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Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

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Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#62
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't live in the US, as far as I'm aware there's only one Tesla store in my country and it's nowhere near me.

I figured- Perth is in Australia. If you're in Mexico you're pretty screwed, as is... South America, Africa, and most of Asia. You can check the map if you like! https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds=67.51085725091038%2C...

Mexico. I'm actually surprised there's one charging point in my city. I'd expect there to be none.

I'm pretty hopeful that we'll either get Tesla in a couple of years or other manufacturers will come out with something.

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#63

I live in a pretty hot city (My car's outside thermometer showed 48°C yesterday at midday). The extended range is nice and all, but if somebody makes a car that can run the AC without running/draining the battery while it's parked, even if it's just a little to keep the car interior at 35°C or so, I would, without exaggeration, buy it the day it's released here. Hell, I'd consider it even if it would just keep the fa…

Seems like a specialised window AC unit could work, run it off solar panels on the dash board. Maybe not safe for insecure areas but a controlled work car-park .. but then you could probably just leave your windows open in 'safe' places.

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#64

I live in a pretty hot city (My car's outside thermometer showed 48°C yesterday at midday). The extended range is nice and all, but if somebody makes a car that can run the AC without running/draining the battery while it's parked, even if it's just a little to keep the car interior at 35°C or so, I would, without exaggeration, buy it the day it's released here. Hell, I'd consider it even if it would just keep the fa…

Great idea! Much of this cooling can probably be accomplished by better sun shading and airflow. I always thought this[1] type of privacy glass would be a great idea in a car. Put it in park and the windows automatically tint.

http://www.smartglassinternational.com/electric-switchable-g...

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how much power does an AC use (say on medium settings) ?

I'm actually not sure in terms of car AC. Local wisdom says that on hot days your AC will sap up to 10 HP from your engine. Not sure how accurate that is. Looking around on Telsa forums and the like, I'm seeing numbers between 1 and 3 kW. My house's mini split AC unit draws around 9 amps (according to documentation, anyway), so around 2 kW. Actual numbers seem to be closer to 3 kW in the summer.

I currently have my Tesla plugged in to my 6kw home charger, with the AC blasting, and the range isn’t increasing, leading me to believe that the AC running 100% takes around 6kw.

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#66
post #32
post #10

I'll start thinking Toyota is serious about EVs when it actually starts saying so -- only recently it said the future are hybrids . Yeah, right. Good luck with the bankruptcy/firesale in 10 years Toyota!

Hybrids are the future for most of the market worldwide. It will take decades to build out the charging infrastructure necessary to support battery electric vehicles. Some industrialized countries will move faster.

If they could get over their proprietary dreams and just ~swap, instead of charge, the batteries it would be a lot faster for the users, would shift the recycling to entities that can do the job AND almost instantly build the needed infrastructure...

~swap https://electrek.co/2019/06/10/yamaha-ec-05-electric-scooter...

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#67
post #25

I live in a pretty hot city (My car's outside thermometer showed 48°C yesterday at midday). The extended range is nice and all, but if somebody makes a car that can run the AC without running/draining the battery while it's parked, even if it's just a little to keep the car interior at 35°C or so, I would, without exaggeration, buy it the day it's released here. Hell, I'd consider it even if it would just keep the fa…

In theory, the solar roof should absorb ~30% of the rays a cars is exposed to, so it won't heat up as much. Not sure if the effect would be significant, though.

How does that compare the the fraction reflected by a white paint scheme?

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#68

Does the math check out? You would need about 10kW-h to get the claimed distance, times three for the efficiency (by the way, there are NO mass-produced cells with 34% efficiency; they must be using GaAs or multijunction cells to achieve 34%) means solar input of 30kW-h per day. The projected horizontal area of a Prius is 8m^2 (including the windows) so we need about 4 hours of 1000W/m^2 insolation. Which I guess isn…

And then you have to figure, if you took the $ and mass budget of the solar cells, could you just make the battery pack a little bigger/better instead for the same or more gain? Keep in mind the gain would be more reliable. You wouldn't have to depend on sunny days, and sunny parking spaces.

You also have to ask if the $ spent on these solar panels might be better spent on your house, where they will never be in an indoor garage, and maybe cheaper/simpler to install.

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually not sure in terms of car AC. Local wisdom says that on hot days your AC will sap up to 10 HP from your engine. Not sure how accurate that is. Looking around on Telsa forums and the like, I'm seeing numbers between 1 and 3 kW. My house's mini split AC unit draws around 9 amps (according to documentation, anyway), so around 2 kW. Actual numbers seem to be closer to 3 kW in the summer.

hmm, gets me wondering if that's why my car can't climb hills when on AC.

"Hang on, I'm hitting the turbo button." (turns off AC)

Re: Toyota testing improved solar roof for EVs that can charge while driving

#70

I live in a pretty hot city (My car's outside thermometer showed 48°C yesterday at midday). The extended range is nice and all, but if somebody makes a car that can run the AC without running/draining the battery while it's parked, even if it's just a little to keep the car interior at 35°C or so, I would, without exaggeration, buy it the day it's released here. Hell, I'd consider it even if it would just keep the fa…

It hits these temps in Phoenix; huge market for Tesla's. They have cabin overheat protection plus you can start the AC from an app on your phone. Really nice!
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