Is there a giant lithium battery that I can attach solar panels to?

[gizmo j]

I was thinking of buying a giant lithium battery similar to what's found on electric vehicles(or maybe bigger) and use that so the solar panels would charge the battery during the day but would give power during the night.

Is this possible? And where would I find one?

 

[getochkn]

What do you want to power? Charge phones? Run a house? DC only power? AC 120v to run your microwave and PC? Too many variables. How big is big? Can it be as big as a house itself?

 

[Alabalcho]

I think you're asking this (or similar) question for third or fourth time, and you won't get any different answer: Each solar installation needs, in addition to panels, also a "charge controller", sized for both the panels and the batteries. In addition, you'll also need an inverter, to bring you back 110/220V usable by your appliances.

And again - you'll need plenty of panels if you want to charge / use more than a phone or tablet.

 

[Solandri]

There are, but you're going to pay out the nose for them. I ran across them while shopping for new house batteries for my boat. Rumor (based on company spokesman statements at conventions) was that it was going to be priced around $1000-$1200 per battery. That was over a year ago, so it's probably for sale somewhere. A Trojan dealer should be able to get you actual pricing. (Trojan is the #1 battery brand for golf cart and PV solar installations).

https://www.trojanbattery.com/trillium/

 

[getochkn]

Please keep all your related battery/solar questions to one thread. You have too many.

 

[getochkn]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from gizmo j : "Can you attach solar panels to an electric RV and use that to charge the engine battery?"

Also would I be able to use electric appliances such as refrigeration, air conditioning and a laptop with the engine battery?

Going to have to be a lot more specific. If you just randomly hook some random solar pannels to the batteries you're a lot more likely to end up with battery acid on your face than charged batteries

The solar panels typically charge batteries in an RV. The batteries can provide AC power to devices via an inverter. No RV inverters, that I am aware of, can power AC. Laptops are okay. Refrigeration is a maybe.

Generators, or shore power, are needed to power larger items for any length of time.

What are you trying to accomplish? And, for how long?

While in theory this is possible, your first step should be to make a very detailed energy budget. You may find that the necessary panel area is too large for the RV's roof, the wanted loads require a battery larger than you have or can install, or just that one part or another (inverter, panels, batteries) ends up being cost prohibitive.

Only once you've done that should you really start looking at controls, system layouts etc.

Average roof solar panel produces about 200W under ideal conditions. If you can install five of these on the roof, you'll get 1KW of power. As other said - you'll need separate power controller, battery pack, and inverter, to power appliances. Don't touch engine battery - it has enough job starting your engine.

First, I want to see the specs on this "electric RV".

Didn't spot that. If this is an actual battery-electric vehicle, DO NOT MESS WITH HIGH-VOLTAGE DC.

That's why my first post said what it said... This is no 12v car battery if the thing exists

… and if this is really battery-powered RV, it will take days and weeks for solar to charge it's battery for a 100 mile trip.

 

[getochkn]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from gizmo j : "Can you use a gas powered generator to charge the engine battery of a electric RV?"

I was thinking of attatching solar panels to an electric RV to charge the engine battery but in case I need more power at night I was thinking of using a gas powered generator.

An all-electric vehicle uses higher battery voltage than standard 12VDC. Charging those batteries might be difficult with solar power unless there is a place designed into the charging system to connect a DC voltage source.

 

[USAFRet]

I was thinking of buying a giant lithium battery similar to what's found on electric vehicles(or maybe bigger) and use that so the solar panels would charge the battery during the day but would give power during the night.

Is this possible? And where would I find one?

 

[ko888]

The Tesla Powerwall:

https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/learn/powerwall/overview.html?redirect=no

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Traditionally, this is done with lead acid batteries because they're cheaper.

It's usually referred to as 'off grid'.

Beware that you will need to spend a lot to make it work reliably, and do quite careful measurement and planning.

You will also likely need an electrician and electrical inspector to do the work and inspect it.