100% sustainable mean of transport

February 22, 2010

Electric Bicycle World Tour is using solar panels to recharge the extra battery.

The panels are 12Volt 20 Watt. They have been wired in series to produce 36 Volts at 60 watts.

It is a Morningstar TS45 controller which is designed to be used at 12, 24 or 48 Volt.

However the controller is capable of being programmed via RS232. So I reprogrammed the 12 Volt settings to run at 42 Volt which is the voltage required to charge a 36V Lithium Ion Polymer battery.

Solar panels sponsored by

	CATEGORÍAS: The Adventure | In Detail
	TAGS: , 100% sustainable mean of transport
	? X Bookmarks More »

A high technology wonder! Great desing!
I’m glad to see how your dream becomes true because of your efforts!

Keep on pedaling for the enviroment my friend!

S.

Gidday Mate!
Hope you reach Australia soon because I want to meet you!
I am an electric bike fanatic over on the west coast in Perth. Love the idea of a world tour and wish you well. If you need a place to stay over here in Perth I’m your man.
Regards, Paul Reilly, Perth Western Australia

Still having a lot of trouble with the website, links incorrect & vimeo stuttering plus the maps still show you in Asia not in New Zealand as is the reality.

One correction re the solar panels…

By running them in series you do get the 36V that you state but you can NOT get the 60W that you quote - the reality is that you remain at 20W.

If you had wired them in parallel you would have had a nominal 12V at 60W.

But great to see you using solar.

Tonight I have been keeping my feet warm using similar panels & an inverter to feed a footwarmer I constructed.

Oops , correction, I shouldn’t send email at 3:45 AM after having a bug for several days.
Yes you do get the 60W silly me, in parallel you would get 3x the current but in series it remains as for a single panel & the voltage is multiplied of course giving the 60W that you mentioned.

Time for a coffee or bed & the latter is probably best.