If you’re riding a bike that means that you’re traveling for free, but how can you make charging your bike as budget-friendly as possible? Can you charge an eBike with a solar panel?
You can charge an eBike with a solar panel. To do so, attach between 100 and 200 watts of solar panels to an inverter that will connect to your eBike’s charger and power it up.
Are you thinking of charging your eBike with solar panels for the first time? Then you’ll find out more about how to charge your bike in a way that is both budget and eco-friendly in this article.
How Do I Charge My Electric Bike off the Grid?
Charging your electric bike off of the grid is a fantastic idea for two main reasons.
The first is because off-the-grid electricity is a source of energy that you have put in. You can use it at a fraction of the price of normal electricity rates.
Off-the-grid electricity is also awesome for the environment. It is sustainable and helps you to reduce your carbon footprint.
But that’s enough about how great off-the-grid electricity is. What about using it to charge your electric bike? Don’t worry, doing so is very simple and only requires a few tools.
Here is a list of everything you will need and the instructions that will help you to complete the task. Or to watch these steps being completed and follow along, check out this tutorial video.
You will need:
- Battery connector
- Inverter
- Solar charge controller
- Battery
- Solar charge regulator
Instructions:
- Attach the inverter and solar charge controller to the battery
- TIP: Use a battery connector to attach the inverter and solar charge controller to the battery.
- Attach the solar charge controller to the solar panel
- Put the solar panel in the sun. Wait a couple of minutes.
- Ensure that everything is working properly by attaching the solar charge regulator and keeping an eye on the voltage. The solar panel should now be charging the battery.
Can I Charge My eBike With an Inverter?
Putting your eBike in the back of your truck and then taking it for long rides in far out places is really good fun.
But what’s not so enjoyable is running out of power. But, if you have your truck with you or another vehicle you may wonder what you can do to get riding again.
You will be glad to know that yes, you can charge your eBike with an inverter.
You can use an inverter to convert the energy from your car battery and send it to your eBike’s battery.
You should just be careful not to completely drain your car or truck’s battery while you do so. Trying to find a jumpstart in the middle of nowhere is not always straightforward.
But don’t worry as an alternator tester should stop you from draining your vehicle’s battery down.
How Many Watts Does It Take to Charge an eBike?
Charging an eBike is a simple job that will help you get back on the road when your battery runs flat. How long should a charge take? Most eBikes can charge up fully within just 4 to 6 hours.
It is also possible to do a quick charge on some eBikes. This will have them charged in just 1.5 hours! If your bike has some charge, it will top up its battery faster.
But what if you are trying to calculate not just the time it will take to charge your eBike but how much electricity you will need? Depending on the capacity of your battery, it should take between 500 and 800 watt hours for you to charge your eBike.
This works out to be between 0.4 and 0.8 kilowatt hours.
Can You Charge an eBike With a Power Bank?
You are out on the road with your eBike when all of a sudden you run out of power. Now, there’s not much fun in that.
How can you prevent this from happening? Well, asides from fully charging the battery before you leave, you can also charge your eBike with a power bank.
This is a great way of keeping your wheels on the road as power banks are light and easy to take with you.
But what does charging your eBike with a power bank involve? Before you can charge your bike you will need to check how many watts your bike pulls and how many watts your power bank gives out.
If your power bank has more watts than your bike needs, you will be able to charge it. Here are a couple of other things you should keep in mind when charging your bike:
- Fully charge the power bank before you attempt to charge your eBike. Your eBike will likely need to fully drain your power bank to start working again.
- If your power bank runs out of power, you can recharge it using a solar panel or your car. But of course, you wouldn’t want to run your car battery flat for the sake of your eBike. So, keep an eye on your car battery as you charge the power bank. To charge your eBike with a solar panel you will need an inverter. You should attach the inverter to the eBike’s battery.
- You will not be able to recharge a dirt bike using a power bank. These bikes require more watts to charge up than your standard power bank can hold.
- Jackery power banks hold a lot of energy and are great for recharging your eBike. Consider taking one on your journeys.
What Size Inverter Do I Need to Charge My eBike?
Using an eBike while on vacation is becoming increasingly popular. eBikes are also on trend for taking on long rides around picturesque landscapes.
Are you planning to take your eBike out this weekend? Then you’ll need to make sure you have a way to keep the battery charged.
There’s nothing fun about having to cut your journey short because you run out of power.
Charging your eBike from your car, solar panels, or even your RV is simple.
But what size converter will you need to top up your battery and get moving again? Here are the specifications for the right eBike inverter for the job.
- The inverter should be high-quality and pure sine wave
- The inverter should be able to provide the charger’s nominal power without hitting a power limit
- To charge one battery, the inverter should have an output of 166 watts. If you have two bike batteries to charge, it should be able to deliver 322 watts.
Can I Charge My eBike With a Jackery?
A Jackery is an awesome mobile power source that helps you to keep your electrical devices running while you’re on the move.
It is compact and lightweight. It is the perfect companion for someone that loves being outdoors but needs to stay connected.
Depending on the power of your Jackery, you can use it to charge some of the following devices:
- A mobile phone
- A laptop or portable computer
- A fan
- A small fridge
- An eBike
But what about your eBike? You can charge an eBike with a Jackery. Your eBike will likely draw about 400 watts of energy to fully charge it.
Most Jackery portable chargers will be able to handle charging your bike and still give you some juice to power something else.
Here are a couple of things to bear in mind when using a Jackery to charge your eBike:
- Fully charge the Jackery before using it to power your eBike. This will help you to fully charge its battery in one go.
- Recharge the Jackery’s battery after using it to charge your eBike. The eBike will need about 400 watts to fully charge. Depending on the capacity of your Jackery battery, you may need to recharge it before you can use it again.
- You can use your car battery to recharge your Jackery. But be careful, you wouldn’t want to end up with a flat car battery because you were recharging your Jackery. Keep an eye on your car’s battery using an alternator tester.
Final Thoughts
Riding an eBike is plenty of fun and is a great way to get around and do something good for the environment.
It is also a fantastic way of saving money on travel. But what should you do when your battery runs flat? Is there an eco-friendy way of getting yourself up and running again? Can you charge an eBike with a solar panel?
In this article, we have seen that it is possible to charge an eBike with a solar panel. To do so, you just need to connect your solar panel to an inverter.
You will need between 100 and 200 watts of solar panels for this job. Connect the inverter to your bike’s charger and within a few hours, you should be charged up and ready to go again. It’s that simple!
