• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

Carport mounted solar arrays to charge EVs for commercial buildings

S

sramirezgozalo

Registered User
Joined
Aug 1, 2022
Messages
2
Location
San Diego
Hello,

I am designing a carport mounted solar array to charge electric vehicles for business parking lots. I have a few questions regarding the connections between the solar array, the EVs and the main building panel. As the electricity will be used by the electric cars during the day can the generation source, PV and the loads, EVs be connected to the same subpanel that is then connected to the main panel of the building with a current limiting device to avoid overloading the main panel? Also, as inverters are grid-following, can the solar array exceed the CB rating and wire size as long as there is means to limit the solar array output?

Thank you.
 
You need the services of an electrical engineer.

The picture is a portion of the underground conduit required for a bank of EV chargers in a public parking lot. That's not to say that your plan will be as extensive but .... large or small, you need an engineer.

IMG_3059.JPG
 
Thank you for sharing this information with me. With that being said, hypothetically speaking, according to the NEC code would it be possible for the PV and the Evs to share the same subpanel for a commercial building? And again, according to the electric code, can the solar array exceed the CB rating and wire size as long as there is means to limit the solar array output?
 
It sounds like you are a carport salesman, or maybe an entrepreneur who is trying to market a product that will make you famous and wealthy. Also sounds like you have no concept of the electrical codes or design requirements. Asbpointed put in the first response … you need to hire a qualified electrical engineer.
 
Check with the power company. They might have restrictions on reselling electricity.

Familiarize yourself with National Electrical Code Article 690 - Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems
 
ICE said:
You need the services of an electrical engineer.

The picture is a portion of the underground conduit required for a bank of EV chargers in a public parking lot. That's not to say that your plan will be as extensive but .... large or small, you need an engineer.

View attachment 9233
Click to expand...
The sad part is that the public is paying for this (at least that's my assumption) and it will only benefit a small segment of the population! Of course it is California which explains a lot!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top