solar trailer

Does anyone have any advice for putting together a PV powered trailer for constuction tools?

Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: solar trailer

    well gary that's an interesting question, but it is dependant on other factors. the biggst factors are how much you intend on drawing and how big the trailer is that influences the number of pvs that can be mounted. it could also be influenced on whether it is to charge a bank of batteries for use in cloudy or dark periods, or straight up power when the sun shines. one of the most common influences is how much money you have as this is expensive. do know that electric motors be they fan motors or those of tools draw heavy amounts of electricity. these are usually the 110vac variety that is out there and you'd need the pure sinewave inverter types as the modsinewave types cause and extra power draw and tend to destroy the life of electric motors if they run on it at all. this trailer would also have to have adjustable mounts to swing the pvs into the sun. very complex depending on how the trailer is parked. it may be easier for you to get an idea by looking at some of the higher wattage pvs for their dimensions so you see how much power will be produced by how many pvs you are able to fit on a trailer size of your choosing. the power in watts is stc, but ptc is a better gage for us in the states so multiply the stc watts by .9. after that there are wire, charging, controller, inverter, etc. losses and you can roughly count on these to be around 20 to 25% depending so the ptc watts will be multiplied by .75 to .8. do this for each pv(usually use the same pvs throughout) and add them all up for your potential watthours. if you have more specifics to ask after you get a better idea please ask.
  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: solar trailer

    Take a look at Home Power magazine, issue #90, page 32 for ideas.

    HTH,
    Jim / crewzer