Enteligent now has a DC-DC Solar EV charger for pre-order

[SpaceEVDriver]

I've been wanting this for a while now, but I'm having my Lightning's Power Station Pro EVSE installed next week. I won't be able to justify the $2250-$2500 expense of this any time soon. Also, hilariously, the spec sheet says it can't operate at my altitude.


https://enteligent.com/products/enteligent™-tlcev-t1-trusted-charging-presale

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[Mach-Lee]

What kind of efficiency increase does this provide compared to AC inverters?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

What kind of efficiency increase does this provide compared to AC inverters?

Their claim is 98% efficiency.

My 48A ChargePoint seems to be about 93% from the EVSE to the battery. Assuming what I've read, that generating station to the wall is 96%, is accurate, that gives about 89-90% efficiency from generating station to battery.

 

[Billyk24]

Will wait for actual user reviews before further input.

 

[Jerrytball]

I’m getting ready for hurricane season and I’ve ordered me a couple of solar power stations, the nice thing is it comes with a adapter and grounding, plug, that plugs into the side of the power station so you can charge it at any place you charge your EV, and all although it will take several hours I could add 10 or 20 miles to it by charging it with my portable cord that comes with the car , so if I ever decide to go on any type of a trip, I’ll just throw it in the back like someone carrying an extra can of gas. I guess to get me to the next charging station lol

 

[Adventureboy]

Cool concept and I like the idea but the solar array may be put to better use than just charging an EV. When the EV is topped up, the excess solar would be wasted. If it is too cloudy, the EV won't get charged. I'd say the overall efficiency of the system would be much worse due to the above factors unless your EV never gets to SOC during sunny days and you have a backup for when it isn't sunny or simply don't get enough.

Maybe a good idea for remote locations where there isn't a good (or any) electrical infrastructure to support an EV.

 

[B177y]

...the spec sheet says it can't operate at my altitude.

Why would altitude be a factor? Air not dense enough for the forced air cooling?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Cool concept and I like the idea but the solar array may be put to better use than just charging an EV. When the EV is topped up, the excess solar would be wasted. If it is too cloudy, the EV won't get charged. I'd say the overall efficiency of the system would be much worse due to the above factors unless your EV never gets to SOC during sunny days and you have a backup for when it isn't sunny or simply don't get enough.

Maybe a good idea for remote locations where there isn't a good (or any) electrical infrastructure to support an EV.

Why would the solar source only be connected to the charger?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Why would altitude be a factor? Air not dense enough for the forced air cooling?

It's in the spec sheet (2000 meters), but I suspect it's a failure of imagination rather than a real constraint.

 

[Adventureboy]

Why would the solar source only be connected to the charger?

It looks like the unit is DC (solar) to DC (CCS1 or NACS) only so there is no option to connect it otherwise without some creative custom electrical work. It makes it efficient for that purpose but makes it difficult (not impossible) to utilize excess solar. You could set up a custom solution to switch PV inputs to a separate inverter or off-grid battery charger but it would be custom.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

It looks like the unit is DC (solar) to DC (CCS1 or NACS) only so there is no option to connect it otherwise without some creative custom electrical work. It makes it efficient for that purpose but makes it difficult (not impossible) to utilize excess solar. You could set up a custom solution to switch PV inputs to a separate inverter or off-grid battery charger but it would be custom.

It's DC (any source) to DC (CCS1 or NACS).

Mid- to high-end hybrid PV inverters accept high-voltage DC battery input, so you could install this charger on the battery-side of a hybrid PV system and have power whenever you have solar input, when the batteries are charged, or whenever the grid is up. And even lower-end hybrid inverters are shifting to higher voltage battery.

 

[Mach-Lee]

It's in the spec sheet (2000 meters), but I suspect it's a failure of imagination rather than a real constraint.

It’s most likely related to cooling. At high altitudes, the air density is less and this affects the rate of heat removal for fans and heat sinks because the mass flow rate is less. Altitude limits are common in heating & cooling applications that rely on air as the transfer medium.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

It’s most likely related to cooling. At high altitudes, the air density is less and this affects the rate of heat removal for fans and heat sinks because the mass flow rate is less. Altitude limits are common in heating & cooling applications that rely on air as the transfer medium.

Sure. But the limit was arbitrarily chosen to be 2000 meters, not because that's where the cooling efficiency goes below their requirements, but probably because someone looked it up in a standard table and that table was low-precision. Cooling efficiency is not realistically different at 2000 meters vs 2133 meters.

At 2000 meters, the standard atmosphere calculation gives:

Density = 1.006 kg/m^3
Viscosity = 1.726e-5 N-s/m^2
Temperature = 275.1 K

At 2133 meters, it's:

0.993 kg/m^3
1.722e-5 N-s/m^2
274.3 K

 

[Adventureboy]

It's DC (any source) to DC (CCS1 or NACS).

Mid- to high-end hybrid PV inverters accept high-voltage DC battery input, so you could install this charger on the battery-side of a hybrid PV system and have power whenever you have solar input, when the batteries are charged, or whenever the grid is up. And even lower-end hybrid inverters are shifting to higher voltage battery.

Yes, this would definitely work if you have invested (or are willing to invest) in the high voltage Hybrid solar systems. Great concept for new solar installs. I'm guessing a 400v battery might take some investment.

 

[LuvmyGTPE]

Sure. But the limit was arbitrarily chosen to be 2000 meters, not because that's where the cooling efficiency goes below their requirements, but probably because someone looked it up in a standard table and that table was low-precision. Cooling efficiency is not realistically different at 2000 meters vs 2133 meters.

At 2000 meters, the standard atmosphere calculation gives:

Density = 1.006 kg/m^3
Viscosity = 1.726e-5 N-s/m^2
Temperature = 275.1 K

At 2133 meters, it's:

0.993 kg/m^3
1.722e-5 N-s/m^2
274.3 K

I'm at 6,800ft, I'm sure it would be just fine. This is a very cool find on your part! I'm highly intrigued by this technology as I am trying to build a charge station that is solely dedicated to just charging my MME. I do not want it tied to the grid in any way.

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