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Originally Posted by redpoint5
You started with the false limitation of choice in what to do with $1,575 (doesn't have to be spent on the vehicle) and later acknowledged the value equation.
Better to invest that $1,575 over the 16 years it would take to break even with solar recharging (based on bay area estimates).
Might make more sense in Hawaii where electricity is 4x the national average.
The real problem I have is that the first 300 watts of solar is not optional, so every consumer has to pay for it, including the ones that will park in the garage and plug in for every charge. Adding the next 400 watts is a $900 option. Should be an all or nothing option, not a some, or a little more option.
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I don't understand why A/C is no longer optional. It hardly gets above 80°F here and I don't use it. Don't get me started on the touch screen trend!
The article does say that the solar panels would benefit those who don't have a place to plug in at home as they would have to make fewer trips to a charging station that could potentially charge way more than 10 cents per kWh.
It also says that it would be greenest to put solar panels on a house roof, but again, not everyone can do that. Landlords, HOA's and city ordenances can get in the way of that idea. So if you want to dabble a little into solar, why not?
Plus a $900 option isn't a lot for a $30,000 car. And for someone getting 30mpg in their current car with fuel prices at $4 per gallon, that $1,575 is only 12,000 miles worth of fuel. So compared with a gasoline car, the solar panels pay for themselves in a little over a year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
How can you assign a monetary value to independence?
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Exactly!
Why are there EV owners that buy generators and stick them in the trunk and charge from them from time to time. Sure, a 700W solar panel is half the wattage as a generator, but the idea is kind of the same. You do it to be independant. Solar, wind and bodily power are the only powers that don't require a connection to a grid or network, unless you make moonshine for fuel.