EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Solar Power
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-04-20, 11:04 PM   #1
solarebikeinventor
solarebikeinventor
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Redding
Posts: 1
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default Inventing continuously-recharging solar bike

Here's a simple electric bike design that should be light and not have to have an additional trailer to hold the panels. I want a bike that can recharge itself when I lock it up outside of a store while running errands during the day. To this end, I'm going to weld two 25w (nominal) panels to the rear rack of a class-1 pedelec that has a 250w mid-drive. I will be using a "ming-he" boost charge controller to charge the 48v (nominal) battery off the 12v (nominal) panels.
Thoughts?

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Raliegh With Panels Rear Only with caption SMALL.jpg
Views:	448
Size:	241.8 KB
ID:	8836  
solarebikeinventor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-20, 11:47 AM   #2
jjackstone
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Sacramento,Ca
Posts: 88
Thanks: 5
Thanked 32 Times in 23 Posts
Default

Do you know how many watt-hours you use per mile of travel? On my old home made ebike I used between 10 and 15 wh/mile depending on how much I pedaled. So with 50 watts worth of panels if you were somehow magically able to get 100% efficiency that might give you 3 to 5 miles of range per hour. However, you would want the panels on top of the rack to get the most exposure to the sun. I would imagine your charge controller wouldn't be more than 75-80% efficient and I'm guessing your batteries are lithium which have about a 90% efficiency round trip. So, if you were able to get the full 50 watts out of the panels, then 50 x .75 x.9 =about 34 whrs/hour of charge. That is on the high side because it will be rare that you'd get the full 50 watts from the panels. So maybe an extra 2 to 3 miles of range for an hour of charging. Would also have to consider the additional aero drag from the two panels at anything above fifteen mph so that might cost another 15% efficiency. All that said, it looks like a fun project and I'd like to see your before and after results. Also on days when you are not riding much you get free energy from the sun. JJ
jjackstone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-20, 12:20 PM   #3
MetroMPG
Infrequent noob
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 402
Thanks: 37
Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts
Default

This scooter owner took a page from satellites (retractable folding solar array). Orienting it to the sun helps immensely, if it's a practical option to move your bike periodically.





Above rig is suitable for 5 mile / 8 km daily usage.



Downside: windy days!


https://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pvscooter.htm

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	solarscooter.jpg
Views:	743
Size:	91.1 KB
ID:	8868  
__________________
.

  • To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

  • To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

  • To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

  • To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
MetroMPG is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design