I look periodically and have yet to find anything. The issue is the Clarity's on-board charger wants a minimum of 120v 12 amps, or 1.44 KW before it will start charging.
Solar generator charging
Has anyone found a solar generator that will charge a Clarity? (Ideally 220)
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I've never heard of the 12A limit... Yes, the EVSE that comes with the car is pre-set for around 12A...I look periodically and have yet to find anything. The issue is the Clarity's on-board charger wants a minimum of 120v 12 amps, or 1.44 KW before it will start charging.
But, does the car refuse to charge when the EVSE sets the charge current to 6A? (Sorry... I don't have the equipment to easily test this).
(The minimum current able to be set with a J1772 EVSE is 6A, 10% PWM on the CP line.)
I can imagine a solar inverter set to 110V at 6A = 0.7 kW... That much solar panels and inverters would likely cost over $1000. You wouldn't want to charge at 220V, since that'd require at least 1.5 kW of generation at 6A.
Unless, HazMjm, you are talking about installing many kW of generation at a building, and want to charge your car with that?
The charging speeds are controlled by the car. I don't know if the Clarity can charge at 6 or 8 amps but I'm assuming it has a floor of 12 amps simply because there's no option to go to 8. This would simplify the on-board charging system.
Where do you see that there’s no option to go to 8?The charging speeds are controlled by the car. I don't know if the Clarity can charge at 6 or 8 amps but I'm assuming it has a floor of 12 amps simply because there's no option to go to 8. This would simplify the on-board charging system.
We know that the charger in the Clarity can draw just a few amps because that’s what it does at the end of a charge cycle. So pretty much the charger has the ability to draw what it wants up to the maximum.
You could try one of the solar generators from these videos:
The problem is in STARTING the charging session. Most battery chargers need to meet a certain minimum before they will start the session. Once it begins to tail off, it's fine to draw less than that.We know that the charger in the Clarity can draw just a few amps because that’s what it does at the end of a charge cycle. So pretty much the charger has the ability to draw what it wants up to the maximum.
It’s not really the charger that has a problem with STARTING a session at a low amperage. If the charger wanted to it could probably start a session on just an amp or two of current. The problem is that the EVSE advertises to the charger (in the car) what its maximum current should be. If the EVSE advertises that it only wants to supply 6A maximum then the charger will respect that and will only ever draw a maximum of 6A. The J1772 standard allows an EVSE to advertise 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80A. Actually, the standard allows signaling of less than 6A but that requires some special communication. Unfortunately the OEM EVSE that comes with the Clarity is “hard coded” to advertise 12A. However, it would be possible (and perhaps some aftermarket EVSEs can do it) for the EVSE to advertise 6A at 120V which would allow the vehicle to charge at a maximum rate of 720 watts (.72 kW).The problem is in STARTING the charging session. Most battery chargers need to meet a certain minimum before they will start the session. Once it begins to tail off, it's fine to draw less than that.
Digital communications? That got me to look up J2931... seems that it hasn't been fully defined yet: "Testing and validation of the aforementioned physical layer specifications is ongoing, and it is possible that the results of said testing may preclude one or more of the proposed solutions as unable to meet the technical requirements." (J2931/1) doesn't inspire confidence.It’s not really the charger that has a problem with STARTING a session at a low amperage. If the charger wanted to it could probably start a session on just an amp or two of current. The problem is that the EVSE advertises to the charger (in the car) what its maximum current should be. If the EVSE advertises that it only wants to supply 6A maximum then the charger will respect that and will only ever draw a maximum of 6A. The J1772 standard allows an EVSE to advertise 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80A. Actually, the standard allows signaling of less than 6A but that requires some special communication. Unfortunately the OEM EVSE that comes with the Clarity is “hard coded” to advertise 12A. However, it would be possible (and perhaps some aftermarket EVSEs can do it) for the EVSE to advertise 6A at 120V which would allow the vehicle to charge at a maximum rate of 720 watts (.72 kW).
Perhaps HondaLink could be used to set a charge limit, but I really doubt a limit under 6A can be set by the charge connector.
J1772 doesn't seem to list those particular current limits; my reading is that the PWM is treated as an analog input (so any current between 6 and 80 A can be set).
This might be obvious, and I apologize if so, but you could charge the Clarity from solar panels on your roof. The one benefit here is that your roof probably has enough surface area to comfortably generate enough power to feed the Clarity EVSE. It might even have enough (depending on your roof size, insolation, etc.) to power a Level 2 charger.
I have a Tesla Solar Roof, so my Clarity gets a portion of its charge from the solar roof, and the rest comes from the grid. I can definitely understand the desire to have a portable solar charging setup that you unfold at a place without an EVSE to top off your battery, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth. You'd need a pretty big solar array to get enough power.
The best solar-to-EVSE solutions I can think of all involve "fixed" setups, since solar panels - especially a lot of them - can be heavy, and take up a lot of space even folded up. You need the panels, something to hold them up, a lot of room to put them in, a sizable inverter, etc. In a fixed setup, this would work fine. For example, some parking lots now have solar panels covering part of the lot, and they dump the energy gathered into the EVSEs in the parking lot, or if there's extra energy left over, into the adjacent building's main power.
Not really something you can take with you out into the wilderness, unfortunately.
I have a Tesla Solar Roof, so my Clarity gets a portion of its charge from the solar roof, and the rest comes from the grid. I can definitely understand the desire to have a portable solar charging setup that you unfold at a place without an EVSE to top off your battery, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth. You'd need a pretty big solar array to get enough power.
The best solar-to-EVSE solutions I can think of all involve "fixed" setups, since solar panels - especially a lot of them - can be heavy, and take up a lot of space even folded up. You need the panels, something to hold them up, a lot of room to put them in, a sizable inverter, etc. In a fixed setup, this would work fine. For example, some parking lots now have solar panels covering part of the lot, and they dump the energy gathered into the EVSEs in the parking lot, or if there's extra energy left over, into the adjacent building's main power.
Not really something you can take with you out into the wilderness, unfortunately.
My Volt will charge at 8 amps with the Clarity's OEM EVSE and my wife's Clarity won't charge below 12 amps on the EVSE that came with my Volt. It's not the EVSE, it's the Clarity's on-board charger that won't go less than 12 amps.the OEM EVSE that comes with the Clarity is “hard coded” to advertise 12A.
The EVSE advertises its maximum capacity in amperage and then the car can use whatever it wants up to that maximum. And actually the on-board charger of the Clarity will go below 12 amps if and when it wants to.My Volt will charge at 8 amps with the Clarity's OEM EVSE and my wife's Clarity won't charge below 12 amps on the EVSE that came with my Volt. It's not the EVSE, it's the Clarity's on-board charger that won't go less than 12 amps.
The Clarity doesn't allow you adjust the charge amps, so will always draw 12 amps if the EVSE advertises it as available.My Volt will charge at 8 amps with the Clarity's OEM EVSE and my wife's Clarity won't charge below 12 amps on the EVSE that came with my Volt. It's not the EVSE, it's the Clarity's on-board charger that won't go less than 12 amps.
If you try it on an EVSE that allows you to set the available amperage, the Clarity will be happy to charge at the slower rate.
It isn't the OBC, but the HMI that is the issue.
I definitely don't miss the archaic software and underpowered head unit Honda stuck in the Clarity
Every comment so far has talked about the current draw and charging compatibility, but there is a more fundamental issue here. "Solar generators" are not generators. They are batteries. I googled "largest solar generator" and found a portable one selling for $6200 that had a stated capacity of 2 kilowatt-hours. A Clarity drive battery has a capacity of 17kw-hrs. So, with the most expensive portable "solar generator" I could find (after 60 seconds of googling), you could charge about 11% of you battery. So you could buy 10 of these at a total cost of around $62,000 plus tax and swap them in and out as they ran out of charge and you could fully charge your Clarity battery. Not super practical.
edit: I did another minute of googling and found a Generac 15kw "solar generator" battery for only $4200! So a much better deal but still couldn't completely charge your car, and this one is the kind you mount on a concrete pad outside your house. Why charge one battery so you can charge a second off the first? Just plug it in to the same outlet you'd plug your "solar generator" into.
edit: I did another minute of googling and found a Generac 15kw "solar generator" battery for only $4200! So a much better deal but still couldn't completely charge your car, and this one is the kind you mount on a concrete pad outside your house. Why charge one battery so you can charge a second off the first? Just plug it in to the same outlet you'd plug your "solar generator" into.
I'm convinced that the marketers of these devices deliberately obfuscate, in the hopes of confusing the consumer into buying something that isn't really what they want.Every comment so far has talked about the current draw and charging compatibility, but there is a more fundamental issue here. "Solar generators" are not generators. They are batteries. I googled "largest solar generator" and found a portable one selling for $6200 that had a stated capacity of 2 kilowatt-hours. A Clarity drive battery has a capacity of 17kw-hrs. So, with the most expensive portable "solar generator" I could find (after 60 seconds of googling), you could charge about 11% of you battery. So you could buy 10 of these at a total cost of around $62,000 plus tax and swap them in and out as they ran out of charge and you could fully charge your Clarity battery. Not super practical.
edit: I did another minute of googling and found a Generac 15kw "solar generator" battery for only $4200! So a much better deal but still couldn't completely charge your car, and this one is the kind you mount on a concrete pad outside your house. Why charge one battery so you can charge a second off the first? Just plug it in to the same outlet you'd plug your "solar generator" into.
Anything that converts one form of energy to another, should be rightly called a "converter". Even those devices we've had for many decades, that we call gasoline-powered generators. They're really "converters", too. They convert from chemical energy to electrical energy.
All that really should change is/are the adjective(s) before the word "converter", to describe which type they are.
See! I can be a pedant, too!
obermd, I appreciate your posts! I just purchased a used BMW 530e and was wondering if I can just use the Clarity EVSE ("Power cord" I think?) with the BMW instead of unplugging one and plugging the other one in....can I just keep the Clarity EVSE plugged in (switched outlet) and use it on both cars...or do you know?My Volt will charge at 8 amps with the Clarity's OEM EVSE and my wife's Clarity won't charge below 12 amps on the EVSE that came with my Volt. It's not the EVSE, it's the Clarity's on-board charger that won't go less than 12 amps.
As long as both the vehicle and EVSE adhere to the J1772 standard, compatibility should not be an issue. The Clarity L1 OEM EVSE will advertise to the vehicle what it is capable of (via the Pilot signal), and the vehicle will pull whatever current it wants, up to the amount advertised, which is 12A.obermd, I appreciate your posts! I just purchased a used BMW 530e and was wondering if I can just use the Clarity EVSE ("Power cord" I think?) with the BMW instead of unplugging one and plugging the other one in....can I just keep the Clarity EVSE plugged in (switched outlet) and use it on both cars...or do you know?
The highest charge rate that the BMW will experience, when the Clarity L1 OEM EVSE is used, is 120V x 12A = 1440W. This should give you about five miles of range for every hour it's plugged in. (This assumes that the BMW will take 12A.)
Thank you! I assume they are compatible...will use my Clarity EVSE (what does that stand for?) to plug in the BMW and see what happens. BTW, the BMW only charges up to about 12 miles worth...at least that's what we're seeing so far. Nice driving car, though! Thanks again...great forum.As long as both the vehicle and EVSE adhere to the J1772 standard, compatibility should not be an issue. The Clarity L1 OEM EVSE will advertise to the vehicle what it is capable of (via the Pilot signal), and the vehicle will pull whatever current it wants, up to the amount advertised, which is 12A.
The highest charge rate that the BMW will experience, when the Clarity L1 OEM EVSE is used, is 120V x 12A = 1440W. This should give you about five miles of range for every hour it's plugged in. (This assumes that the BMW will take 12A.)
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