Kauai,Hawaii @ 55% reneable

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

It's a matter of how often it would be either needed or easy to drive it to the mainland.

As long as sunshine is plentiful, then an EV with built-in solar panels might make sense. The distance to the mainland rendering the chances to ever take such vehicle out of the islands to zero could also be considered.

There's never a reason to take a vehicle back to the mainland. Cheaper to sell a vehicle in HI and buy a different one on the mainland if you're moving.

There's also never a reason to have PV on a vehicle. Maybe there's a good reason 1 out of every million vehicles (non-RV), but that's near enough to zero in my estimation.

Originally Posted by Tahoe_Hybrid

Hawaii has a single fuel refinery and they had 2 but it closed down many years ago..

the cheapest gas price is 2.25 THAT is way cheaper then california locally it's 2.89

The only price I see listed in Kauai is $3.55 at the moment. EIA shows the CA average is $2.65.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

There's never a reason to take a vehicle back to the mainland. Cheaper to sell a vehicle in HI and buy a different one on the mainland if you're moving.

Sure it may be the case for Hawaii, Fernando de Noronha or other islands too far from mainland, but it doesn't apply to every island. I guess you have never been in Florianópolis for example.

There's also never a reason to have PV on a vehicle. Maybe there's a good reason 1 out of every million vehicles (non-RV), but that's near enough to zero in my estimation.

I see no reason to not have PV on a vehicle, as it may also be useful to keep accessories such as the HVAC on without discharging the battery.

[redpoint5]

The discussion was about Kauai in particular, and then was generalized to all of the Hawaiian islands, so my comments apply to that.

Near Seattle Washington they have the San Juan islands a few miles offshore, and it would make sense that people might want more range when visiting the "mainland". Ferry pricing is reasonable and travel is common.

Regarding PV; it's better placed on a roof or other stationary object ideally situated. The only reason you'd reasonably put it on an EV is if you're offgrid and have need of charging but no grid connected way to do so.

Recently I looked at a smartwatch that came in PV or non-PV varieties. The PV version was like $100 more, and added between 4-14% extra runtime in ideal conditions. Dumb idea unless that last little bit is absolutely essential.

[oil pan 4]

You can't put enough solar on top of a car to power the air conditioning. You could provide enough power to run the blower and the condenser fan, maybe.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

There's never a reason to take a vehicle back to the mainland. Cheaper to sell a vehicle in HI and buy a different one on the mainland if you're moving.

There's also never a reason to have PV on a vehicle. Maybe there's a good reason 1 out of every million vehicles (non-RV), but that's near enough to zero in my estimation.



The only price I see listed in Kauai is $3.55 at the moment. EIA shows the CA average is $2.65.

That sounds familiar.Forty years or so ago,someone reported that oil from the Dutch East Indies was shipped to,and refined on Hawaii,sold at some price,and the same refined product was transhipped to California port of entry,trucked to Yosemite,and sold at a much lower price,in spite of the logistical costs.Maybe it has to Hawaiian State fuel tax?

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Ferry pricing is reasonable and travel is common.

Electrify this:

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

You can't put enough solar on top of a car to power the air conditioning. You could provide enough power to run the blower and the condenser fan, maybe.

Sure it may depend on the car's size and other factors such as an efficient insulation requiring fewer BTUs to cool down the interior.

[oil pan 4]

A car will always be a poorly insulated green house unless major changes are made, like gold vapor coated windows.
But then you need more power to warm it up in the winter, ifyou have a winter.

[redneck]

.

For comparison.

A 1500 sq ft home footprint requires 2.5 tons of AC.

A 45 sq ft automobile footprint requires 5 tons of AC.

As it been said it all boils down to Insulation.

>

[oil pan 4]

My leaf goes down the road using between a half ton and 1 ton worth of A/C. But you need to over size when your car starts off at at 144F and you want to cool it down while the sun is still shining in.
I did a test where I put an 8,000btu air conditioner in the back seat and trunk area of a car with fold down seats. I opened the trunk, packed towels around the A/C and it barely kept the car comfortable sitting in the sun.