generate 5-10% of your system rating for 6 hours... I'm not sure even 50kW would work in the PNW unless you had some massive storage capabilities.

 

[SeaGeo]

In Seattle too, but low-mileage drivers (and only charging a Volt, so we still burn a bit of gas for transport) and no hot tub (yet), but we used a little shy of 18,000kWh last year (no natural gas, heat pump for heating and cooling). Using the area's "1000 hours of insolation per year" rule of thumb, we'd need an 18kW system for just our current annual usage. And that assumes the "grid is our battery."

If somebody is building an off-grid system where they're on their own, even on those dreary winter days where you may only generate 5-10% of your system rating for 6 hours... I'm not sure even 50kW would work in the PNW unless you had some massive storage capabilities.

Good point. I was working off the gird-as-battery approach and not 100% year round solar. My bad.

 

[Bobthebuilder352]

Now I'm curious. Why in the world do you need a 50kW system?

10ton+ HVAC is a huge user.

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