Bandersnatch

- I have only ever charged my EV from solar - I installed the solar system as part of the house build designed for the house to be off-grid. The EV is powered by excess solar in the middle of the day. This proves that you know nothing about solar in Thailand. For most Thais new solar panels are expensive that is why there is an active market for used panels here, more so than in the west.

Here is a more professionally produced video on home wind turbines from Undecided with Matt Ferrell

The idea of diversified energy production is very appealing. On windy wet days my solar output is greatly reduced and that is when wind speed is highest. At night, wind speeds are usually higher and even 500Watts would help to keep my batteries trickle charged. However I do not think that wind speeds are high enough in Thailand for a domestic setup. Here is a video I uploaded on the topic

Nobody seems to be addressing this as we all rush to buy electric vehicles. - You personally can be energy independent by charging from your rooftop - A country like Thailand could easily become energy independent using Solar - Those without solar can charge at night when demand and prices are low - With V2G that 100kWh battery parked on your driveway could feedback to the grid when Demand and Prices are high - Solar and V2G produce more robust and diversified local networks so you don't have to send power across the country with a single point of failure on high voltage transmission lines or centralised power plants.

I power my EV just from my solar system (look at my profile picture ) I drive on average 70km/day @ 0.20 kWh/KM - 70km is 14kWh/day - A 5kW solar home system could produce that much much power in less than 3 hours https://www.virta.global/blog/ev-charging-101-how-much-electricity-does-an-electric-car-use

There is a new 2022 Model MG ZS EV https://topelectricsuv.com/news/mg/2022-mg-zs-ev-comparison/ I think we need a separate discussion on EVs in Thailand

Secondhand EV prices are rising in the west In the USA: https://thedriven.io/2022/03/09/secondhand-tesla-prices-are-shooting-up-as-petrol-prices-and-new-car-wait-times-blow-out/ In the UK: https://inews.co.uk/news/second-hand-electric-vehicles-record-demand-1448015

https://www.eaanywhere.com/

I actually think that leasing is a good idea, particularly in Thailand where the used car market is not very sophisticated. I was at the Korat Motor show last week and BMW have a "Freedom Choice" deal where you can return the car after 4 years or buy it with a balloon payment. 1. ReTurn 2. ReNew 3. ReTain 4. ReFinance

You have to put my comment in context to understand it. I was replying to a comment about the grid not being designed for charging electric cars - which I agreed with! I went on to say that that the grid was also not designed for increased aircon use and the increased electrical use associated with the 21stC. - You can't blame all grid problems on electric cars. Maybe a picture will help.

You clearly have never heard of the World Health Organization - if you criticize it as a source. Your unsupported opinions do not have any proof or evidence to show that they are true. Nobody is interested in your opinions.

"Neither the 21st century nor climate change has anything to do with it" - what a stupid thing to say! "Population exposure to heat is increasing due to climate change. Globally, extreme temperature events are observed to be increasing in their frequency, duration, and magnitude." https://www.who.int/health-topics/heatwaves Let's just blame grid blackouts on EVs charging instead!

I watched the installer fit the wall box and yes @Sophon it was pretty straightforward. I discussed the need to upgrade my grid connection with PEA and they agreed with you sophon it was not necessary for a 7kW load. I asked PEA if my existing cables (buried underground) were ok for 30/100A meter, I was told no and I was unable to the source the required cable anywhere in the Province - had to be ordered from Bangkok! I have shared my story a few times about trying to persuade MG to allow me to charge my EV from Solar, I was only successful once I reached out to the President of MG Thailand to intervene. I suggested to my MG dealer here in Surin that I was prepared to buy my own charger and install it myself. They said it would invalidate the warrantee. I didn't push the issue but it probably wasn't true. I am a member of the MG EVs Community and was a panel member on a video podcast when this was discussed - if true Thailand is the only country where this applies.

I agree "the electric grid was never designed with charging cars in mind" It was also never designed with the 21st Century or Climate Change in mind. In Thailand air-conditioning is no longer considered a luxury. Domestic chargers are all AC not fast DC. They are restricted to 7kW in the vast majority of cases. A few EVs now come with on-board 3-phase 11 and 22kW chargers but they require to be connected to a 3-Phase grid connection. Plugging an 11kW 3-phase charger into a single phase grid connection would give you only 3.6kW if even worked at all. As domestic three-phase is quite rare in Thailand it is unlikely that 3-phase on-board chargers will be sold here as is the case in the UK. TOU rate electricity will mean that most EV drivers will charge at night when rates are cheap and demand is low. Variable tariffs which are common in most developed countries will come eventually where EVs will intelligently charge when rates are cheap and via V2G sell back to the grid when rates are high helping to stabilise the grid.

@steve187 My house is off-grid and I charge my EV from my solar system, although I had a big fight with the company that MG had selected to to install the wall boxes as they said 1) Solar would not produce enough power 2) The fluctuating voltage produced by solar system would damage the wall box. After nearly a year of charging the car both these assertions have proved to be wrong. The maximum power output of your inverter needs to be more than power draw of the onboard charger. So a 7kW charger would could not be supported by a standard 5kW inverter, bearing in mind that your house will be drawing power as well. I have 3x5kW inverters so I always have more power that the car and house can use. What I don't know is if the car will reduce it's power draw to match what is available or simply refuse to charge. I usually charge my car in the middle of the day when my solar production is at it's maximum. I sometimes charge the car batteries from my house batteries if I am going out for the day.

@zoolander I have an MG with the free MG wall box installed free by MG - I won't call it a charger at the onboard charger is actually part of the car. I will call it a wall box because it is a box and it is fitted to a wall. The speed of the onboard charger determines how quickly the car will charge. Plugging a car with a 3.6kW onboard charger into a 7kW wall box will result in 3.6kW being delivered to the car. The technical name for the box is Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). It is really just a controlled access point or fancy switch. Here is a picture of the inside of the MG 7kW wall box fitted to my house. The company that MG has selected to to install the wall boxes insists on a 30/100 meter connection - most people like me only have 15/45. So many people simply install a second dedicated 15/45 meter for the wall box. You can then opt for time of use rate for charging an EV overnight. The off peak rate drops from about ฿4/kwh to ฿2.63, but the peak rate rises to ฿5.79.

My chest freezer is outside under cover by the kitchen door. I don't want it blowing hot air into the kitchen. We run it from solar PV but it is switched off at night so it doesn't drain the batteries.

I am sure my solar panel efficiency goes down as my panels heat up, but I just fitted more panels to compensate. I also have a separate solar thermal hot water system - yes I know I'm a wimp! This new system cools the panels and produces hot water for the house - how cool is that!

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Have had an MG PHEV for about 9 months. I run it as a full EV nearly all the time charged from my solar system. Love the car. I have uploaded a few videos about it on my channel

@KhunLA - the video wasn't meant to be a joke. I would be interested to know why you thought it was funny.

Most solar inverters are pure sine wave and produce a much more stable voltage than the grid. having battery backup means I have no extra ups in the house but a smaller battery will mean that you will be back on the grid when they run out of power, but you might be sleeping by then. some people use a small solar battery just as a UPS so it powers only a few circuits in the house during a power cut.

Don’t drink alcohol, happy drinking soda. Can drink as many as you like when it’s hot ????

My house is in Surin if that's where you're based. Had quite a few visitors over the years to look at my setup - you are welcome if you give us a bit of notice EcoHouseThailand.com

The introduction to the video was recorded with the same lapel mic in my office and the fans from PC made more noise. Yes the Growatts do have fans they are pretty quiet most of the time, remember that they react to heat so if you had them in an airconditioned room they probably wouldn't ramp up at all.