Cybertechnical
Well-known member
- First Name
- Tommy
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2024
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 107
- Location
- Austin
- Vehicles
- AWD
- Occupation
- Consultant
- Thread starter
- #1
Just wanted to share some mods I have done in case it's of use to others.
One thing I've been eager to do is add solar charging capability to the Cybertruck. First order of business here though is to set expectations because when people talk about solar powered cars, their expectations are often driven by sci-fi. The truth is, given the physics governing it (1kW/m^2 of solar radiation on earth) and current efficiencies (or even theoretical efficiencies) of solar panels (~20% real world), you are not going to get a lot of onboard solar energy to fully power or charge an EV on a practical level (although I'm a fan of what Aptera is doing). My use case is boondocking (extended remote camping). That means I'm willing to take time to set up the mobile solar power system on an infrequent basis, to get a few miles a day. Keep in mind this is my early prototype, more of a proof of concept. The plan is to develop a much more elegant solution with fold-out wings using better (CIGS) solar panels (painfully expensive).
If I use only enough solar panels to lay on the backside of the Cybertruck, I can get around 800W which comes to about 4kWh/day, which is about 12 miles/day if I drive slow. Not too bad IMO.
If I am willing to carry more panels and set up around the truck, I'm usually limited by the power my mobile "solar generator" can receive. In this case, I'm using a "solar generator" from Pecron which maxes out at 2550W. That translates to ~13kWh/day or about 40 miles/day.
Solar charging currently isn't straightforward for EVs sadly. It gets more complicated so I'll type it up in detail at the bottom so as to not bore people who don't care about solarA lot.
For the Starlink, nothing groundbreaking here. I paid extra for the mini, worth it for the integrated wifi and ability to backpack. Also people usually buy mounts which are ridiculously overpriced. I made my mount using velcro cable straps and suction cups from Temu, cost maybe $4, LOL. Works great. Flux capacitor from Amazon is in the back
One concern though is as we all know, people are constantly peering into the CT. I wanted to hide the Starlink so used a BestEVMod roof shade which is 100% opaque (unlike the Tesla OEM shade).
For phone mounts, I really didn't want to mar my dash or permanently mess with the CT in any way. Then it hit me mounting to aftermarket organizers would make for a great solution. I have 2 magsafe chargers, one on the behind-the-screen organizer and the console organizer because in TX, sometimes the sun is so intense it will overheat your phone if it's on the dash so I move it to the console for shade. Organizers are from BestEVMod and work great. At first I was afraid the lip of the dash organizer would put dents into the dashboard but the contact is actually spread across a large area in the base so it's not an issue.
Speaking of the sun, as we all know the giant windshield turns the CT into a greenhouse. A lot of people complain about the umbrella type sun shades but I like them. Small enough collapsed to store in the center console. Just takes a little practice to get good at deploying it. My method is to get under the shade when it's partially open, point the long legs to the far corners of the windshield, and voila. Using the dash organizer is perfect with the umbrella shade, as it provides a spot for the rubber handle to rest against. Using BestEVMod here also for umbrella and consoles.
Jumping back to solar for people wanting more detail.... Ideally, your EV would have a built in DC input for solar charging, and an onboard MPPT charger to directly and efficiently charge your DC batteries with DC solar input, but currently nobody does this. Therefore we have to take a convoluted path of Solar > Solar generator (DC in > charge controller > batteries > inverter) > Tesla Mobile Charger > Cybertruck. Hope Tesla changes this one day! Totally see why they don't, many would improperly wire up the panels but maybe with some current/voltage protection, it will make sense for the market. For now, we have to use "solar generators" as an intermediate step to condition and buffer the solar power for EV charging.
Complexity #1: Most solar generators won't work. I'm using the Pecron E3600LFP. I chose it because it is able to receive a lot of solar power (2550W) and output a lot in AC (3600W). Drawback with the Pecron is that the inverters are inefficient and consume 190W just idling. Don't try to small-med solar generators or power stations. You have to over-spec it because when the Tesla charger starts charging, if there is a large voltage drop, the charger will think your electrical system is overtaxed and stop for safety reasons. Smaller solar generators will typically not be able to maintain a consistent voltage during the initial surge and thus the Tesla charger will stop. I always set in the app to start charging at the minimum current (5A).
Complexity #2: Unless you go with gargantuan "solar generators" which you have to wheel around, you are limited to 110V. As most know, charging at 110V usually sucks. But it can suck less if you charge at 30A. This is especially important in my setup since if I am at peak solar power (~2550W), I want to balance the input and output since if the solar generator battery is full and I max out charging at 1600W (with a standard NEMA 5-15 plug), that excess solar power can't be used. However, the most common 30A plug is the NEMA TT-30 and is commonly found on largeish solar generators and RV parks. For reasons I don't understand, Tesla does not make a TT-30 adapter for the mobile charger so I bought the EVSE adapter.
Complexity #3: The Tesla mobile charger is intelligent so it is looking to make sure your electrical outlet is properly wired. This means it's looking for the neutral line to be bonded with the ground. This would happen at the master panel if your house is wired properly. The problem is with "solar generators", there is no ground. Therefore you have to trick the charger into thinking there is a ground-neutral bond by running a wire between the 2 prongs. Make sure you get the prongs right and don't complain to me if you start a fireworks show! I use thin gauge wire just in case of a fault.
As mentioned, this is a rough proof of concept for mobile solar charging. Will update here as I refine it to a more elegant solution!
One thing I've been eager to do is add solar charging capability to the Cybertruck. First order of business here though is to set expectations because when people talk about solar powered cars, their expectations are often driven by sci-fi. The truth is, given the physics governing it (1kW/m^2 of solar radiation on earth) and current efficiencies (or even theoretical efficiencies) of solar panels (~20% real world), you are not going to get a lot of onboard solar energy to fully power or charge an EV on a practical level (although I'm a fan of what Aptera is doing). My use case is boondocking (extended remote camping). That means I'm willing to take time to set up the mobile solar power system on an infrequent basis, to get a few miles a day. Keep in mind this is my early prototype, more of a proof of concept. The plan is to develop a much more elegant solution with fold-out wings using better (CIGS) solar panels (painfully expensive).
If I use only enough solar panels to lay on the backside of the Cybertruck, I can get around 800W which comes to about 4kWh/day, which is about 12 miles/day if I drive slow. Not too bad IMO.
If I am willing to carry more panels and set up around the truck, I'm usually limited by the power my mobile "solar generator" can receive. In this case, I'm using a "solar generator" from Pecron which maxes out at 2550W. That translates to ~13kWh/day or about 40 miles/day.
Solar charging currently isn't straightforward for EVs sadly. It gets more complicated so I'll type it up in detail at the bottom so as to not bore people who don't care about solarA lot.
For the Starlink, nothing groundbreaking here. I paid extra for the mini, worth it for the integrated wifi and ability to backpack. Also people usually buy mounts which are ridiculously overpriced. I made my mount using velcro cable straps and suction cups from Temu, cost maybe $4, LOL. Works great. Flux capacitor from Amazon is in the back
One concern though is as we all know, people are constantly peering into the CT. I wanted to hide the Starlink so used a BestEVMod roof shade which is 100% opaque (unlike the Tesla OEM shade).
For phone mounts, I really didn't want to mar my dash or permanently mess with the CT in any way. Then it hit me mounting to aftermarket organizers would make for a great solution. I have 2 magsafe chargers, one on the behind-the-screen organizer and the console organizer because in TX, sometimes the sun is so intense it will overheat your phone if it's on the dash so I move it to the console for shade. Organizers are from BestEVMod and work great. At first I was afraid the lip of the dash organizer would put dents into the dashboard but the contact is actually spread across a large area in the base so it's not an issue.
Speaking of the sun, as we all know the giant windshield turns the CT into a greenhouse. A lot of people complain about the umbrella type sun shades but I like them. Small enough collapsed to store in the center console. Just takes a little practice to get good at deploying it. My method is to get under the shade when it's partially open, point the long legs to the far corners of the windshield, and voila. Using the dash organizer is perfect with the umbrella shade, as it provides a spot for the rubber handle to rest against. Using BestEVMod here also for umbrella and consoles.
Jumping back to solar for people wanting more detail.... Ideally, your EV would have a built in DC input for solar charging, and an onboard MPPT charger to directly and efficiently charge your DC batteries with DC solar input, but currently nobody does this. Therefore we have to take a convoluted path of Solar > Solar generator (DC in > charge controller > batteries > inverter) > Tesla Mobile Charger > Cybertruck. Hope Tesla changes this one day! Totally see why they don't, many would improperly wire up the panels but maybe with some current/voltage protection, it will make sense for the market. For now, we have to use "solar generators" as an intermediate step to condition and buffer the solar power for EV charging.
Complexity #1: Most solar generators won't work. I'm using the Pecron E3600LFP. I chose it because it is able to receive a lot of solar power (2550W) and output a lot in AC (3600W). Drawback with the Pecron is that the inverters are inefficient and consume 190W just idling. Don't try to small-med solar generators or power stations. You have to over-spec it because when the Tesla charger starts charging, if there is a large voltage drop, the charger will think your electrical system is overtaxed and stop for safety reasons. Smaller solar generators will typically not be able to maintain a consistent voltage during the initial surge and thus the Tesla charger will stop. I always set in the app to start charging at the minimum current (5A).
Complexity #2: Unless you go with gargantuan "solar generators" which you have to wheel around, you are limited to 110V. As most know, charging at 110V usually sucks. But it can suck less if you charge at 30A. This is especially important in my setup since if I am at peak solar power (~2550W), I want to balance the input and output since if the solar generator battery is full and I max out charging at 1600W (with a standard NEMA 5-15 plug), that excess solar power can't be used. However, the most common 30A plug is the NEMA TT-30 and is commonly found on largeish solar generators and RV parks. For reasons I don't understand, Tesla does not make a TT-30 adapter for the mobile charger so I bought the EVSE adapter.
Complexity #3: The Tesla mobile charger is intelligent so it is looking to make sure your electrical outlet is properly wired. This means it's looking for the neutral line to be bonded with the ground. This would happen at the master panel if your house is wired properly. The problem is with "solar generators", there is no ground. Therefore you have to trick the charger into thinking there is a ground-neutral bond by running a wire between the 2 prongs. Make sure you get the prongs right and don't complain to me if you start a fireworks show! I use thin gauge wire just in case of a fault.
As mentioned, this is a rough proof of concept for mobile solar charging. Will update here as I refine it to a more elegant solution!
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