How to optimise your electric motors efficiency

How to optimise your electric motors efficiency

Optimise Your Electric Boat’s Efficiency

When using electric propulsion on water, it's important to remember that doubling your speed requires eight times the power. The Spirit 1.0 Plus features a 1276 Wh integrated battery. At full throttle (1000 watts), you can expect a runtime of 75 minutes.

By reducing your throttle to 25% (250 watts), you’ll decrease speed by only 30% but significantly extends your range, allowing you to operate the motor for up to 5 hours. Essentially, you trade a 30% reduction in speed for a 214% increase in range.

Keep in mind that actual speed and range can vary based on your boat, load, and water conditions. However, the principle remains: reducing speed allows for longer travel.

Adding Extra or Larger Batteries

The Spirit 1.0 Plus is designed with modularity in mind, so you’re not limited to its single integrated battery. To double your range, consider purchasing an additional Spirit Battery Plus. For even greater range, similar to or exceeding that of a gas-powered engine, you might opt for larger external 48v batteries that can be connect via an extension cable.

You don’t have to stick with genuine ePropulsion batteries; third-party options that meet the specifications can be a cost-effective alternative. Just be aware that using non-genuine batteries might result in the loss of some features, such as hydrogeneration.

Solar Charging

With the Solar Charge Controller, you can connect a solar panel with up to 180 watts of power. On sunny days, this could effectively double your range at the same speed. Solar charging is functional even while the electric motor is running.

Hydrogeneration

Hydrogeneration offers a clean, free way to recharge your battery. This process uses the motion of water to spin the propeller, generating electricity through electromagnetic induction. For hydrogeneration to work, your sailboat must be powered by wind and travel at least 4knots.

At a speed of 6knots, you'll generate 300 watts of power, enough to recharge the Spirit battery to 90% in approximately 3.5 hours.

Note that hydrogeneration is available only on the Spirit 1.0 Evo, Pod Evo motors, and the Navy series motors.

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