Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
Do you really think I'll only get a third of the rated output from a solar panel on the roof of my car? I mean, it would depend on time of day, right? In the winter, weaker output all day, but in the summer, there should be several hours of high sunlight. Parking the car at work all day would probably fully recharge a lightly discharged battery, no?
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To get the full out put from a solar panel you have to point it at the sun, the sun is not straight up! a 45 degree angle facing south is a decent compromise but if you can adjust the angle for the seasons then you will see an increase in your output as well, with a tracker that fallows the sun over the course of the day you tend to see an increase in your output by about 30% over not having a tracker, if you can change the angle of the panels over the course of the season you again, see an increase in output, lay the panels flat, put them away from the sun or partly shade them and you might still see an output but no where near the rated output.
This is why you don't see electric car makers putting solar panels on the vehicle, but instead say to put them on the roof of your house, that and they should last 50+ years on the roof of your house, your car is not going to be around that long.