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Thread: Chevrolet Bolt

  1. #11
    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    They had one on a Prius before, IIRC it only generated enough to power a small fan to vent out hot air while parked.

    Edit: http://www.technologyreview.com/view...g-solar-prius/
    Get that weak shit off my track

  2. #12
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    A car-roof-sized solar panel might make 50 watts in full bright sunlight at an optimal angle - not even enough to run a headlight. And it'd weigh 20 or 30 pounds all the time. Probably not a good trade.

  3. #13
    What fresh hell is this? overpowered's Avatar
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    Current solar panels can produce 110-220 watts per square meter. A car roof can easily be 2-3 square meters (think Fit, not Corvette) depending upon the configuration.

    That's still not really enough, but 50 watts is way low.

  4. #14
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    Solar panels such are you describe would weigh a lot more than 20lbs, and nobody is going to add 100lbs+ to the roof of an electric car. Those types of ratings are also "peak sun" ratings, which is typically not going to be achievable except for a few minutes a day on a flat surface. Typically speaking, on average, the best you're going to do on a car roof is about 50w. I have done a lot of research into mobile solar for the motorhome, and even the most expensive systems ($2000-$3000) on a 400 sq ft roof is good for a reliable 250-400w, depending on what you buy. A tiny little electric car is not going to generate 600w of power ever.

  5. #15
    What does the Bat say? Jason's Avatar
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    You people and your facts.

  6. #16
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    I want solar to work a *lot* but in mobile apps it's really tough. There just isn't the equipment to make it happen quite yet. In a few years the efficiency on the printed or flexible panels will improve and then even if you can't make "real" power the cost and ease of just putting them everywhere will make it a no brainer. Right now, it just doesn't work out.

  7. #17
    What does the Bat say? Jason's Avatar
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    I just figured it'd help charge the car faster, or give it a little extra juice while sitting in a work parking lot or whatever. Guess I was wrong

  8. #18
    What fresh hell is this? overpowered's Avatar
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    The panels you're looking at for a motor home have their own support structure because they are designed to be attached to a roof.

    For a car that you're designing to have solar, you wouldn't do that. You would integrate the cells into the roof at manufacturing time, using the roof as the support structure. It wouldn't be 100 pounds to the car. It would probably be less than half of that.

    Yes, it wouldn't be enough to run the car but it probably would be enough to get a decent amount of charge while sitting in a parking lot all day. Whether that's worth the added cost to the car is another question. I suspect that it's not at this point.

  9. #19
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    Okay. If you say so. You've clearly done more research into mobile solar than I have.

  10. #20
    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    Get that weak shit off my track

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