George I'm with you the solar figures are really "bull". Jimbo you're telling us it cost $60 a month to charge a golf cart and Georges electric bill is $60 a month! For everything including charging the cart! Do I have this right?

Keith -- My electric bill is approx. $60-$70 per month when I am not here in TV. It goes to $85-$95 when I am here running the AC, appliances, hot tub, charging the golf cart, etc etc etc.

I questioned the $60 per month just charging the golf cart. If it cost that much to charge a golf cart, why buy electric when for $60 you could purchase 15 gallons of gas (at $4.00 per gallon) and drive 600 miles per month (15 gallons X 40 MPG) and never have range issues.

We did the cost to charge the batteries using a kill a watt meter
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...-killawatt.jpg

$1.92 Total cost to me @ $0.10 per KWH for the daily charge

Lets call it about $2 (+ -) a day to charge your battery pack.
Or $60 a month or $720 a year.

A charger runs for 8-10 hours

another formula
A 120-volt battery charger is rated to draw 10 amps of power. The power you use in charging the batteries is measured in kilowatt-hours. The formula is “volts X amps = watts”:
Energy rating Multiplying Factor Rates
Charger 120 Volts X 10 Amps = 1.2 Kilowatts
(1200 Watts)
Hourly Energy
Consumption(KWH) 1.2 Killowatts X 1 Hour = 1.2 Kilowatt Hour
Utility Rate($0.10) 1.2 Kilowatts X $0.10 = $0.12 per hour of Charging

more about batteries & solar

Prolong Battery Life

Sulfation is the primary reason that batteries need to be replaced. Solar panels provide a constant charge to the battery bank preventing the crystallization of lead sulfate and can double battery life.

Batteries cost $600 per golf cart.
By installing a solar top, battery life is extended to five-seven years.

So if this project works anyone interested?



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No he said it's higher, but since most folks leave their AC on albeit at a higher temp when not here his figure may include some AC at $60.

Also to go from 60-95 is a 50% increase!

The other factor is he's using the cart/charge for only 5,000 miles which is low, in fact if that's all you use the cart solar may not be needed.

Keith you really need not say my figures are "bull" without doing the research your comments if anything are "bull":yuck:

You would have told two guys way back a plane couldn't fly.

This whole idea is only a project to test a toy, chill.


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Alan just to stay on point of solar, I think you raised a great question.

So rather than go off on that question herein I started a new thread

How far do you drive.

I stand by my comment if someone is paying a total electric bill of $85 and you are telling us $60 of it is charging the cart and my electric bill (and I have a gas cart) is $85. Then I'm telling you your figures are bull they don't add up.
I told you exactly what I paid on maintenance for a gas cart and that was real figures on a gas cart I've had for 13 years (not figures from a company trying to sell you solar) and the figures you provided for gas cart maintenance were 4 to 10 times the real cost!!! I'm not against solar I think its great I'm just telling you you can't substantiate it on cost! And your gas comparision figures are unbelievably high.

Keith, I see your point perhaps the electric use stated George when occupied is on the low side for his home.

The average I see on the forums is $125 a month and $50-60 off season.
His use to charge is dependent on how many hours the charger runs to recharge it can be 1-10 hours.

From searching posts here the average ($130) is much higher than Georges reported billing.

The cost of charging your cart at $60 a month or $30 a month is only to exemplify the return time on the investment of installing a solar panel.

So to argue about it is a moot point!