Yash
Yes, you can power Tata Nexon EV Prime using solar power.
Tata motors is a reliable brand.
It is one of the leading motor vehicle brands in India.
Its Tata Nexon (Petrol and Diesel version) has created a stir in the market.
Recently, Tata motors has come up with an electric model in the name Tata Nexon EV.
Since then, its demand is increasing consistently.
And it has become the best-selling electric vehicle (car) in India.
In the electric car segment, Tata motors has sold 3454 EVs (Nexon and Tigor) in the month of May 22.
In addition, to make EV charging convenient for its users.
Tata has installed over 2200 EV charging stations, spreading across 250 cities in India.
What is TATA Nexon EV Prime
Tata Nexon EV Prime is an electric vehicle by Tata Motors in the compact SUV segment.
Let us see some of its important features.
a) Regenerative braking system
Along with many salient features.
It comes with a regenerative braking system.
You must have heard this term before if you are an EV buyer or interested in EV buying.
Let me explain this term.
In conventional vehicles, when you apply brakes, the brake pads slow down the speed of the rotor.
This is an energy-inefficient process.
As nearly all the kinetic energy of the wheels is lost as heat.
The regenerative braking system is different.
In this system, most of the kinetic energy of the wheels is converted into electricity instead of heat.
This electricity is then used to power the battery.
And the battery stores this energy in chemical form.
In simple words, the regenerative braking system provides extra charge to your battery.
This extends your driving range.
That means with this feature you can drive more.
And your battery is charged in less time.
This is a very useful feature when you see that there are few charging stations across the country.
(Although these are increasing).
b) Z-connect App
Also, Tata has a Z-connect app for its Nexon EV users with over 35 connected car features.
Of all the features, it is worthwhile to mention its charging station locator feature.
It lets you know the location of the nearest charging station.
In case, your battery is draining.
This App helps you in finding the nearest EV charging station based on your current location.
c) Nexon EV variants
The Tata Nexon EV comes in three models:
- EV Prime
- EV Max
- Dark Edition
Here, we’ll discuss its EV Prime model only.
d) Powerful motor
It has a strong Permanent Magnet Synchronous motor with a power of 129 PS.
That provides high torque and better performance.
These motors are less noisy and easier to control.
Also, they perform equally well both at high and low speeds.
- 1 PS (pferdestarke) = 0.98 Horse Power
- 1 HP is like lifting 75 kg weight to 1-meter height in 1 second.
- Therefore, the HP shows the rate of doing the work.
The value of 129 PS is great power in this segment.
e) Great Torque
It has an electric motor torque of 245 N-m.
Torque is the rotational or turning power of the car.
It shows the strength of the car.
The greater the strength, the shortest the time taken by the car to go from 0 to 60 mph in seconds.
f) Battery Capacity
The battery capacity shows the amount of energy it can store.
More battery capacity means more energy is stored in it.
Tata Nexon EV Prime has a 30.2 kWh high energy density Li-ion battery.
It comes with a warranty of 8 years or 1,60,000 km (whichever is earlier).
g) Driving Range
The driving range is the maximum distance in km your car can take you when its battery is fully charged.
Nexon EV Prime has a driving range of 312 km as per the MIDC cycle (Modified Indian Drive Cycle).
(I’ll use both these metrics, Battery capacity and the Driving range, to size the solar panels.
That I’ll discuss in detail later in this post)
Other salient features
- Thermal management system: Liquid-cooled
- Ingress protection for motor and battery pack: IP 67
- Acceleration (0-100 kmph in sec): 9.9
- Gradeability: 34%
- Emission: zero tailpipe emission
Energy consumption by Nexon EV Prime
Tata Nexon EV Prime has a battery capacity of 30.2 kW-hr and a range of 312 km.
When it is fully charged.
The per km energy consumed is 30.2 kW-hr/312 km
= 97 W-hr.
It means with each km travel, your Tata Nexon EV Prime will withdraw 97W-hr energy from the battery.
But you don’t drive only 1 km a day.
To get the total energy consumption for any day, multiply per unit of energy consumption by your commuting distance.
For example, when you drive 10 km, the energy consumption would be:
per unit consumption x 10 km
= 97 W-hr x 10
= 970 W-hr
Therefore, the energy consumed by Tata Nexon EV Prime is directly proportional to your average daily commute distance.
For example, a person who drives 100 km a day will consume double battery power as another person driving 50 km in a day.
For example, a person who drives 100 km a day will consume double battery power than another person driving 50 km in a day.
The mathematical formula for finding the daily energy consumption is:
Daily Energy Consumption (kW-hr) = {Battery capacity(kW-hr)/Range(km)} x (Your average commuting distance in km)
Or
Daily Energy Consumption = Per km consumption x your average commuting distance
Let us see the energy consumption when you travel different distances.
When you travel 35 km in a day, you withdraw 3.4 kW-hr of energy from the Nexon’s battery.
For 50 km, it is 4.8 kW-hr
And
You consume 9.7 kW-hr when you travel 100 km in a day.
It is a direct relationship.
When you travel more, the energy consumption is more.
Your driving habits
In addition to this, there are other factors that affect energy consumption.
These could be:
- Traffic jams: Your car consumes more energy when you are stuck in traffic jams.
- Sudden acceleration: When you accelerate suddenly, the energy consumption increases. Therefore, accelerate slowly.
- Frequent use of the air conditioner
- Bad road conditions: When the driving road is in bad condition. We use brakes, clutch, and acceleration frequently to maintain the right speed. This causes extra energy consumption.
- Changing weather conditions
And many more
Battery charging options
Tata Nexon EV Prime supports CCS 2 charging standards.
CCS 2 is a combined charging system that supports both AC and DC fast charging under 1 port.
It is clear that Nexon has 2 charging options available:
i) Regular Charging
The estimated charging time is 9 hours 10 minutes (SOC from 10% to 90%) from any 15 A plug point.
ii) Fast Charging
In 60 minutes (SOC 10% to 80%) from DC charging stations.
*(By SOC 10% means, there is 10% of the total capacity charge left in the battery.
And
SOC 80% means the charge inside the battery is 80% of the total capacity).
“Never withdraw 100% charge from your battery. Always keep some charge inside it, defied by its DOD. It improves the battery life.”
Battery Tip
Price of Tata Nexon EV Prime
This model comes in three variants.
The ex-showroom price of Nexon EV Prime variants are as follows:
- XM: Rs. 14,99,000/-
- XZ+: Rs. 16,30,000/-
- XZ+ LUX: Rs. 17,30,000/-
Why Powering Nexon EV Prime with solar
You can charge your Nexon EV Prime with the AC power coming to your homes from the Grid.
It will save you a good amount of money when compared to the money spent on oil (Petrol or Diesel).
But the grid prices are also soaring year on year with an average rate of 8% per annum.
Today, if I pay Rs. 6.6 per unit.
The Nexon EV Prime battery of 30.2 kW-hr capacity will be charged in Rs. 6.6 x 30.2 kW-hr
= Rs. 200
And
In the 25th year from now when the grid rate would be Rs. 45 per unit (assuming the above escalation of 8% per annum).
I’ll pay Rs. 45 x 30.2 kW-hr
= Rs. 1359/- for charging the same battery only once.
Another alternative to charging the battery is through Solar Power.
The solar power system installed on the rooftop is technically feasible and financially attractive.
Moreover, the need for charging your EV at home increases when we see few EV charging stations in the country.
Factors affecting Solar Power
Before sizing the solar panels.
Let us understand factors that affect solar output.
i) Sunshine
The output from the solar panels is directly proportional to the sunlight intensity.
India is a sun-rich country with an average of over 5 Peak Sun Hours per day.
This makes it a very good choice for Solar Power.
The sunlight intensity varies from location to location.
India is a vast country and we can see great variation in the sunlight intensity.
When I talk about my region Delhi/NCR, it receives an average of 5.35 Peak Sun Hours.
I’ll try to size the solar power system for this region.
While on another hand, Karnataka being closer to the equator than Delhi/NCR receives more sunlight.
The places near the equator, sunlight falls straight on the places near to the equator.
As we move far away from the equator, the sunrays become oblique and their intensity decreases.
In addition to the sunlight, there are other factors that affect the output.
ii) Technology of the Solar Panels
We have two types of solar panels in the market.
Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline solar panels.
The Monocrystalline solar panels are more efficient.
They are less prone to temperature-related losses.
But
They are costly.
While
Polycrystalline solar panels are less efficient.
They lose more power when the cell temperature increases.
But
They are affordable.
Also, our scientists and engineers are experimenting consistently.
And
New solar technologies are evolving such as Half-cut and Mono PERC solar cell technologies.
Making solar panels more efficient than ever.
So, the output of your solar power system depends on the type of solar panel technology you choose.
Bi-facial solar cell technology is quite popular in the commercial segment.
iii) Losses in the solar power system
Despite advancements in solar technology.
There are certain losses in the system that we cannot avoid.
Like any other system, the solar power system does suffer from losses.
They are not ideal.
Let me highlight some significant losses in the system:
- Dirt loss: Power loss due to the accumulation of dust on the panel surface.
- Shading loss: Loss of power when the shade of a tree or building falls on the panel surface.
- Temperature-related losses: Solar panels lose power when their cell temperature rises beyond 25ᴼC.
- Transfer losses: When energy is transferred through wires, some energy is lost as heat.
- Conversion losses: No energy conversion is 100% efficient. With every conversion (from sunlight to Direct Current. From Direct Current to Alternating Current), some energy is lost.
- Loss due to the age of the system: As the system grows old, it starts losing more power with every passing year.
(Don’t worry, the solar panels have over 25 years of life).
If I add all these losses.
They can take away about 30% of the power produced by solar panels.
This is the reality.
Despite this, the solar power system is technically feasible and financially attractive.
Sizing the Solar Panels for Nexon EV Prime
The solar power system can easily charge your Tata vehicle.
And
This can save you a good amount of money.
The sizing depends on the amount of energy consumed.
If your daily commuting time is more. You consume more energy from the battery.
And
Therefore, you need a big system size to replenish the energy in the battery.
The simple mathematical formula for sizing the solar panels.
Solar Panel size (kW) = Daily energy consumption/ {PSH x (1-losses)}
Let us find the solar panel size with different commuting distances.
You can see that with the increase in energy consumption, the solar panel size increases.
Let me do one calculation for you.
Take scenario 2 when the daily energy consumption is 4.8 kW-hr.
Although the PSH in my region is 5.35 hours.
I am rounding off it to 5 hours.
To get a conservative view.
So that my panels always charge the battery.
And the losses in the system are 30%.
I need,
Solar panels (kW) = 4.8 kW-hr/ {5 x (1-30%)}
= 4.8/5×0.7
Or
= 4.8/3.5
Or
= 1.4 kW
I need 1.4 kW solar panels to fill my battery with 4.8 kW-hr energy daily.
The Solar Payback
A 1.4 kW solar power system in India costs you around Rs. 1,00,000.
In case, you need a battery backup (when you want to charge your car at night).
The cost reaches Rs. 1,15,000.
Annual savings would be
= Daily units produced x 365 x per cost of electricity
= 4.8 kW-hr x 365 days x Rs. 7 per kW-hr
= Rs. 12,264/-
The payback can be calculated as follows:
Payback (years) = Total Initial Cost/ Annual savings
Payback (system without battery) = Rs. 1,00,000/Rs. 12,264
= 8 years
Payback (with battery backup) = Rs. 1,15,000/12,264
= 9.4 years
(The payback period does not consider the time value of money.
Such as escalation in the grid in the future).
Battery capacities of similar EVs in the Indian market
The EVs that come in the compact SUV and SUV segment are:
- MG ZS EV: 50.3 kW-hr
- Hyundai Kona EV: 39.2 kW-hr.
The battery efficiency can be found by looking at its energy consumption per km of driving.
If one car consumes less energy than another.
Then the first one is more efficient.
Its simple formula is:
Battery energy consumption per km = Battery capacity (kW-hr)/range (km)
Tata Nexon EV prime consumes the least per km (97 kW-hr) among the three EVs.
Key Takeaways
- Tata Nexon EV is the highest-selling EV in India.
- The Tata Nexon EV Prime has battery capacity of 30.2 kW-hr with a maximum range of 312 km.
- It consumes around 97 W-hr energy for each 1 km traveled.
- Tata has the highest number of EV charging stations in India.
- For a person with a daily commute distance of 50 km, a 1.4 kW solar power system is sufficient to serve her/his energy needs.
- A 1.4 kW solar power system comes at a cost of Rs. 1,00,000 and 1,15,000 (with battery backup). With a payback of 8 years and 9.4 years respectively.
- The Tata Nexon EV Prime has 3 variants in a price range of Rs. 14,99,000 to Rs. 17,30,000
