Almost all of these parts I got are second hand so they are pretty cheap. But here is how much I spent on them: Solar panel (250W): $100 Battery pack (2.5 KWh): $50 each x 5 = $250 (this is the most expensive part of the build) Charge controller: $40 Inverter (1000W UPS power supply): free! = $0 Screws, bolts, nuts, copper wires...: $10 Total: About $400. As a comparison: A Yeti 400 (0.4KWh) power station with a 50W solar panel costs a whopping $750 before tax! When I first looked at it I was like dang, there's got to be a better way!
TO VUAECO: This is an excellent, outstanding build demonstration video. Nicely illustrated, and your narration is very good, especially making the points clear and your reasons and benefits. Well done!
I need that solar panel! Could possibly put another 100 w panel in front of it and really kick up the power! Lol idk for my van build I dont care about drilling holes...
Really like that idea Solar on roof, should make a real car running on batteries with solar panels driving and charging at the same time would be a great idea never run out of battery on day light and would be charge at night 👍
That's an amazing idea, because you will have power everywhere. This is how we did. ua-cam.com/video/SGLfB3lqtVE/v-deo.html here you can get it cuttingedgepower.com/products/mspmb
Dear Sir, Highly ingenious & very resourceful. Your labour has certainly paid you dividends even if in smaller quantity than expected. There will always be a next time which is the added bonus of your creation. very well done. Kind regards.
Looks like a factory install. Unless a basketball team walk by, nobody would know it was there...its very interesting to hear you say that the cooling effect of the wind when ur driving increases production, its a shame house roof panels dont av a system of cooling...gr8 build n simple too😎
White is the best choice for keeping it as cool as possible, but maybe a thin piece of corrugated plastic under the panel to help cool it while sitting still. Just a small amount of wind going through the vents in the plastic will help cool plus it gets the panel off the metal roof. You said your solar panel has to put out less voltage than your 40v battery. I never knew it was wise to do this with a boost converter drawing more voltage than the open circuit value of the absolute value of the solar panel. That solar controller is not MPPT it's PWM. There's hundreds of videos on that same controller. You could get a better and faster charge with a real MPPT Controller. I would use that with 2 regular solar batteries that charge to 14.4v each so 28.8v out of a 30.5v solar panel.
Good job! To solve your charging issue while driving and parked. You just need more space between the panel and the rooftop to keep the panels cool. At least 1 inch, 2 inches optimal space. The panels get hot while charging. It loses energy from the heat, if not properly cooled.
Now I got to another great experiment for you Most vehicles use Around 15% of the gas is used by the alternator Try running around one full tank of gas without doing anything and then after that hook in your solar panels charge controller straight to your car battery and see if there is a difference in gas mileage Another great experiment for you run with it and always great Experiments keep them coming good job 👍👍👍
Hello and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience in this field, this is such a cool idea honestly to harvest the sun, the reason why the solar panel gains more watts when driving is because when it cooler its more efficient and when warmer it kind of lags, thanks again and have an awesome day man.
This man is a genius. I have a interesting question. How does the car behave when it is left in the sun? It should be colder if i'm right, and that is a added bonus. Also, that wind ramp you could get 3d printed and painted and it would work great. P.S. Audi had a similar technoloty on their high end models in the 2000's. Basically solar sunroofs, allowing it to run AC fans while car is turned off.
The car now has an "external shield" from the sun that is over 1.5 square meters so yes, it is cooler when left in the sun. That's an added bonus, indeed. A 3D printed ramp would be enormous and cost an arm and a leg. That piece of foam cost me $2 from Lowe's. It works like a charm as you can see in the video. I can probably run a fan or even an AC when the car is parked in the sun as I have an excess of 150W of power when parked.
@@vuaeco The 3d printed ramp would cost you less than 20$ and you could hinge it so you can store things underneath the solar panel. Like for example another panel with drawer mechanism. And then you'd have motors pull it out once you are parked.
8:46!!!!!! interesting about panel producing more power while driving. Seems to fit so perfect in there. You van looks very steathy, IMO would have been more stealthy if you pushed the panel forward and used other cross members.
impressive , I think I will copy this build and try and find a solar panel that fit between my roof bars. like the rubber spacers / vibration dampers ! I'll probably have to bolt right through my roof rails as I have no slot. they were cheap so not a problem.
Hi, Thank you for showing your DIY build solar panel system on your mini van. May I ask where you shop your used solar panel. I am currently thinking of doing a solar array project and would like to buy some used panel. I live in Southern California. Thank you much for your idea. Cheer! :)
This is what I've been thinking of doing to the new hatchback that we got a few months ago. I just need to get the wife's nod before I experiment and possibly void the car's warranty. Lol Awesome project, thanks for the addtl stuff I learned! :)
I've been looking for a video like this, to install it flush! I will only have cross bars though, and was hoping to not drill. maybe U bolts will come in handy
I love your build. Looking to do the same for our Sienna and I was terrirified of drilling holes. Going to try it on a roof cargo basket. Would love your thoughts on those Renogy LiFePO4 batteries, worth it in your opinion?
Awesome solar panel project for your van. I just placed an order on 2 100 watt each solar panels since amazon having a deal on it (2 for 150$). Putting 1 first on my 01 subaru forester. Would like to ask you where did you get that inverter box?
Did you end up grounding this solar panel? If so, how did you ground it? If not, why not? I've seen a number of RV setups where they ground to the chassis Thank you :)
The panel is grounded via the roof rack. It is mounted using aluminum brackets mounted to the roof rack which is mounted to the roof that is part of the chassis of the car.
Great installation 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. I am working on my 2007 Sienna following your example. I opened the rear tail lights cover. I could pass the wires through, but I have a hard time to close it. Do you think that there will be some water going through the crack. Thank you.
Nice build! Can you give us a general cost of the build? Thanks!
Almost all of these parts I got are second hand so they are pretty cheap. But here is how much I spent on them:
Solar panel (250W): $100
Battery pack (2.5 KWh): $50 each x 5 = $250 (this is the most expensive part of the build)
Charge controller: $40
Inverter (1000W UPS power supply): free! = $0
Screws, bolts, nuts, copper wires...: $10
Total: About $400.
As a comparison: A Yeti 400 (0.4KWh) power station with a 50W solar panel costs a whopping $750 before tax! When I first looked at it I was like dang, there's got to be a better way!
TO VUAECO: This is an excellent, outstanding build demonstration video. Nicely illustrated, and your narration is very good, especially making the points clear and your reasons and benefits. Well done!
and refreshingly resourceful!
Your 3 principles make total sense & those alone deserve a thumb-up!
Great video! thank you so much for all the details... :) going to look at your update vid now. 👍
Thank you for sharing. Your video was very helpful
This guy is amazing. So resourceful.
I need that solar panel! Could possibly put another 100 w panel in front of it and really kick up the power! Lol idk for my van build I dont care about drilling holes...
Thanks so much for this excellent video! I am doing a 2006 Sienna solar panel build this week.
Really like that idea Solar on roof, should make a real car running on batteries with solar panels driving and charging at the same time would be a great idea never run out of battery on day light and would be charge at night 👍
That's an amazing idea, because you will have power everywhere. This is how we did. ua-cam.com/video/SGLfB3lqtVE/v-deo.html here you can get it cuttingedgepower.com/products/mspmb
Dear Sir,
Highly ingenious & very resourceful. Your labour has certainly paid you dividends even if in smaller quantity than expected. There will always be a next time which is the added bonus of your creation. very well done. Kind regards.
Looks like a factory install. Unless a basketball team walk by, nobody would know it was there...its very interesting to hear you say that the cooling effect of the wind when ur driving increases production, its a shame house roof panels dont av a system of cooling...gr8 build n simple too😎
Smart young man, are you an engineer.
Please tell us what piece of IKEA furniture that square piece came from we could order them from IKEA.
White is the best choice for keeping it as cool as possible, but maybe a thin piece of corrugated plastic under the panel to help cool it while sitting still. Just a small amount of wind going through the vents in the plastic will help cool plus it gets the panel off the metal roof. You said your solar panel has to put out less voltage than your 40v battery. I never knew it was wise to do this with a boost converter drawing more voltage than the open circuit value of the absolute value of the solar panel. That solar controller is not MPPT it's PWM. There's hundreds of videos on that same controller. You could get a better and faster charge with a real MPPT Controller. I would use that with 2 regular solar batteries that charge to 14.4v each so 28.8v out of a 30.5v solar panel.
Awesome video, I like your creativity, you do a great job explaining everything about what you’re doing!
Finally!! A sienna!!
This a K I C K A S S VIDEO- THANK YOU ! ! !
Good job! To solve your charging issue while driving and parked. You just need more space between the panel and the rooftop to keep the panels cool. At least 1 inch, 2 inches optimal space. The panels get hot while charging. It loses energy from the heat, if not properly cooled.
Great video with awesome details. Thank you
This is a very great build. Very creative at solving the mounting for cheap.
Now I got to another great experiment for you Most vehicles use Around 15% of the gas is used by the alternator Try running around one full tank of gas without doing anything and then after that hook in your solar panels charge controller straight to your car battery and see if there is a difference in gas mileage Another great experiment for you run with it and always great Experiments keep them coming good job 👍👍👍
Sounds like a good experiment worth doing! :D
One of the smartest builds I’ve seen. Great jon
Good job!!
Thank you very much for such informative video. You have inspired me to start my own solar minivan project ; )
Do you happen to know the model number of the panel or know where to find a 250 watt? Having a lot of difficulty locating one.
I was wondering the same thing.
Hello and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience in this field, this is such a cool idea honestly to harvest the sun, the reason why the solar panel gains more watts when driving is because when it cooler its more efficient and when warmer it kind of lags, thanks again and have an awesome day man.
What protective glass could be put over the panels? Plexiglass?
Thanks.
This man is a genius.
I have a interesting question.
How does the car behave when it is left in the sun?
It should be colder if i'm right, and that is a added bonus.
Also, that wind ramp you could get 3d printed and painted and it would work great.
P.S. Audi had a similar technoloty on their high end models in the 2000's. Basically solar sunroofs, allowing it to run AC fans while car is turned off.
The car now has an "external shield" from the sun that is over 1.5 square meters so yes, it is cooler when left in the sun. That's an added bonus, indeed. A 3D printed ramp would be enormous and cost an arm and a leg. That piece of foam cost me $2 from Lowe's. It works like a charm as you can see in the video. I can probably run a fan or even an AC when the car is parked in the sun as I have an excess of 150W of power when parked.
@@vuaeco The 3d printed ramp would cost you less than 20$ and you could hinge it so you can store things underneath the solar panel.
Like for example another panel with drawer mechanism. And then you'd have motors pull it out once you are parked.
Great little solar setup, nice video. Greetings from sunny Jamaica.
The pipe insulation is pretty perfect.
Great, excellent job thanks for the tutorial 👍👍
8:46!!!!!! interesting about panel producing more power while driving. Seems to fit so perfect in there. You van looks very steathy, IMO would have been more stealthy if you pushed the panel forward and used other cross members.
Yes, indeed!
what is the cost ?
are there any links for these pieces to buy them ?
Great installation, but the only thing that concerns my, is that the wiring will lead water down to you tail light assembly, and the trunk area.
What might you suggest can be done?
Any idea what those Ikea square inserts are called? (I can't find those anywhere on ikea's website, so I may have to improvise.)
Watch my other solar van video for the 327W solar panel. I think I talked about the alternative method.
can you install panel without the rack？
Thank you! I finally found what I need to do!
impressive , I think I will copy this build and try and find a solar panel that fit between my roof bars. like the rubber spacers / vibration dampers ! I'll probably have to bolt right through my roof rails as I have no slot. they were cheap so not a problem.
Very nice and well thought out build!
Can you leave a link to that solar panel please ?
Hi, Thank you for showing your DIY build solar panel system on your mini van. May I ask where you shop your used solar panel. I am currently thinking of doing a solar array project and would like to buy some used panel. I live in Southern California. Thank you much for your idea. Cheer! :)
Where can I find part 1?
You do know thieves are using drones now don't you. Hope you had a nice trip!
LOL! I can imagine a thief controlling his drone in a parking lot scanning for a van with a solar panel on top! :D
This is what I've been thinking of doing to the new hatchback that we got a few months ago. I just need to get the wife's nod before I experiment and possibly void the car's warranty. Lol
Awesome project, thanks for the addtl stuff I learned! :)
I actually almost ,kinda understood solar.but not quite.This is a fantastic video, I'm keeping it and I subscribed.
Can it go thru a car wash?
Problem for me is, I don’t know enough about this equipment to use resourced parts...don’t even recognize what he calls batteries!
Awesome set up! Thank you for posting
Some good info.
I've been looking for a video like this, to install it flush! I will only have cross bars though, and was hoping to not drill. maybe U bolts will come in handy
Sweet
Good improvisations - love you inventiveness! The tape through the foam is so practical
I love your build. Looking to do the same for our Sienna and I was terrirified of drilling holes. Going to try it on a roof cargo basket.
Would love your thoughts on those Renogy LiFePO4 batteries, worth it in your opinion?
Whould you tell me what is the size of solar panel and where I can get it ? Thx
I love this!!!
Awesome solar panel project for your van. I just placed an order on 2 100 watt each solar panels since amazon having a deal on it (2 for 150$). Putting 1 first on my 01 subaru forester. Would like to ask you where did you get that inverter box?
The inverter is actually a UPS power supply made by Tripp Lite. I removed the 36V lead acid battery (3x 12V) and put in the 40V Nissan Leaf pack.
Did you end up grounding this solar panel?
If so, how did you ground it? If not, why not?
I've seen a number of RV setups where they ground to the chassis
Thank you :)
The panel is grounded via the roof rack. It is mounted using aluminum brackets mounted to the roof rack which is mounted to the roof that is part of the chassis of the car.
are you vietnamese??
Can you go to car wash with it??
This is awesome, thank you!
Very thorough. Thank you🤠
Great installation 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. I am working on my 2007 Sienna following your example. I opened the rear tail lights cover. I could pass the wires through, but I have a hard time to close it. Do you think that there will be some water going through the crack. Thank you.
It's a bit tight through the light cover but it'll go. I haven't got any water leak so far for the last 6 months.
Me: finally a technique I can understand
Him: four square metal thingy...salvaged from ikea
Me: 😩
LOL yeah, they are metal thingies
@@vuaeco still the most relevant tutorial 😄
Good👍👍👍👍
What year is Your Sienna ? Our 2012 measurement between roof racks is
Mine is 2008. The gap between the 2 rails is about 41" (approx). I think yours is the newer gen so it's narrower?
@@vuaeco Thank You obtw Nice Vid.
hi yr 250 watts is 12v or 24v 36v since yr battery is 36v
It's 30V norminal.
Nice video,
Love his accent :D
Sweet, you could use it to drive your monster LED light.
Yes, indeed. At 9:39 it's the brightest thing in Yosemite at night! :D
That light at 9:39 is the LED light you built from the TV?
Either way, an awesome event/experience/proof of concept.
_"...it's the brightest thing in Yosemite at night!"_
Unless "the visitors" come. :-)
Could charge an electric car?
no