Charging from a Solar-Roof Carport

[alan auerbach]

I know solar panels are not efficient, but I won't be driving much, and (if need be) there's a nearby Tesla charging station.

I'd welcome comments about how I'd go from a roof with about a 15-foot-square array of solar panels to my CT charge part. And if you know of any suppliers of suitable carports (or carport plans). And whether there are pre-made carport solar roofs or you get or make a regular roof and add your own panels. And whether I should be committed for even thinking about this.

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[ldjessee]

The company that made my metal shed (metal sided, metal roofed, wooden structure) also makes carports. They also make lots of barns and livestock shelters.

They are a regional brand where Amish and Mennonites make them in a facility and then they are delivered onsite... anyway, they make carports. They offered the option to have the shed pre-wired for solar or grid power (I assume DC vs AC wiring).

If you have such a business in your area, you might see what they offer?

I have not been up there in almost two decades, so I have no idea what is available in Ontario...
A quick search I found Future Buildings but I have never dealt with them, so who knows what the quality and such would be.
Another search got me TerraGen Solar, but their carports seem to be of the commercial scale.

Good Luck in your search!

 

[alan auerbach]

The company that made my metal shed (metal sided, metal roofed, wooden structure) also makes carports. They also make lots of barns and livestock shelters.

They are a regional brand where Amish and Mennonites make them in a facility and then they are delivered onsite... anyway, they make carports. They offered the option to have the shed pre-wired for solar or grid power (I assume DC vs AC wiring).

If you have such a business in your area, you might see what they offer?

I have not been up there in almost two decades, so I have no idea what is available in Ontario...
A quick search I found Future Buildings but I have never dealt with them, so who knows what the quality and such would be.
Another search got me TerraGen Solar, but their carports seem to be of the commercial scale.

Good Luck in your search!

I knew of Fut Bldgs but not TerraGen, which does that and is not far from me -- so thanks Lloyd.

 

[SparkEE]

I could help you out with that if you really wanted to look into it. I have some simulation software I could run and let you know how much power you could generate in an average year.

Sounds like a smaller area but if it's South facing it can be quite good in the summer up here in Canada. Winter not so much... My panels are currently covered in snow...

 

[FutureBoy]

I could help you out with that if you really wanted to look into it. I have some simulation software I could run and let you know how much power you could generate in an average year.

Sounds like a smaller area but if it's South facing it can be quite good in the summer up here in Canada. Winter not so much... My panels are currently covered in snow...

My panels are currently covered in snow...

Question about this... What if the panels were installed directly on earth berms? I know that the earth generally will freeze (what is your frost depth there?) but if one were to install pipes from very deep and pump fluid through the pipes could we keep the earth berms from freezing? Theoretically if the earth berms didn’t freeze then any snow on the attached solar panels would also melt (yeah wind chill etc would need to be compensated for). And if the pumps had a battery energy source, the pumps and battery could be installed below the frost line to keep them running smoothly. And during the summer the same system would possibly keep the panels from overheating. I get that this would all need $$ to install. But if done correctly, it seems like it could be a very reliable system. Of course the further north one goes the more difficult it would be to make work. Also if it snowed fast enough the warming may not be able to melt all the snow right away. But at some point it should catch up because snow itself is a pretty good insulator. One might need to figure out where to send all the extra water from melting snow.

 

[alan auerbach]

Question about this... What if the panels were installed directly on earth berms? I know that the earth generally will freeze (what is your frost depth there?) but if one were to install pipes from very deep and pump fluid through the pipes could we keep the earth berms from freezing? Theoretically if the earth berms didn’t freeze then any snow on the attached solar panels would also melt (yeah wind chill etc would need to be compensated for). And if the pumps had a battery energy source, the pumps and battery could be installed below the frost line to keep them running smoothly. And during the summer the same system would possibly keep the panels from overheating. I get that this would all need $$ to install. But if done correctly, it seems like it could be a very reliable system. Of course the further north one goes the more difficult it would be to make work. Also if it snowed fast enough the warming may not be able to melt all the snow right away. But at some point it should catch up because snow itself is a pretty good insulator. One might need to figure out where to send all the extra water from melting snow.

Thanks Neil and Reg. But I'm sure that if my idea were practical, there'd be lots of firms offering to fulfill it, and I haven't found any. (Lloyd found a place called TerraGen but they don't respond.) Guess I'll go with the normal garage plug-in.

 

[SparkEE]

Question about this... What if the panels were installed directly on earth berms? I know that the earth generally will freeze (what is your frost depth there?) but if one were to install pipes from very deep and pump fluid through the pipes could we keep the earth berms from freezing? Theoretically if the earth berms didn’t freeze then any snow on the attached solar panels would also melt (yeah wind chill etc would need to be compensated for). And if the pumps had a battery energy source, the pumps and battery could be installed below the frost line to keep them running smoothly. And during the summer the same system would possibly keep the panels from overheating. I get that this would all need $$ to install. But if done correctly, it seems like it could be a very reliable system. Of course the further north one goes the more difficult it would be to make work. Also if it snowed fast enough the warming may not be able to melt all the snow right away. But at some point it should catch up because snow itself is a pretty good insulator. One might need to figure out where to send all the extra water from melting snow.

The most economical approach is to simply install the panels at a sufficient angle that the snow slides off on a sunny day. Our frost depth can be 6 to 8 feet in most populated areas. The problem is cost and reward - you would pile a ton of money into this system to provide fractional output gains. This is because the days are so short up north. In reality you only receive 2-3 full sun hours equivalent in the winter up here with the sun so far south on the horizon and short days. You would need to cycle that water otherwise it would also freeze so it's too much hassle to have your system try and squeak out a bit more power.

A good metric I learned in a solar class was that snow only accounts for between 6 and 10% energy loss on an annual basis. Since economics of solar are still borderline there is no return chasing the small gain you get.

Hope that helps. With unlimited budget, your idea would work but also so would simple electric heat trace on the panels to keep them warm.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Fundamentally, you need to separate the idea of charging your vehicle and investing in solar energy. It doesn't matter if you charge your vehicle from the grid and power your dishwasher from the sun or vice versa. Solar is a good investment these days. If you want to do it, find the best set up for your property and make it happen. Don't focus on making it a "carport", or on which of your appliances is getting the sun electrons.

 

[Crissa]

Of course, if you have a roof, like a carport, it's wasted space anyhow, so putting solar there is a great idea.

-Crissa

 

[ldjessee]

I have seen some people talk about cooling panels in very hot locations (like Arizona, New Mexico, etc) where they use a ground loop to help cool PV panels in the heat so they are more efficient. Using an extra couple of panels to run a pump (and attached battery) could be used to heat panels to help heat them up so that snow would slide off (do not need to melt all the snow, just a then layer so it slides off).

Having a battery stored out of the weather and to start the pump to clear snow in the winter would be a requirement I assume (or grid tied)...

Sure, this is a lot of added complexity where I live would be not worth it, but in extremes (heat or cold) it might be worth it...