11–20 of 90 posts
Solar panels as (essentially) bodywork seems like it would be less than ideal in actual use. Fender bender? Car got dirty?
Seems like things car owners worry about no matter what; even if the materials have no possibility of output.
And if you're in an area prone to drought (like places that get plenty of sun), washing your car may not even be feasible.
This has always seemed like the most stupid-obvious idea to me. It's amazing to see some recent examples getting closer to production! There are also mod kits available for some EVs which allow you to attach solar body panels that charge the propulsion batteries. And we have some examples of fully solar-powered EVs that have empowered nomads to travel the world without refueling or charging from electric grids. The f…
How are people traveling the world with "up to 40 miles per day in optimal sun conditions"?
Also "optimal sun conditions" obviously means keeping your car in direct sunlight the entire day. That rules out putting your car in a garage, which consequently rules out most urban use where short distances would be sufficient for most use.
This has always seemed like the most stupid-obvious idea to me. It's amazing to see some recent examples getting closer to production! There are also mod kits available for some EVs which allow you to attach solar body panels that charge the propulsion batteries. And we have some examples of fully solar-powered EVs that have empowered nomads to travel the world without refueling or charging from electric grids. The f…
Solar cars are scam. They are designed to get funding out of investors with poor understanding of technology. Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation. And why should we want to move around solar power plants? It makes much more sense to have them stationary. And to connect them to the power grid to sell the energy to others when the sun shines but the b…
They certainly exist, it's just not the performance numbers people want from their vehicle.
>Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation.
Thats not true; and also depends on your usecase. Aptera is certainly going to come to market with a product for example, but does your usecase allow a 2 seat death trap? What if you have to have a baby seat? Surely nobody is putting children in it.
But if you're a bachelor looking to reduce your cost of transportation to 0. Damn what a good option.
>And why should we want to move around solar power plants? It makes much more sense to have them stationary. And to connect them to the power grid to sell the energy to others when the sun shines but the batteries are full.
1kw on your car is hardly comparable to a major solar array. By the same argument you can deny any solar purpose. Which isn't reasonable to many use cases.
Solar cars are scam. They are designed to get funding out of investors with poor understanding of technology. Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation. And why should we want to move around solar power plants? It makes much more sense to have them stationary. And to connect them to the power grid to sell the energy to others when the sun shines but the b…
>Solar cars are scam. They are designed to get funding out of investors with poor understanding of technology. They certainly exist, it's just not the performance numbers people want from their vehicle. >Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation. Thats not true; and also depends on your usecase. Aptera is certainly going to come to market with a product f…
"that comes out to 10 to 20 miles per day, which is near negligible if you’re trying to use the car for anything other than city errands."
10-20 miles per day is a big chunk of a commute for a lot of people. This is hardly negligible.
Solar cars are scam. They are designed to get funding out of investors with poor understanding of technology. Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation. And why should we want to move around solar power plants? It makes much more sense to have them stationary. And to connect them to the power grid to sell the energy to others when the sun shines but the b…
>Solar cars are scam. They are designed to get funding out of investors with poor understanding of technology. They certainly exist, it's just not the performance numbers people want from their vehicle. >Do some basic math. The electric energy harvested with the solar panels is negligible for transportation. Thats not true; and also depends on your usecase. Aptera is certainly going to come to market with a product f…
> "[...] By the same argument you can deny any solar purpose."
I don't follow. Can you expand on this line of reasoning?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How are people traveling the world with "up to 40 miles per day in optimal sun conditions"?
The car this article is about gets 10-20 miles a day. Also "optimal sun conditions" obviously means keeping your car in direct sunlight the entire day. That rules out putting your car in a garage, which consequently rules out most urban use where short distances would be sufficient for most use.
What a biased article: "that comes out to 10 to 20 miles per day, which is near negligible if you’re trying to use the car for anything other than city errands." 10-20 miles per day is a big chunk of a commute for a lot of people. This is hardly negligible.
Even if I wanted to store my car parked on the street, I don't even know where in my neighborhood I could do that. There are trees and tall buildings that shade nearly every street for at least a substantial part of the day.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The car this article is about gets 10-20 miles a day. Also "optimal sun conditions" obviously means keeping your car in direct sunlight the entire day. That rules out putting your car in a garage, which consequently rules out most urban use where short distances would be sufficient for most use.
depends on your neighborhood/city. a lot of places in the US make heavy use of street-side parking. at the least, it does position itself counter to any push at more efficient land use in cities.
So mass adoption of solar cars would discourage tall buildings and tree-lined streets.