Is it time to re-visit solar hybrids?

[freebeard]

"The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can"

John Prine

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Getting high voltage isn't too hard. You just need enough PV cells in series. Of course that would drive up the size of the solar panel(s) unless you use smaller PV cells or cut bigger ones into smaller ones.

If you know how, you can drive in a way that uses more battery so you end up at your destination without much charge.

The hardest part would be to get it to not over charge. I understand the principles of electronics but making a +250V charger controller is a bit out of my league.

Most commercial charge controllers are 12V, 24V, 36V, or 48V. If you want one to charge the 200V battery in your Prius you are on your own to make something custom.

200 watts of panels, charge controller, and wiring for the solar on my van was about $300.

[Isaac Zachary]

So solar ain't an option and now pedal power ain't either. What then is an option? I guess not do anything is an option.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

So solar ain't an option and now pedal power ain't either. What then is an option? I guess not do anything is an option.

You already did something - when you bought your vehicles. Your vehicles consume half the fuel of a typical car.

EDIT: If you want to do some modifications to your current cars I would start with a grill block. When I had a 05 and 09 Prius they got about 25 mpg while they warmed up. A grill block helped them warm up much faster than with the grill open. The 2nd gen Prius has a way bigger grill than needed. I drove with the lower grill 1/2 blocked all year even in Alabama.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

So solar ain't an option and now pedal power ain't either. What then is an option? I guess not do anything is an option.

I didn't say it isn't an option. The conversation was never about options. The title of the thread implies a discussion about the cost/benefit intersection and whether it's reasonable to put PV on a hybrid. In other words, doing so needs to be the best use of resources given all other known alternative uses of those resources.

Human powered transportation is already a highly developed technology, mostly taking form in a bicycle. A person can't generate enough power to run the accessories in a car, let alone propel it. A fairly fit person might be able to sustain 200 watts of output, but don't expect to arrive at the destination in a non-persperated state.

To recap, PV on a hybrid can work, just as human power can, but the cost/benefit isn't there for 99.999% of people. That means for those who want it, they will need to engineer it themselves, because there's no profit incentive to make an expensive vehicle that nobody wants to buy.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

So solar ain't an option and now pedal power ain't either. What then is an option? I guess not do anything is an option.

For years, while he readies himself for a BEV, AeroStealth has charged his CMAX Energi Plug-in from his in-yard photovoltaic array, skipping the 'size limitation' issue.
Not the same as on-car but it's way out ahead of nothing.