Solar panel charging for camping?

[RedRaiderRivian]

Why not indeed. It's just money. I'm no electrical engineer, but IIRC whatever you intent to charge, you have to have enough oomph to overcome resistance of charge already contained in the battery. Current solar panels that can fit on the roof of a car or RTT do not have enough oomph to make a dent in the HV pack. It barely tickles the HV pack. Different story if you intent to charge the 12V or an auxiliary pack (intended for accessories).

This idea/question isn't new. But laws governing electricity on this planet, and available technology, remain the same.

Yeah. I am an engineer. Its doable and not that infeasible. You can step up DC panel voltage to around 72V fairly easily by putting 2 readily available panels in series. From there, its a small step to get the voltage to 120v AC but leaving your charge port open for the J-1772 all the time is not a great option. My truck is in the shop right now but when I get it back I will test to see what the minimum amperage is I can draw off my Anker 30 amp 120v AC plug. I am currently able to produce over 4kwH per day from my DIY solar setup that use two Renogy bifacial 550w panels. With the proper MPPT inverter, pretty sure I could keep the truck topped up while camping and not have to lug 4 kwH of extra battery storage around

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[RedRaiderRivian]

Consider the math and the practicalities. A typical 400 watt solar panel is 20" x 40". At best, if you could somehow physically integrate three of them into a roof top tent (or even the flat roof) of an R1S (tough challenge), that's a theoretical 1.2 kw max. But that's only going to happen for a few hours each day in the summer, due to the sun angle not being optimal, except at noon. Other times of the day and year the output will be much lower due to the sun angle.

Even if we assume you could get a total of 4kwh solar, the voltage needs to be inverted to HV battery voltage, which means for efficiency a DC to DC inverter is needed, which might be 90% efficient, so it's now 3.6 kwh - at best. Or you could invert the DC solar to 120 VAC, and then use a portable EV charger. But you just introduced about 2 x 10% inverter losses, or 20% loss. THe net result is maybe 5 to 8 miles charge per day at best.

It generates little to no power on cloudy days. It adds weight to the vehicle. It adds at least $2500 to the price of the vehicle or tent. You can't rely on it for that camping trip you planned because overcast weather occurs the entire time.

There are products out there that attempt to do it.

The OP never asked about adding miles to the truck and I am not talking about that either. I have a 12 kWH solar array on my roof for miles in my Leaf and my RIT. I am simply talking about being able to use the battery pack to store energy for camping use. I can go on Amazon right now and put together a system for under $1k that would power an in bed camper like the Go Fast Camper.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Its a great idea but solar tech hasn't caught up with this yet. This is why you really don't see EVs with rooftop solar as it adds a lot of expense but really doesn't gain you much. The ones that do have it do it because its a marketing gimmick.

What you could do if you want power while out camping is purchase something like an ECO Flow with an optional solar panel to replenish some of the electrons.

The Delta Max has a $500 coupon on Amazon right now. I will likely install a bank of LFP batteries in my travel trailer. With 500-1000w of solar and a nice bank of LFP batteries to go with a 12v fridge we will be ready for some serious off grid adventure. Wife wants to get a bigger one soon though so I am holding on that project for now.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Its a great idea but solar tech hasn't caught up with this yet. This is why you really don't see EVs with rooftop solar as it adds a lot of expense but really doesn't gain you much. The ones that do have it do it because its a marketing gimmick.

Fisker did it, both times. But it's only for running HVAC (so he said).

 

[Zoidz]

The OP never asked about adding miles to the truck and I am not talking about that either. I have a 12 kWH solar array on my roof for miles in my Leaf and my RIT. I am simply talking about being able to use the battery pack to store energy for camping use. I can go on Amazon right now and put together a system for under $1k that would power an in bed camper like the Go Fast Camper.

Has Rivian thought about a means to connect solar panel charging when out and about camping?

The OP's post did not specify the exact intent and could be reasonably interpreted either way - topping off for camping consumption or for adding range, which has come up here several times in the past. Responses from others also discuss range addition. My reply is accurate, just ignore the comment about range if that's a trigger for you.

 

[RedRaiderRivian]

The OP's post did not specify the exact intent and could be reasonably interpreted either way - topping off for camping consumption or for adding range, which has come up here several times in the past. Responses from others also discuss range addition. My reply is accurate, just ignore the comment about range if that's a trigger for you.

Its not a trigger just trying to get people thinking in a different direction than maybe what they are used to. In PA you have a very different level of solar radiation than we have in the south. I can still get 50% of my power production on cloudy days and in fact with the panel derating that occurs on hot sunny days, the difference is less.. Your statements may apply to your experience and particular geography but that doesn't mean they are right for everyone. I will show you how my setup works after I build it. If you have looked into DIY solar, you know that there are lots of inexpensive used panels available that would make the system even cheaper than buying new.

 

[Ohm Boy]

Fisker did it, both times. But it's only for running HVAC (so he said).

And my 2012 LEAF had a tiny solar panel on the back part of the roof that was supposed to charge the 12 volt battery that powered the car’s nav and displays. I have no idea if it actually did anything.

 

[RedRaiderRivian]

And my 2012 LEAF had a tiny solar panel on the back part of the roof that was supposed to charge the 12 volt battery that powered the car’s nav and displays. I have no idea if it actually did anything.

The 2024 Prius Prime also offers a smallish solar panel to help charge the battery.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Fisker did it, both times. But it's only for running HVAC (so he said).

My 82 year old father drives a Sonata Hybrid (non plugin). It has a solar roof.

With current solar tech it amounts to nothing more than a gimmick. Now, Aptera is such an efficient EV the solar on that may actually make a difference.

The bottom line is it adds a significant cost with very little benefit other than to try to drive more sales by having something a competitor doesn't and the public (mis) perception that solar will allow the car to charge itself off the sun.

Eventually we will probably get close but I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

[smunro622]

Not realistic. You would need about 10,000 watts of solar. I have 7,500 watts of solar and on a good summer day I can generate about 55 kWh. My R1T with Max pack takes a lot more than 55 kWh to charge to 70%.

Agreed about same size setup with 36 kw of battery storage and 15 kw generator. I run I self supply charge batteries first then sell back extra. ATS between electric co for 5-7 sec failovers for generator to start. I found it easier to install second meter and charge from 11pm to 9 am at .11/kw. I use a ChargePoint and times are hard coded there, if I need to charge I can manually over ride and pay .24-.30/ kw during the day. Also being on self supply no roaming black outs, service interruptions during peak times.

 

[smunro622]

My 82 year old father drives a Sonata Hybrid (non plugin). It has a solar roof.

With current solar tech it amounts to nothing more than a gimmick. Now, Aptera is such an efficient EV the solar on that may actually make a difference.

The bottom line is it adds a significant cost with very little benefit other than to try to drive more sales by having something a competitor doesn't and the public (mis) perception that solar will allow the car to charge itself off the sun.

Eventually we will probably get close but I don't see it happening any time soon.

Agreed with out having ground mounted panel arrays around 20kw multi inverters and a large storage solution impractical for EV charging. I do however did donate for carbon offset by planting trees in the TezLab app. Not perfect but helps offsetting carbon foot print.

 

[Zoidz]

Its not a trigger just trying to get people thinking in a different direction than maybe what they are used to. In PA you have a very different level of solar radiation than we have in the south. I can still get 50% of my power production on cloudy days and in fact with the panel derating that occurs on hot sunny days, the difference is less.. Your statements may apply to your experience and particular geography but that doesn't mean they are right for everyone. I will show you how my setup works after I build it. If you have looked into DIY solar, you know that there are lots of inexpensive used panels available that would make the system even cheaper than buying new.

I have DIY solar at home which trickle charges my 12v farm equipment, lights my barn and 400 ah LiFePO4 that provides short term emergency power for LED lighting and refrigeration in my house via a 200A transfer switch. Our engineering company’s electrical installation division is an SMA reseller. We design, install and integrate commercial solar for manufacturing plants that we design and build.

 

[Yota2R1T]

Besides all the very true practical limitations other posters have raised, there is one main hurdle that would not easily be overcome:
To charge the HV battery system you would need solar array to output around 500vdc, which in the solar world typically equates to about 10 or 12 standard residential modules in series.
The charge controller that can handle this costs about $1000 (wholesale) and would be completely in-feasible for camping for sooo many reasons I can think of.
Love the thought though!
R

 

[docwhiz]

I like your question and think there should be somekind of port to direct DC solar output in to the 12v or HV battery. No need to charge the truck but it would be helpful to make up for AC, lights, or cook top while camping.

GoSun has a rooftop fold out solar panel set with a small battery to even out the charge.
You could get a few kWh a day which would keep your battery toped up while camping.

 

[Mathme]

with current technology it just isn't practical. I have 23 solar panels permanently installed on the roof of my house. On a bright summer day, they will generate about 50 kWh of power throughout the entire day. On a typical winter day, those same panels generate about 20-25 kWh. There just isn't room to carry around enough panels to make noticeable dent in that 130 kWh battery pack.

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