Is it time to re-visit solar hybrids?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If I lived somewhere with a constant solar exposure, I’d put the panels on the roof of my house and “solar” charge my car from the grid like a reasonable person.

Solar roof panels would be a must if I lived in a house instead of an apartment, even though solar exposure may vary through the year. But if it could also be effective to have it on a vehicle, just like some campers use in their vans for auxiliary power, I would be inclined to give it a try.

[jakobnev]

Considering I bought a 300 watt flex panel for $65

That is walletgasmically cheap!

Assuming you could use all the energy, the effective sun hours you need to recoup your investement is:

Europe: 285
Hawaii/California: 577
Texas: 1024

And assuming $0.13/kWh at home we could lose this much of the potential energy and still be better off with the panel on the car than at home (assuming we are unable to plug the car in):

Europe: 83%
Hawaii/California: 65%
Texas: 38%

Of course there are more costs than just the panel, but that is also true at home.

[JSH]

Some info from various reviews:

• The solar roof is only available on the limited trim level which is rated at 47 mpg combined vs 52 mpg for the base trim.
• It is 205 watts
• The roof adds 66 lbs.

As to how much power it can supply - Hyundai's statement to Jalopnik:

The high-voltage battery capacity of Sonata Hybrid is 1.49 kWh. It can charge 894Wh of energy, or 60 percent of the battery capacity, with a solar roof for one day.

This result is based on a summer test in California and it varies by test condition.

I would be interested to see what it would cost as a stand alone option. There is no way I would buy a $5000 package to get it.

Even at $3 a gallon that is a savings of about $0.12 a day under perfect conditions.

It also means I would have to park on the roof of the parking garage. In the summer my car would be 130 F when I got out of work instead of 80 F. How much of that 0.9 kW solar energy am I going to consume cooling the car back down to 80 degrees with the A/C?

200 watts is more than most people think. I have 200 watts of solar on the roof of our campervan and it will run our refrigerator even during a week of overcast days and rain.

[redpoint5]

Yeah, so still no.

Even Mark Watney stops and sets up the solar array when it's time to charge despite limited oxygen. Integrated solar is usually dumb.

[Tahoe_Hybrid]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

I came across this paper a while back:

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...Solar_Vehicles

Since it was written the cost of solar panels has dropped by >90%!

We've seen eletric cars like Sono Sion and Lightyear One have solar panels, but it makes more sense to put solar panels on a non-plugin hybrid since energy in one of those is more valuable, about $0.12/kWh for electricity from the wall and $0.77/kWh for electricity in the car - more than six times as much! (with European fuel prices)

Recently the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima hybrids have come out with solar roof options.

solar panels on a car lol

no will not work


it's just as bad as solar road ways idea it's better just to store it(to charge it later) and/or have them roof mounted..

[jakobnev]

to charge it later

it's just as bad as solar road ways idea

The main reason solar roadways is bad is because the panels have to be made strong enough to drive vehicles on them, turning something dirt-cheap, into something ultra-expensive. Car roofs (believe it or not) do not need to be made strong enough to drive vehicles on them, the panels will just go from dirt-cheap to kinda moderately-priced, and give reasonable returns.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I have recently seen an electric 2nd-generation Smart ForTwo at the parking lot of a supermarket, and it had roof-mounted solar cells. That car belongs to an energy company, and is used for administrative job while also clearly serving as a marketing stunt.

[raubvogel]

I too would like to get info on these 300 watt flex panel for $65. How big are they?

My car has rather large and reasonably flat roof (and hood, but then there is the mirror effect), and I do not drive it much during the week even in pre-covid times. And I do not have a garage. So if it would be charging itself during the week, it would not hurt my feelings to go grocery shopping on that charge, leaving the engine for when I want to have fun or go far. I probably could get away with non-fun trips with a total range of 30mi in a week.

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I have recently seen an electric 2nd-generation Smart ForTwo at the parking lot of a supermarket, and it had roof-mounted solar cells. That car belongs to an energy company, and is used for administrative job while also clearly serving as a marketing stunt.

I never understood why they never brought the Smart Roadster to the US. I guess they expected the typical Smart owner here to be horrified for having something sporty/fun under that brand.

[S Keith]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Considering I bought a 300 watt flex panel for $65 (supposedly over 20%EFF)

Who cares?

The benefit
of the 12 volt surviving
Of Possible cooling fan operation
And added free range is worthwhile
And In the winter you could likely use excess power to power the seat heater
Seems like a no brainer as a gimmick and convience option

It’s all about cost, as manufacturers offer it you will drive cost down and reliability up.


I think of all the new car option costs and have to say no one seems to care about buying the $2000 premium audio I don’t see why this is any more efficient

Extraordinarily unlikely you bought a 300W flex panel for $65 especially if it's new. False advertising is rampant on sites like Alibaba/Aliexpress, ebay and Wish. 20% is pretty much the ceiling for the best fixed panels. Flexible aren't better. You probably got a run-of-the-mill 100W panel.

You have to look at the surface area of the panel. If that panel is less than 1.5m^2, no way it's 300W. If flexible, it probably needs to be closer to 1.6 or so.

[Stubby79]

Sounds like the watt-math I found on the instructions inside the box of the panel I bought and then returned...max no-load voltage multiplied by the max shorted out current it could produce...a good 3x the watts of what it would actually put out.