How to use that extra solar energy?

[Elzo Stubbe]

There was a discussion about what battery pack to go for depending on daily commuting distances and what optimum charging levels are for the batteries. I think it would be interesting in the future to have a sophisticated calculator that takes into account that during a sunny day one could calculate the night before to what charging level the vehicle should be charged to to make optimal use of the solar charging capabilities the next day and not loose precious solar energy on an all-ready fully charged battery. And if it would be possible to create a solar charging capability that can be activated/deactivated as soon as a certain level has been reached. Or even better, to store additional solar energy in a separate battery pack for later use for whatever you need it for(heating f.i.)

[Joshua Rosen]

What they should do is have two settable charging levels, a minimum level that will draw power from the wall and a maximum level that protects the battery. For example you might want to set the minimum level to 60% which will give you enough range for your daily driving and the maximum level at 80% which is optimal for battery life. When you plug the car in it will charge to the minimum level and then stop pulling wall current but below the maximum level it will continue to charge from the solar cells. 20% of the 60KWh battery is enough to store three days worth of solar energy in Southern California, elsewhere in the country it’s a week’s worth.

[Elzo Stubbe]

exactly! Set optimal margin levels in the UI and never think about it again.

[Peter Jorgensen]

As much as I hate to say it – I wouldn’t mind mining some crypto on the extra power if it generates more than I use. I suspect, however, that would be unusual and I can probably avoid excess power by keeping it around 50% charge.

[Elzo Stubbe]

second answers better conclusion as far as I am concerned.