Our good friends at All Electric Family really want to go "all electric," and solar seems like a solid way to do that. Can this family charge their Tesla and power other vehicles with the help of an all-in-one solar inverter?
This is a question that many people have asked over the years, along with many other related questions. Why don't all electric vehicles have solar roofs? Shouldn't Tesla and other EV owners invest in solar power? Can you charge your electric car with solar energy while camping? What about e-bikes? The very short answer to all of these questions is "yes", but there is a lot to consider.
While anything is possible and the prospects for these ideas will become much more realistic in the future, you can certainly achieve success with solar energy. You do need to have the right equipment, however, and shouldn't expect miracles early on unless you're naturally willing to spend a ton of money. Needless to say, we recently showed you how another Tesla owner charged their Model 3 with a homemade solar roof ceiling (see below).
To find out the answers, All Electric Family bought a Renogy 48-volt solar inverter charger to test its performance. They tested it with their Tesla Model X, Apex Nano Camper, and their homemade solar golf cart. The Renogy product is available on Amazon for around $ 900, but there are cheaper options. In the YouTube video description, All Electric Family lists all of the products shown and used in the video, just in case you want to consider such a project.
Steve takes a long time to unpack the Renogy 48-volt solar inverter charger and go through the details. Eventually, he reveals a solar golf cart he put together in the past. As it progresses, Steve tries to charge his Model X and run the air conditioning on the family's Apex Nano RV.
The video timestamps are as follows:
1:44 || Renogy information
3:58 || Unboxing
8:33 || Wearable information
12:13 || Solar golf cart
12:46 || Start system
13:43 || Charge the Tesla
19:23 || Let the camper run
20:01 || A / C test
21:06 || How to get a 10% discount on your Renogy
Check out the video and let us know what you think. Do you have solar If so, tell us about your system and how it works. What did it cost you the most?