Solar Charge option for covered car in driveway

Posted by Protholl@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 17 comments

I'm starting to keep my car under cover in the driveway so I can use my garage for a shop. I've been searching for a way to use a solar panel to charge the battery instead of running a cord down the driveway from the garage. I've not found any panel that can be safely on the car (plan is to velcro it to the cover on the roof) that is rated for outdoor use as a trickle charger. I tried one of those 5w ones that you normally use on the dashboard but the first rainstorm in it failed. Thoughts? TIA

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17 Comments

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MyOther_UN_is_Clever@reddit

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Solar-Battery-Maintainer-Trickle/dp/B07QBY7626/

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Protholl@reddit (OP)

Looks good thanks.

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olov244@reddit

harbor freight sells a small solar trickle charger, I have one on my trailer winch battery and lawnmower battery and it seems to be working fine

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Protholl@reddit (OP)

Is it outside in the weather when active? My problem is solar panels that don't handle rain. TY!

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olov244@reddit

does for me, comes with suction cups

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absolutely_not_tho@reddit

I have a cheap Amazon one for my camper and tractor with no issues. It came with the panel and controller. I don't live in an extremely wet area but it's been wet and still worked fine.

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Shadow703793@reddit

I assume you're just putting the battery on a trickle charge because you have a summer only car or similar. In this case, a small 5W ebay special solar panel will not really work. You'll need at least a 100W panel for this.

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Protholl@reddit (OP)

It's just not driven daily. I drive my truck daily. When I had the car in the garage I had a trickle charger plugged in but as I originally stated I need the garage for a few months so the car will need to move out to the extended driveway. I was thinking about using solar because I live in Florida. My issue is finding a charging panel that is weather resistant (because it rains and there is wind in Florida) that could keep the battery tended like my "Battery Tender" did in the garage.

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Amish_EDM@reddit

If you have an EV, a single solar panel will not really add any value. Maybe 1-2 miles of range per day, if that. If you have an ICE car, and you have to trickle charge it every day, you’ve got a bigger problem. Either way, I’m not sure I fully understand why you’d want to put Velcro on your car. Plus, solar panels need to be angled and facing south to get the most charge. In summary, this is probably not a good use of time unless you’re willing to do a larger home solar install with a licensed electrician.

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Protholl@reddit (OP)

The car will spend weeks or more with a cover on it. The velcro will go on the outside of the cover, not the car. That is to keep the cell from blowing off. The car is a Lexus LS460 (ICE V8). The car has been fully washed/waxed and the cover itself is soft and won't scratch the paint.

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SuperSimpleSam@reddit

Yup, this squeeze is not worth the juice.

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Jace__B@reddit

It's even worse than that. An efficient EV will get 4 miles/kWh. A 5W charger will take 200 hours to get a single kWh; divided by four, you'd need 50 hours of sunlight for a single mile. That's not even considering that the EV probably eats more than 5W in its idle state.

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Solar Charge option for covered car in driveway

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17 Comments

MyOther_UN_is_Clever@reddit

Protholl@reddit (OP)

olov244@reddit

Protholl@reddit (OP)

olov244@reddit

absolutely_not_tho@reddit

Shadow703793@reddit

Protholl@reddit (OP)

Amish_EDM@reddit

Protholl@reddit (OP)

SuperSimpleSam@reddit

Jace__B@reddit

molrobocop@reddit

Yotsubato@reddit

Gah_Duma@reddit

flapsmcgee@reddit

dubiousN@reddit