Skip to content Solar Questions and Answers SOLAR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS How To Solar Projects HOW TO BUILD A SOLAR POWERED GOLF CART THAT ACTUALLY WORKS! A Solar Powered Golf Cart is as close to a solar car as most of us will every get. It’s a good idea and can provide transportation off grid, as well as a power source for a camper or other off grid application. There are a lot of “solar golf cart kits” out there, but I warn you, you will probably not be satisfied with the results. I’ll touch on this and then go into how to build out a solar cart the right way. The long and the short of it, most golf cart solar kits are under powered. They do not provide a strong enough charge to be effective. Because of this, your cart charges to slow, does not deliver enough real-time amperage to make a difference, and ultimately, will leave you disappointed. Maybe even thinking that it was a bad idea. Do not fret, it’s a good idea, and do not be discouraged by feeble product attempts that leave you stranded. Solar golf carts can be very effective if you take care to set up your cart properly. I have had my solar golf cart for several years. It’s not 100% off grid. I use it a lot, and occasionally when the weather is cloudy or rainy I do have to plug it into a wall charger. So in all fairness, I would say that 95% of the time, the sun charges it up for me. Maybe 5% of the time, I use grid power. I don’t have to use grid power at all, I could just wait for the sun to come back out, but where I live, the golf cart is my main source of transportation, so I just plug it in on that rare occasion. I use the cart daily for all errands and for the occasional power supply when needed. UPDATE: 8/30/2019 – Lost a battery to a dead cell. I got my cart used and was told that the batteries were a year old. Best estimate is that the batteries lasted 6 years. I replaced the bad battery (never a good idea to mix old and new batteries) we will see how this goes… The first secret to an off grid solar golf cart is the voltage. You want a 48 volt cart. A 36 volt cart is not recommended. New batteries are preferred. Trojans if you can afford it. It’s all about the batteries. You are basically driving around a battery bank, be sure they are good ones. Amazon – 48 Volt Trojan Golf Cart Batteries A 48 volt golf cart can be used for more than a car. When off grid camping, we utilize a 48 volt power inverter that converts 48V DC to 110V AC. You will probably not want to run an air conditioner off your golf cart, but you can cook using an induction stove, run your TV/DVD/Laptop, and fans…so on. Amazon – 500-1300 watt Induction Stove Amazon – Lodge Double Dutch Oven for Induction Amazon – Induction Approved Cookware Amazon – Induction Approved Coffee Pot I also do some yard work, utilizing the battery bank and the inverter to power chain saws, trimmers, air compressors, and other tools. The hitch is useful for hauling trailers, firewood, people, and just about anything a small utility vehicle will haul. So an off grid solar powered utility vehicle with a battery bank is a very useful tool with many applications. Not only can you fetch groceries, you can power your camper, process fire wood, and haul stuff. Amazon – 48 Volt PSW 2000 watt Inverter Amazon – 48 Volt PSW 5000 watt Inverter Amazon – Solar Panel MC4 Wire Connectors Amazon – MC4 Solar Connector Wire Crimpers So that is the first tip, go 48 volts. The higher the volts the more efficient your cart will be. It will work better, require less wire thickness, and you will get more power from your solar panel. That brings me to the next secret to a good solar golf cart, the panel. The biggest mistake when building out a solar golf cart is using the wrong panel. I have one panel that I use that is perfect for the solar builds. It is not a common panel and may be a little harder to find, but using the wrong panel is not going to give you the results that you want, so best to heed the advise I’m about to bestow, the alternative is not going to live up to the expectation. Most of the solar kits for golf carts out there today are grossly under powered. Folks, 150 watts isn’t going to cut it. Furthermore, the voltage the panel produces is not adequate. If your controller has to transform “uphill” a great distance, expect to be losing a lot of the power generation. So to recap, if you have a 150w panel and low voltage, you might see 100watt of that in perfect conditions. Folks, that’s only 2 amps for about 5 hours a day. It would take you many, many days to charge up a cart under those conditions. Not suitable for a daily driver, or offsetting real time use. Not only does the solar panel need to charge batteries. And I will remind you that when you charge a battery, there is a cost or a loss. You don’t get 100% of what you put into it back out. You will probably lose 30% in the process. Another function of the solar panel is to deliver power in real time when driving. The solar panel must provide more real time power and reduce the load from the batteries while driving if it is going to be effective. Not only will you be using less battery power when driving, you will be able to charge back up faster when not driving. These small details are key to the success of your solar cart. With this being said, please save yourself the grief and refrain from purchasing a solar kit. What you need to be successful is a high voltage/high efficiency solar panel. More specific, a 96 cell mono-crystalline solar panel. Even more specific, the open voltage needs to be 60 volts no more, no less. This panel should be 240-250 watts and the dimensions are 5’3″x 3’7″. I use a JTM245-96M. Google it. Granted, this panel is not the norm and it might be hard to locate just one. Why so specific, glad you asked…. A mono panel will deliver more power per square inch. And, a 5’3″x 3’7″ panel fits perfectly on the roof of a golf cart. So perfect in fact, most folks wont even realize its on there. That’s the first reason, the fit and surface area limitations make this the idea size and type. (I’ll post some pics when I get them on here.) Next reason why this panel is ideal is the voltage. We will cover the controller in a minute, this panel marries with the controller nicely. And since our golf cart is 48 volt cart, and the panel is 60 volts open, and with a load it will be 50+ volts, it is the perfect voltage to charge a 48 volt battery bank. The charge controller need do very little work to control the charge, therefore, the losses are minimal during this process. So you are getting every bit of that 250 watt panel. And 250 watts at 50 volts is 5 amps of charge. This is much effective when delivering real time power when driving. Not only does it considerably reduce the draw on the batteries when driving, it charges up at a good rate also. And if you are familiar with golf cart chargers you may know that a charger will use a long 5 amp charge cycle for optimal battery maintenance. So, 5 amps is very good. So now that you have the right cart (48 Volts) and the right solar panel to match, now we need to get the right controller. I have only found one controller that works with this set up. My controller of choice is the Genasun GVB-8-PB-48V-WP-Boost MPPT. This is a water proof, 48volt MPPT 8 amp controller. Because it is MPPT it charges “uphill” and in cloudy weather. Its 8 amps, so it can handle the 5 amp panel. Note: if you use a lower voltage panel the amperage goes up and this controller will not work. You will be hard pressed to find a water proof controller at this price point to handle more amps. And also remember that a lower voltage panel will have to transform the power “Uphill” and you will lose a good portion of the power in the process and will be less efficient. There is a very good reason I have paired this controller with the solar panel. Simply, it is the most efficient you will get and the most power from the limited roof space using a single panel. Genasun GVB-8-PB-48V-WP-Boost MPPT charge controller Always connect the controller to the batteries FIRST! AND, if you ever disconnect any of the batteries, unplug the solar panel BEFORE you unhook the batteries. Not following these instructions can damage your charge controller. One last tip. The solar panel weighs 50 pounds. Under most conditions the roof has adequate support. Me personally, I abuse the heck out of my cart, dragging logs out of the forest, off-roading, and just good ol’ lake driving, is pretty rough on my cart. I have had to reinforce the roof and add more support. I have had my roof supports break off due to the sway back and forth eventually weakening the supports. So, keep that in mind, that you might engineer some extra support for the roof to manage the weight. So there you have it folks, a match made in heaven. It’s the secret to a successful solar powered golf cart. 48 volt cart – do not try to do this with a 36 volt cart Good batteries – Trojans Preferred High Voltage/High Efficiency, 96 Cell, 60 volt, Mono Solar Panel dimentions 5’3″x 3’7″- 1″ aluminum frame, JTM245-96M Genasun GVB-8-PB-48V-WP-Boost MPPT charge controller Add some roof support for good measure Follow these specifications and have many years of happy off grid carting. When we had our Solar Store at the Lake of the Ozarks, we sold many solar powered golf carts. We never had a single complaint. As far as I know they are all still operational. I have had mine since 5/3/15. It is still going strong. I hope this was informative and I will leave links to some of the items in this post. Proudly powered by WordPress