Solar System Size For Charging Model 3s 50 Kwh Battery
For Model 3, we know that we have to produce 50 kWh with solar panels in a day. This is basically it. There are other details as well we wont factor in in our calculations, and you can read more about Tesla car batteries and their capacities on Tesla.com.
We will have two cases. In the first, we will presume that you have only 4 peak sun hours worth of sunlight. New York, thats you, for example. In the second, we will presume you live in sunny California and you enjoy 6 peak sun hours worth of sunlight per day. Obviously, you will need a bigger solar system to charge a Tesla in New York than in California.
1st Case: 4 Peak Sun Hours
We simply plug the numbers into the equation. We know that Solar Output should be 50 kWh/day and that the Peak Sun Hours is 4.
Heres how we calculate the solar system size for Tesla Model 3 in colder climates:
Power Rating = 50 kWh/Day / = 16.67 kW Solar System
So, if we want to charge a Model 3 every day in a less sunny climate, we would need a 16.67 kW solar system. Thats quite a big system. If we were to use 300W solar panels, we would need 56 such solar panels to charge a Tesla Model 3 every day.
Note: You could charge Tesla Model 3 50 kWh battery every 2, 3, or 4 days for example. For that you would need fewer 300W solar panels 28 panels, 19 panels, and 14 panels, respectively.
2nd Case: 6 Peak Sun Hours
Power Rating = 50 kWh/Day / = 11.11 kW Solar System
Battery Depth Of Discharge
Lead-acid, AGM, and Gel batteries have a discharge limit of 50%. which means you cant discharge them beyond 50% or it will decrease the battery lifespan
On the other hand, Lithium or LiFePO4 batteries are designed in such a way that you can discharge them up to 100% without causing any damage to the battery cells
So that is why the depth of discharge of lead-acid and lithium batteries is being used as 50% and 100% accordingly
Batteries Deteriorate With Time What Effect Does It Have On The Overall Charging Time
Rechargeable batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, deteriorate over time. It will gradually lose capability, although the pace of deterioration will be slow.
It will last you more than a year and degrade at the slowest rate possible. After six months, the batterys efficiency may drop by 2%.
Furthermore, because the charge and discharge capacities assure the batterys power, the deterioration rate will affect the overall charging time.
If the discharge capacity of a 12-volt lithium-ion battery is lowered, it will take longer to charge. The time may be calculated using the batterys deterioration percentage.
- Renogy. . WHAT SIZE SOLAR PANEL DO I NEED TO CHARGE A 12V BATTERY? Retrieved from
- Solar, Z. . Solar Charge Controller not Charging Battery Troubleshooting. Retrieved from
- Technology, E. . How to Calculate the Battery Charging Time & Battery Charging Current Example. Retrieved from
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How Long Does It Take To Charge A 24v Battery With 300 Watts Solar Panels
A 300-watt solar panel will enable you to produce more power from a single panel. You can use one 300 watts solar panel instead of three 100 watts.
It will reduce the cost and make the installation process easier than before. Besides, you can carry it easily for outdoor performance.
You need 3.4 hours of direct sunlight to charge a 24-volt battery with a 300-watt solar panel. It depends on the quality of the solar cells.
At the same time, power production has environmental issues, and you should calculate all the things by considering the place and weather.
Using more than one solar panel will reduce the estimated time and provide fast charging capability.
What Are Peak Sun Hours
Peak sun hours are a way to measure how much sunlight you can expect to receive at a specific location.
A peak sun hour is defined as one hour in which the intensity of sunlight averages 1,000 watts per square meter.
So we can write it as:
1 peak sun hour = 1,000 W/m2 of sunlight per hour.
Because 1,000 watts is equal to 1 kilowatt, we can also write it as:
1 peak sun hour = 1 kW/m2 of sunlight per hour.
Peak hours are NOT the hours from sunrise to sunset. They are also NOT the number of hours the sun shines in a day. They are instead a measure of the total amount of sunlight a location gets in a day.
If one day from 9am to 10am the sun shines with an average intensity of 400 W/m2, then that would be equal to 0.4 peak sun hours. Then if from 1pm to 2pm that same day the sun shines with an average intensity of 1,050 W/m2, that would be equal to 1.05 peak sun hours.
For example, lets say you live in Nevada, and on a clear spring day the sun shines with the following intensities by hour:
- 6am: 50 W/m2 = 0.05 peak sun hours
- 7am: 100 W/m2 = 0.1 peak sun hours
- 8am: 200 W/m2 = 0.2 peak sun hours
- 9am: 400 W/m2 = 0.4 peak sun hours
- 10am: 700 W/m2 = 0.7 peak sun hours
- 11am: 950 W/m2 = 0.95 peak sun hours
- 12pm: 1,000 W/m2 = 1 peak sun hour
- 1pm: 1,000 W/m2 = 1 peak sun hour
- 2pm: 950 W/m2 = 0.95 peak sun hours
- 3pm: 700 W/m2 = 0.7 peak sun hours
- 4pm: 400 W/m2 = 0.4 peak sun hours
- 5pm: 200 W/m2 = 0.2 peak sun hours
- 6pm: 100 W/m2 = 0.1 peak sun hours
- 7pm: 50 W/m2 = 0.05 peak sun hours
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How To Estimate Solar Charge Time
Solar charge time is not as simple as dividing your battery capacity by the power of your solar panel . Even in perfect conditions, you get loss due to:
- Voltage drop of solar panel or Maximum Power Point is lower than rated peak panel voltage
- Energy used by circuit to buck or boost voltage
- Energy used to convert electrical energy into stored chemical energy with excess lost as heat
We go through two common battery chemistries and give you some rules of thumb for each.
Use Highly Efficient Solar Panels
An effective solar panel comes with high-quality cells that produce more energy for your battery. It will take less time than a normal solar panel.
If you have an effective solar panel that can absorb more sunlight, you will get sufficient power to charge the battery. In this process, you can enhance the charging and discharging capacity of the battery.
Besides, you will get the expected power within a short time. That means it will help you use the battery for a long time.
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The Importance Of Solar Panel Efficiency
One of the most talked about features in the solar panel world is energy efficiency. But what exactly is it?
The efficiency of a solar panel is defined as the power that a solar panel will be able to generate from the light power supplied to it:
Efficiency = electric power generated by the solar panel incident light power
Since this is a ratio of power fluxes and we are dividing Watts/m² by Watts/m², the efficiency has no unit. It is said to be dimensional.
We know that the incident light power is set by the environment, and thus varies between 1360W/m² and 0W/m² . This variable is therefore beyond our control.
The efficiency of the solar panel will therefore determine the amount of electrical energy produced per square meter. A panel with a 20% efficiency will therefore require half the area to produce the same amount as a panel with a 10% efficiency.
Do Batteries Degrade Over Time How Does It Affect Total Charging Time
Rechargeable batteries degrade over time, and lithium-ion batteries are not exceptional. It will lose its capacity day by day, but the low degradation rate.
It will serve you for more than one year with the lowest degradation rate. After six months, the battery might lose its 2 percent of efficiency.
Besides, the degradation rate will affect the total charging time because the charge and discharge capacity will ensure the batterys power.
For example, a 12-volt lithium-ion battery will take more time if the discharge capacity is reduced. You can calculate the time with the degradation percentage of the battery.
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How To Calculate Battery Charging Time
Here are some simple steps which you can do to calculate the charging time of any size battery in the future without any need for an online calculator
Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours but the solar panels are rated in watts so converting battery amp-hours into watt-hours will make the calculation easy
Battery Capacity Wh = Battery capacity *Battery volts
Use this formula to convert the battery capacity in watt-hours
For example: 12v 200Ah battery
200*12 = 2400Wh
if you have a lead-acid or AGM battery which usually has a depth of discharge limit of 50%
2400*0.5 = 1200Wh
So youd require 1200Wh total capacity output from your solar panels to recharge lead-acid 12v 200Ah battery
How Do I Calculate The Output Of My Solar System
Are you thinking about having solar panels installed on your roof and want to estimate how much energy they will produce, so you know how quickly they will pay for themselves? Here’s how to do it:
Start by locating the solar potential of the area you’re in on the map below:
Annual production =Annual potential ×Installation size
This formula will allow you to quickly estimate the annual electricity production you can expect, for a properly oriented solar panel.
This is obviously a simplification, as more parameters would be needed to get an accurate result, but it does provide a +-10% solution.
Example:in Belgium, where the annual solar potential is 950 kWh/kWp, an 8kWp installation will give an annual production of 950 x 8 = 7600 kWh or still 7.6 MWh.
Once you have calculated the power of your installation, you will be able to determine the annual financial return of your solar installation by finding the price/MWh applicable in your country.
Example: In Belgium, the price per MWh is currently 217 including VAT. Our Belgian installation that produces 7.6MWh over the year therefore saves us 217 x 7.6 = 1650 per year. If the installation cost 15,000, it will pay for itself over 9 years and will continue to save you 1650 per year for the rest of its life.
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Why Not Take The Highest Efficiency In Any Case
A solar panel with a good efficiency is generally going to cost more than a solar panel with a lower efficiency, because of the newer and more complex manufacturing processes.
There are solar cells with efficiencies up to 40%.They are not used on a large scale because their price per Watt can be up to 100 times higher than for residential panels. It would therefore not make sense because they would therefore never be profitable. This type of cell is only used by applications where size and weight are the most important factors, and where cost is secondary .
So choose wisely based on your needs. Owning solar panels with a lower output is not necessarily a bad thing if you have enough space on your roof or on your land, as they will allow you to reduce the total price of your installation and therefore make it profitable more quickly. Of course, you need to consider other factors such as the quality of the solar panel, its heat resistance, impact resistance, life expectancy to make the best choice for your situation.
At Sunslice, our goal is to make portable solar chargers that are high-performance, ultra-compact, lightweight, good quality while remaining affordable.
Summarized Table For Charging Tesla With Solar Panels
There are small 50 kWh Tesla Model 3 and big 100 kWh Tesla Model S batteries. You might get 4, 5, or 6 peak hours a day. Based on these variables, we have calculated how many 300W solar panels you need to charge any Tesla in 1 day if you receive an average of 5 peak hours per day:
| Teslas Battery Capacity : | Number Of Solar Panels Needed : |
|---|---|
| 50 kWh |
Also Check: How To Determine Number Of Solar Panels Needed
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Solar Panels Cost Calculation
Using a solar panel cost calculator is an excellent way to figure out specific numbers for your circumstances. Each home consumes a different amount of electricity based on various factors. Having said that, if you take a 2,000 square foot home, the average solar panels cost equates to somewhere between $15,000 and $40,000.
Lets look at an example to get a better idea of how much solar panels cost. The average home in the United States is 1,500 square feet with a monthly electricity bill of $100. This means that the house needs a 6-kilowatt solar panel system with between 15 and 18 350-watt solar panels.
The estimated cost for a system of this size would be about $18,000. If the system saved you $2,500 per year on energy expenses, the payback period would be just over seven years until you would break even.
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What Size Solar Panel To Charge 24v Battery
24 volt batteries arent as easy to find as 12 volt batteries, but you can connect two 12V batteries in series to create a 24V battery bank. Some battery brands sell twin packs of 12V batteries for just this reason.
Here is a chart showing what size solar panel you need to charge 24V batteries of various capacities in 5 peak sun hours with an MPPT charge controller.
| Battery Amp Hours |
|---|
| 850 watts |
What Is The Difference Between Gel Agm Fla And Lithium Batteries
Battery technology varies widely and advancements are being made all the time.
Currently, the most commonly installed batteries are Gel, AGM or Lithium. FLA use dated technology and we recommend steering clear of them.
Lithium batteries are significantly more efficient than Gel or AGMs so can be discharged to a much lower level.
This explains why you need a smaller Lithium battery than either AGMs or Gels.
But this doesnt mean a lithium battery is always the best option.
To assess which battery is most cost effective and best suits your needs, use our battery comparison calculator.
More information, read our detailed post on campervan batteries.
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How To Calculate The Charging Time And Charging Current For Battery Charging
Easy Battery Charging Time and Battery Charging Current Formula for Batteries. .
In the following simple tutorial, we will show how to determine the suitable battery charging current as well as How to calculate the required time of battery charging in hours with a solved example of 12V, 120 Ah lead acid battery.
Below are the given formulas for required battery charging time in hours and needed charging current in amperes as follows.
Charging Time of Battery = Battery Ah ÷ Charging Current
T = Ah ÷ A
Required Charging Current for battery = Battery Ah x 10%
A = Ah x 10%
So Is It Beneficial To Have Solar Panels
Taking the example from the previous paragraph, we can see right away that a solar installation, once profitable, will be financially advantageous throughout its lifetime. Solar installations are most of the time guaranteed to operate at 80% of their initial value after 20 years, and can even exceed these lifetimes.
The price of electricity from your supplier on the power grid is made up of 3 separate “costs”:
Generating your own electricity on site therefore avoids paying grid costs and VAT on the electricity that was self-consumed. In addition, having your own energy source allows you to be partially independent of the grid and therefore self-sufficient in case of a power outage or natural disaster.
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What Size Solar Panel Do I Need
To find out what size solar panel you need to charge your battery, youll need to enter the following info into our solar panel size calculator at the top of this page:
Once youve entered the above info, click Calculate Solar Panel Size to get an estimate of what size panel you need to charge your battery at your desired speed.
What Peak Sun Hours Should I Select
The amount of sun falling on your solar panels affects how much energy they can harvest.
Because the suns position in the sky varies throughout the year, the amount of energy they can harvest also varies.
The map above gives an estimate of peaks sun hours in winter and summer throughout the world.
Use the lowest number of all the locations you will travel to.
For example, if you plan to travel:
- in North and South America following the summer, use 5 hours
- in Europe and Africa in winter, use 3 hours.
If you want to use more precise figures, this website gives average peak hours in a far more scientific way than our picture.
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