>JD> To drag this closer to on-topic, it might be an interesting 
 >JD> excercise to calculate how many solar panels or how large a 
 >JD> wind generator it might require to provide the power for one's 
 >JD> own vehicle at home.
 > 
 > Quite a bit more than many would expect,  I think.  Unless you're 
 > willing to wait quite a while for a vehicle to recharge.  I don't 
 > know what the charge times are on that warehouse stuff,  when a 
I've been around electric forklifts and it's my experience that they require 
about 8 hours to fully charge. Which is why they have 2 batteries for every 
machine if they're to be operated 2 or more shifts/day.
It's also well-known amongst folks with their own home power system that PV 
panels can't be depended on to equalize the batteries. That is, all lead-acid 
batteries must be overcharged periodically or they will have very short 
lives; they might go a year or 2 if charged only with the solar panels/wind 
power, but will go 5-7 years if equalized every 2-4 weeks. This is typically 
done with a gas-powered generator to get the 5 hours of overcharge required.
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