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Electric car that charges itself

sonomotors.com

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Re: Electric car that charges itself

#401

Post by jiofih »

Rule35 wrote: post #380
jiofih wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe not everything is marketing and a cursory search shows you the project is an engineering project backed by multiple universities? No, it must be fake, because it doesn’t fit my own agenda, and I don’t have the time to actually read any of the engineering info. I’ll just use my well-honed common sense to dismiss this totally impractical and stupid idea by physics and engineering grads. Do they think I’m dumb?…

It's not about an agenda, it's about the numbers. The panel isn't big enough to help at all but it's not being billed as "extra supplemental power for the cigarette lighter", but as if it's actually going to propel the car a worthwhile distance for the e-waste it creates. > I’ll just use my well-honed common sense to dismiss this totally impractical and stupid idea by physics and engineering grads. Yeah, because nobo…

What is the scammy part? That’s what I don’t get about the (pretty angry/sarcastic) comments being made. The technology is there, the math checks out. You can argue the range is not useful, but for my particular case even 10km/day would satisfy my needs through most of the year.

Here is an article with more numbers on the solar charging: https://sonomotors.com/en/blog/park-the-sion-in-the-sun-and-...

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#402

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

scbrg wrote: post #310
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Running out over the pavement to the cars in the street? You seem sceptical? I've seen exactly that in a street near me, to a motor vehicle being charged up. They used a cable protector, this kind of device: https://www.kingfisherdirect.co.uk/traffic-line-hose-and-cab... However, more permanent infrastructure would be buried below the paving. This already happens, BTW. Cities need infrastructure, that's just the fa…

I am sceptical. At least around here I strongly doubt that it'd even be legal to run that thing (or several of those things) across the pavement. Pavements are for walking, prams, wheelchairs and whatnot that would be obstructed. I might be wrong there though. I'm not arguing against the idea that such infrastructure would be good. I'm just saying that a private person renting an apartment in a city can not reasonabl…

Hello.

Since I was out and about today, I took these pictures

https://imgur.com/a/F410FAZ

The first picture shows the cable with protector, that a neighbour uses. It's not in use but you get the idea.

The second shows more permanent infrastructure - a charging port built into a lamp post. Picture taken across the road from the first. Note the logo of https://www.ubitricity.com/ and instruction sign. Sometimes I see new model LEVC taxis plugged in there.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#403

Post by ogre_codes »

iso1631 wrote: post #393
ogre_codes wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You seem to be claiming it's better to travel 50 miles a day by car than 10 miles a day, which is clearly wrong. I don’t understand at all how you interpret what I said to mean this.

You're saying that "Pushing around a big car to travel what is essentially walking distance is a waste" Order these in desirability: 1) Not travelling 2) Travelling by car for 2 miles 3) Travelling by car for 20 miles 4) Travelling by car for 200 miles I've already done it. In no world is it better to own a car and travel 200 miles than it is to own the same car and travel 20 miles. In all worlds it's better to not t…

I can understand why you would need to drive 3 miles instead of ride a bike. Your first reply covered that quite well.

The rest of this gibberish. I have no idea how you see this as a reasonable interpretation to either of my posts.

My point was that if it’s feasible to walk or ride a bike someone instead of drive, you should. I didn’t make it well, but I also didn’t suggest you are better driving 10 times further either.

You’ve gone from making a reasonable point to being damned near incoherent.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#404

Post by tomjakubowski »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #256
40four wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This topic came up on the recent Joe Rogan with Elon Musk. Elon said they considered it, but in the end it is just not worth it. He said there is just not enough surface area on a car to contribute a worthwhile amount of electricity. The numbers quoted for this particular vehicle are very optimistic I think. If you’re lucky, you might get 5 miles a day out of it. What happens if it’s cloudy or rainy for a week? Or yo…

A cheap, easy to set up solar car port in the driveway would make more sense for suburban dwellers. Guessing HOA's would lose their shit though.

A solar carport doesn't save you from having to plug the car in to charge it. That's the real appeal of having "wireless charging" (solar) panels on your car.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#405

Post by recursive »

dheera wrote: post #336
recursive wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What gives you (accusitorily) the right to deny me from living in a HOA neighborhood? > So now the house you supposedly "own" will be governed by some people that you don't even know. "Governed?" I wouldn't really say that. I'm still allowed to take a shit whenever I want, and use as much toilet paper as I feel is right and proper. If you want to argue about the existence of HOAs, I'm probably not the best counterpar…

> What gives you (accusitorily) the right to deny me from living in a HOA neighborhood? I don't deny you from your right to live in an HOA neighborhood, but I strongly oppose the HOA making it a requirement that you join them. It should be optional, and you can join if you want.

Well, that's kind of my understanding about what an HOA neighborhood even is.

The existence of a (mandatory) HOA seems to increase property value. I have no economics training, but this seems to be a signal from the invisible hand that they are generally desirable in those cases.

The only ways they're likely to go away is if they're regulated out of existence, or they fall out of favor in a way that's reflected in property value.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#406

Post by outworlder »

vkou wrote: post #318
outworlder wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HOAs are a US thing. Would you be surprised to know that high density housing exist elsewhere, with common areas, which are not maintained by HOAs?

Yeah, it does exist in other places not maintained by HOAs. It's maintained by an organization that is the exact same thing as an HOA, but is called a strata.

Not exactly the same thing, just performs the same function.

HOAs wouldn't be so bad if rules were grandfathered-in when you bought your house.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#407

Post by natch »

jiofih wrote: post #401
Rule35 wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about an agenda, it's about the numbers. The panel isn't big enough to help at all but it's not being billed as "extra supplemental power for the cigarette lighter", but as if it's actually going to propel the car a worthwhile distance for the e-waste it creates. > I’ll just use my well-honed common sense to dismiss this totally impractical and stupid idea by physics and engineering grads. Yeah, because nobo…

What is the scammy part? That’s what I don’t get about the (pretty angry/sarcastic) comments being made. The technology is there, the math checks out. You can argue the range is not useful, but for my particular case even 10km/day would satisfy my needs through most of the year. Here is an article with more numbers on the solar charging: https://sonomotors.com/en/blog/park-the-sion-in-the-sun-and-...

This meets the textbook definition of snake oil.

Electric cars are great. If they can be solar powered, also great! Solar paint — sure, go for it!

Selling it as "the car charges itself" — really, no. That is dishonest and scammy.

The writeup just anchors this conclusion with excessive verbiage, itself a red flag, vague numbers about ideal conditions, and enticing but deceptive misdirection about oh-my-gosh we don't want to overcharge the battery now, do we? Snake oil.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#408

Post by asoneth »

ogre_codes wrote: post #356
asoneth wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would actually like a solar roof for just this reason: when I have no choice but to park in the sun, it would be convenient if it could produce enough energy to maintain a reasonable temperature without impacting the remaining range.

Can already do this on the Tesla. It’s not solar, but cracking the windows and running the fans to keep it vented isn’t going to burn more than a mile or two of range. The best way to spend money improving an EV is almost always going to be on batteries or weight reduction. Self charging is neat, but unless you get much more efficient solar arrays, it’s always going to be limited to niche applications. Five miles mor…

I agree that in many cases an extra dollar of battery capacity provides more utility than an extra dollar of solar charging.

But I did have one of those niche applications a while ago: I used to travel for work and often left my car parked random airport lots for months at a time which meant I occasionally came back to melted cassette tapes and a dead battery. In that case $100 of solar panels to run an exhaust fan and/or trickle charge the battery seems like it would have provided more utility to me than $100 of additional battery capacity.

I wouldn't be willing to add thousands of dollars worth of solar panels like the Sion and even if I did I wouldn't consider it a replacement for charging via the electric grid. But if my next car comes with an optional/after-market "solar package" that can integrate solar panels into the roof that seems like it would provide some value to me, at least more than the fancy wheel or audio packages they currently offer.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#409

Post by asoneth »

ganafagol wrote: post #382
hnuser123456 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in the US but have a 2 mile commute each way, and I don't drive to work every day (pre-covid). Uncommon but I'm not alone. - For me, 5 miles a day would keep the battery topped off and I wouldn't have to visit a charger except on longer trips. - Would also be much more palatable to limit the full-charge voltage to something a little lower, prolonging the battery's useful life, knowing it'll passively recharge dai…

Using a car for a 2 mile "commute" sounds very US. That's a 10 minute bike ride tops.

> Using a car for a 2 mile "commute" sounds very US.

Definitely.

> That's a 10 minute bike ride tops.

Perhaps, though it may not be possible cover that 2 mile commute by bike and survive.

At one point I was staying in a hotel along a small highway in Texas and saw a strip mall with restaurants on the other side. After about twenty minutes trying to find a way across I gave up and got in my car to cross the road.

Transit policy in many US cities and towns is somewhere between indifferent and actively hostile to anyone who is not driving a car.

Re: Electric car that charges itself

#410

Post by ogre_codes »

asoneth wrote: post #408
ogre_codes wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can already do this on the Tesla. It’s not solar, but cracking the windows and running the fans to keep it vented isn’t going to burn more than a mile or two of range. The best way to spend money improving an EV is almost always going to be on batteries or weight reduction. Self charging is neat, but unless you get much more efficient solar arrays, it’s always going to be limited to niche applications. Five miles mor…

I agree that in many cases an extra dollar of battery capacity provides more utility than an extra dollar of solar charging. But I did have one of those niche applications a while ago: I used to travel for work and often left my car parked random airport lots for months at a time which meant I occasionally came back to melted cassette tapes and a dead battery. In that case $100 of solar panels to run an exhaust fan a…

This brings back memories of slowly dying car alarms back in the 90s.

I probably come across as being more anti-solar roof than I am. Mostly just feel like this isn’t a feature I’d make a purchase decision on and wouldn’t likely pay too much for.

I was reading on the Tesla forums about just bringing a portable solar array for camping and it’s weirdly a lot more complicated than you’d think. Perhaps having it integrated would make it simpler, but it’s a lot trickier than just topping off a 12v battery with a solar array.

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