i am looking to charge our PHEV with our un-used solar energy(standard 4KW system)- i origonal thought to simple use a solar diverter(iBoost or simular) to a 13 amp socket but i have been informed that the there is a minimum charge level accepted by the car of 6amps or 1440w (6ampx240v) this is too high a starting point and would be useless for early mornings, or winter low generation times. would it be possible to divert (through iboost) the solar PV into a 110v transformer (builders type) and then in to the car, would reducing the voltage to 110 reduces the minimum charge to 660w(6amps x 110v)? and is all this possible?

Id start by putting your details into PVGIS and downloading the hourly generation figures for your system. Then look at how often youll be generating enough to charge the car through the year.

If youre concerned about morning/evening/winter generation, understanding the year round generation might help your planning. Other than a few hours on bright clear winter days, you dont get anywhere near the systems rated max in winter and by the time you deduct the house background load you may not get much if any charge into the car for quite a few months.

Any option to extend the systems capacity??

Is this what you are looking for?
https://myenergi.nl/en/product/zappi/

Posted By: revor I been looking at this for a future EV but situation in my case is a bit complicated because have solar battery.

Please do keep us posted about any solutions you find for this. It is an area that industry has not sorted out (yet) and I foresee many PV & battery owners getting unpleasantly surprised once they swap out their ICE car for an EV.

The Zappi can prioritise PV power. Blurb...

eco charging
The eco charge mode is a mixture of both green energy and energy imported from the grid. eco mode minimises the use of grid power, generally taking advantage of cheaper rates overnight, but can also charge using 100% green energy. Essentially giving you the ability to charge up your car for free! The charging power is continuously adjusted in response to changes in generation or power being used elsewhere in the home.

If the surplus generation drops below 1.4kw some power will be drawn from the grid to top it back up.


eco+ charging
eco+ charging is very similar to eco charging in that it can utilise power from the grid or your own power source. However the charge power is continuously adjusted in response to changes in generation or power consumption elsewhere in the home. Your electric car charging will pause if there is too much-imported power, continuing only when there is surplus free power available.

Update

From feedback on other forums and installers, it is possible to use 110v to charge a EV (providing it will accept it) but not so easy to find a charging unit, US chargers being 120V imput ( and im not sure will work with a standard builder site transformer) and 6-13 amp range, this upper limit will ristict the charge to 1500w which will not cope with the summer PV generation. So i would need a unit that was able to accept both 110V and 240V 6-32 amps

Have you considered putting a relay switch on the car charging fed by a light meter?

(idea being to take from a house system, with top up from mains, but only when solar energy is at peak): would need a bypass switch. Sounds cheap and cheerful at first sight but not sure if feasible so just throwing the idea out there.

Posted By: an02ewThis was my origonal idea, but sadly scuppered when i was inform US chargers are 120V not 110V (will it work at 110 supply)

It seems the lower limit for US mains supply is 114 V, so not quite there. But when your solar is generating it may push the voltage up to around 250 V instead of the nominal 230 V, so that may bridge the gap even if everything is only behaving to the smallest deviation it must.

In short you could do some measurements and research to check but ultimately you might need to suck it and see. That's if everything else works as you wish.

Posted By: djhIt seems the lower limit for US mains supply is 114 V, so not quite there. But when your solar is generating it may push the voltage up to around 250 V instead of the nominal 230 V, so that may bridge the gap even if everything is only behaving to the smallest deviation it must.

i was getting to hung up on the US power supply here, see below extract from Open EVSE (US version)

"The OpenEVSE Advanced kit contains the components required to assemble a Level 1/2 Charging Station designed for flexible use worldwide or while on the road. The new kit is ideal for portable charging at any voltage from 90 - 264v AC. This kit is intended for use on circuits up to 60 Amps (maximum 50A continuous output). The Advanced Kit includes WiFi, Color LCD, Amp and kWh meters and Charging Station based timers."

i can connect this to a 110V transformer in the winter months to reduce required wattage 660w to triger initial charge. i will have to deside when to change the back to 240V to make sure i maximise the upper level charge too ( its a shame this isnt able to be more automated