Electric Campervan with Solar PV on the roof

[richbee]

This is a completely hypothetical question at this stage.
I currently have a self converted Transit Custom which is my transport and also campervan. I have a small (80W) solar panel on the roof which charges the leisure battery and also trickles charges the vehicle battery once the leisure battery is full - works a treat, happily running my fridge, lights, phone chargers etc.

Thinking a few years into the future, fully electric vans with decent range are already starting to become a thing and I could imagine that my next campervan is likely to be electric - maybe coinciding with retirement.....

It seems that most electric cars are going down the high voltage route to maximise power / range. If roof mounted solar panels are usually around 20V max, is there an easy way to cover the entire roof in solar panels and have them charge the vehicle batteries - putting multiple panels in series increases the voltage, but if the vehicle batteries run on several hundred volts, you need quite a string.
I'm wondering if anyone has already come up with a suitable charging system - could help with adding a few miles of range / replace anything used for leisure purposes while camping. ( I know it's no replacement for a proper full charge - even with say 500W of panels, a 70kWh battery stack would take at least 140 hours under perfect conditions)

[Joeboy]

I like the idea of this but think it would have to be a body covered in high efficiency solar film and a huge battery pack. Base vehicle something like a Mercedes xxl panel van. There are Nissan nv200 based campervans out there.

Maybe a pack, motor and control system from a wrecked High range ford pick up truck?

There was an excellent article knocking about on solar thin PV film a few months ago...

Would be nice if it was 400V and fast fast charging. I reckon about £150k to get it done today and tech efficiency would likely outstrip it during the build. It is a seductive idea though

[Joeboy]

Here it is. I think Stan brought it to us?

[Stan]

It sounds like it’s a product coming soon with mass production in 2023. However, I’m not looking forward to applying large self-adhesive sheets to corrugated roofing or tiles or bricks or the curved body panels of a vehicle or whatever, in a breeze, without buckling and creasing. Witness my efforts using parcel tape. Then there is expansion and contraction as the sun comes and goes.

[richbee]

Power Roll sounds very interesting - wonder how long it will take to get into real world applications & be on the shelf in B&Q for you to apply to home projects?
My van solar panel is a semi-flexible cell, which is 'glued' to the van roof using Tiger seal - which is the stuff they use for fixing spoilers etc.
It was a very nervous process attaching it and hoping it wasn't going to fly off when I first hit the motorway, but 2 years later and no sign of any of it coming loose in any way!

[richbee]

Ford are now advertising an 'E-Transit' with ~200 mile range and 400v, 68kWh battery pack. Not quite long enough range yet, but getting there, especially if you could self-recharge as you sit next to a loch in the sunshine

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https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit?searchid=ppc:Search_GB(eng)%7C%5BAO%5D_Retail_SD_Commercial-Vehicles_Transit_CPPI_GBP%7CShp-T2%7CExact~E-Transit-RLSA:E-Transit-Exact:ford%20transit%20electric:e:c:g:GOOGLE&gclid=CjwKCAjwqauVBhBGEiwAXOepkXufylEuzufFKqs6cOXiOprXdIIGTU3z7hMSHud8Wo2QGOg_Xws05BoCttoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Joeboy]

Ford are now advertising an 'E-Transit' with ~200 mile range and 400v, 68kWh battery pack. Not quite long enough range yet, but getting there, especially if you could self-recharge as you sit next to a loch in the sunshine

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https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit?searchid=ppc:Search_GB(eng)%7C%5BAO%5D_Retail_SD_Commercial-Vehicles_Transit_CPPI_GBP%7CShp-T2%7CExact~E-Transit-RLSA:E-Transit-Exact:ford%20transit%20electric:e:c:g:GOOGLE&gclid=CjwKCAjwqauVBhBGEiwAXOepkXufylEuzufFKqs6cOXiOprXdIIGTU3z7hMSHud8Wo2QGOg_Xws05BoCttoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Stick a roof rack on and could carry a cassette type rig to do a panel drape down the side of van.

We run a wee 100W flexible panel bonded to to the roof of the Bongo. Does well, runs the fridge, lights and laptop for movies. 105Ah LB and its a 1kW inverter I think. That's a bit small but does most of what I need.

L4 & H3 spec Transit with a 100kWh(if only) battery pack and off to the coach builders it would go.. Funnily enough I can access my 25% tax free portion of pension in 1.5 years... They should just be hitting the secondhand market by then.
I wonder if the van comes with V2L? Could do away with need for an LB while it's in the coach builders. Flexi PV.on the entire roof, thin film PV on the upper flat sides. Good to go and go and go. 68kWh might be enough...

[richbee]

Ford are now advertising an 'E-Transit' with ~200 mile range and 400v, 68kWh battery pack. Not quite long enough range yet, but getting there, especially if you could self-recharge as you sit next to a loch in the sunshine

Code: Select all

https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit?searchid=ppc:Search_GB(eng)%7C%5BAO%5D_Retail_SD_Commercial-Vehicles_Transit_CPPI_GBP%7CShp-T2%7CExact~E-Transit-RLSA:E-Transit-Exact:ford%20transit%20electric:e:c:g:GOOGLE&gclid=CjwKCAjwqauVBhBGEiwAXOepkXufylEuzufFKqs6cOXiOprXdIIGTU3z7hMSHud8Wo2QGOg_Xws05BoCttoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Stick a roof rack on and could carry a cassette type rig to do a panel drape down the side of van.

We run a wee 100W flexible panel bonded to to the roof of the Bongo. Does well, runs the fridge, lights and laptop for movies. 105Ah LB and its a 1kW inverter I think. That's a bit small but does most of what I need.

L4 & H3 spec Transit with a 100kWh(if only) battery pack and off to the coach builders it would go.. Funnily enough I can access my 25% tax free portion of pension in 1.5 years... They should just be hitting the secondhand market by then.
I wonder if the van comes with V2L? Could do away with need for an LB while it's in the coach builders. Flexi PV.on the entire roof, thin film PV on the upper flat sides. Good to go and go and go. 68kWh might be enough...

That sounds like an extremely cool plan - sure you could fit a few kW on the roof of an L4

[richbee]

Someone is on it already - at least for box vans etc - up to 112km per week

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https://sonomotors.com/en/solar-integration/

They also make a car with integrated solar PV all over it, which can charge itself up to 245km per week

[richbee]

Someone is on it already - at least for box vans etc - up to 112km per week

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https://sonomotors.com/en/solar-integration/

They also make a car with integrated solar PV all over it, which can charge itself up to 245km per week

Sorry - that was 112km per day not per week - even better!