Run your car on the Sun - Mahindra Reva's Sun2Car

16/4/2015

We were given an opportunity to visit the Mahindra Reva factory, thanks to PluginIndia.com. The objective was to meet people at Reva and get an understanding of the Sun2Car system. In this blog, we will document the features of the Sun2Car solar power system and the various options being sold by Reva for customers of the Mahindra Revai and the Mahindra e2o electric cars.

Why solar-charge your car?
Electric vehicles are super efficient and even if you plug it into the grid, which generates its electricity from dirty coal, you are much cleaner than driving a oil based vehicle.
Here are some reasons

Fueling independence
True zero emissions driving
Reduce global warming

Mahindra Reva sells solar powered charging systems to power your electric car and thus run on clean electrons and free energy.
They call it Sun2Car and have developed proprietary technologies for optimized charging efficiency.
There are 3 Sun2Car options for the customer.

The sun is a source of boundless, clean and free energy. You can finally commute on solar energy—breaking free of an expensive century - old dependency on polluting fossil fuels. [Source - Mahindra Reva]

Sun2Car DC1 – Direct Solar Charging

A typical 1kWp System consists of: 4 Solar panels – 250W, 7A, 35.68V each and electronics for power management.
The user plugs the car directly from the Solar Panel's DC power source. The other end goes directly to the DC charging port. There is no need of an inverter to convert DC to AC power here. This is also called an off-grid solar charging system.
In this setup the car has to be charged only in day time.
This system generates 4-6 units (kWh) on a sunny day.
50% of the 2014 Mahindra e2o’s battery pack can be charged per day - on a sunny day.
Mahindra e2o T20 model comes with the DC fast charging port as a standard fitment. This port can be used for charging the vehicle from Sun2Car DC1.
Total cost of a 1kWp system including installation is Rs 1.2 lakhs (USD 2000 approx.). The exact cost can vary based on the location of installation and any other customization required by the customer.
Ideal for corporate parks where electric vehicles can be parked & charged during office hours.
For any sales query, one can directly write to mobilitysolutions@mahindrareva.com or contact the nearest Mahindra e2o dealer. Mahindra dealer will put you in touch with the Sun2Car team at Mahindra Reva to take it forward.

Sun2Car AC1 – Solar and Grid Charging

This System consists of: Solar Panels, electronics for power management and an inverter for conversion of DC power to AC
In this setup the system supplies power into the local home grid during day time. The car is then charged from the grid at night or during the day. This is also called as Grid-tied solar charging system.
The car is charged from the normal 15 Amp port.
Total cost of the system including installation is Rs 1.6 Lakhs (USD 2566 approx.) The exact cost can vary based on the location of installation and any other customization required by the customer.
Ideal for individual house.
The inverter output is connected to the house main supply, bypassing the electric meter. Whenever the car is not being charged, the energy generated is consumed by the domestic usage
A typical 1 kWp system is capable of producing 4-6 kWh (units) of energy in a sunny day. This energy is enough to charge Mahindra e2o up to 50%.
Car is not required to have DC charging port
Car is charged by connecting to the 15 A ac plug point

Sun2Car AC3 – Solar and Grid Charging with Battery Backup

This System consists of: Solar Panels, electronics for power management, an inverter for conversion of DC power to AC and a battery for storing the power.
The battery capacity can be configured as per the customer requirement (how much energy to be stored)
In this system, the solar panels generate power and store them into the battery pack. The user charges the car from the batteries. When the batteries get fully charged, then the power is supplied to the local grid and is used for domestic consumption (thus reducing your home electricity bill).
The car is charged from the normal 15 Amp port.
Total cost of the system including installation is Rs 2 lakhs (USD 3200 approx.) The exact cost can vary based on the location of installation and any other customization required by the customer.
Ideal for individual house where one needs a power back up facility.
The inverter output is connected to the house main supply, bypassing the electric meter.
A typical 1 kWp system is capable of producing 4-5 kWh (units) of energy in a sunny day. This energy is enough to charge Mahindra e2o up to 50%.

Reva and e2o charging from the Sun

Points to Note

The Sun2Car DC1 system provides a more efficient charging process as compared to the other two options - due to the fact that DC current is sent directly to the battery pack without any conversion and hence the conversion loss is avoided.
However, Sun2Car DC1 is better suited to corporate parks, as it is not practical to charge the car in day time for working people at home. The best bet for an individual is to install the Sun2Car AC1 or the Sun2Car AC3 system for more convenience and full utilization of solar power (for domestic usage when car is not being charged).
Mahindra Reva says that there are no customers who have implemented the Sun2Car AC3 system.
If you drive an average of 40-50 km daily, then it makes sense to charge your car using these Sun2Car systems.
Mahindra Reva recommends a 1kWp solar installation for Sun2Car series of solar charging stations as it can take care of the typical daily run of 50-60 km in Mahindra e2o and the size of solar panels put together will be around 100 sq. ft. which is as good as the car garage. So, one doesn’t need to reserve additional land for such installation.
To charge the car completely in a day using Sun2Car range of solar charging stations, one needs to request for a 2kWp solar charging installation, which can charge the car to 100% in one day using solar energy only.

How to buy the Sun2Car system?
For any sales query, one can directly write to mobilitysolutions@mahindrareva.com or contact the nearest Mahindra e2o dealer. The Mahindra dealer will put you in touch with the Sun2Car team at Mahindra Reva to take it forward.

15 Comments

Johnson

16/4/2015 06:11:50 pm

Actually 50% charge per day is sufficient as many people in India are not in the habit of using the car daily. Even if they were to use it daily they would need to pay for only 50% of the grid (paid) power.

Solar car

17/4/2016 11:35:02 pm

Solar car now price

Pravin Bankar link

2/5/2017 08:27:28 pm

can charge E2O Reva's batteries using only solar power by adding sunroof on the car?

Kamlesh Mallick

4/5/2017 02:52:57 pm

Here are the problems with this Idea.

Most solar panels would add too much weight to an EV to be worthwhile. Some newer, lighter, flexible PV technology could generate power for interior climate control or minor tasks, but not enough to power a car a significant distance. So you gotta have that plug.

And 95% of the time in a week, the car resides in basement lots. And there is no sunshine there. So there is no benefit

Also it is recommended to park a lithium-ion based Electric car in the shade rather than in the sun. The Indian summers can be oppressive to the Lithium Ion battery pack. So its not recommended to park in the sunlight. Bad idea.

Ok. One can argue that the car can charge during movement. But the voltage that gets generated will be very minimal.

Also this would only add to the cost of an already expensive car.

So your best bet is to have a solar power system at home or work and charge ur electric car using solar power.

Arre galat padh liya aapne

29/11/2017 04:44:53 pm

Sir, the charging system this blog is about is not actually installed on the car.

Aerolam Insulations link

31/1/2018 04:48:01 pm

I must say that solar power is worth its money! A ton more people should be going solar than are actually going solar today. Society-wide, we need solar power big time. On an individual level, many people would benefit financially by going solar. There’s massive money to be saved by going solar… for many or even most households.

Ranga link

16/2/2018 08:40:44 pm

it is good write up on the REVA and solar charging options. i bough the e20 two and half years ago and almost charged with solar that is on the top of our factory building as that solar ran several other machines too. i have additionally fixed flexible solar panels on the roof of my reva (300 watt approximately) and tried to charge REVa. unfortunately my car did not have DIRECT DC charging port. i ended up having a small inverter and then when the car is outside i used to keep the power into the REVA car. it used to charge a bit meaning nearly 1kw on full day and technically that gives around 12 kms run. but the dealor people noticed it and informed the REVA people etc etc and later i could not figure out but the car stopped charging from the trickle charge coming from the roof 300 watt panels. i guess they could do something with the charging software. i wrote several mails for DC charging port but not reply from customer care. i visited even their factory to find the above beautiful photos dusted never used and almost in an abandoned state. i buy more batteries an year than mahindra and pretty well know how to work with with solar. it is unfortunate that mahindra does not have any system of working with the customers or other enthusiasts in the country. i pinned these in my blog and some one can access it.

Saurabh

3/1/2019 12:42:41 pm

Hello Ranga, I appreciate your effort in making it all solar, I am a similar kind of enthusiast and would like to get in touch with you. Please email me at saurabhperiwal at gmail dot com

Farooq shaik

5/7/2018 08:01:03 pm

Dear Ranga . It’s great to know you have installed solar panel on roof top . Shiakfarooq1@gmail.com this is my email could you please share your pics and videos how you achieved it

Anil K

19/9/2018 07:21:48 am

Mahindra is a dreamer. Keep dreaming. All fart no shit. There are very few charging stations in bangalore and they are only in 3 malls in bangalore. Theres something called Fast charging they sell the car using it and its avail only at their factory or we need to install and it costs 7lakhs. Sun2Car my foot.

Satindra kumar

8/3/2019 11:37:12 pm

We can make new concept on solar which is very innovative.
I have an new concept of making solar car which can run continuesly

Ajay Verma link

12/4/2019 12:22:21 pm

This is a very innovative invention that you have mentioned in your blog. I'm surprised to see that there are cars that run on solar power system and it is so efficient to charge your cars with the charging station. This should be implemented all over the world as it will save fuel and the environment by reducing the pollution.

Vijay

2/5/2019 05:57:08 pm

Is it possible to install a solar panel on roof of Reva E2O for charging battery by solar power while running the car?

Indu Rajaram

20/6/2019 07:52:05 pm

Does this car support air-conditioning with solar power? Is this auto transmission or stick shift?

Rajkumar Dravid

11/12/2020 08:07:32 pm

Good to see Ranga's efforts and attempt. I'm too interested to follow you people. It may be after many years. Can we start it again? My e-mail address is:
rajkumardravid at gmail dot com.

Run your car on the Sun - Mahindra Reva's Sun2Car

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