Why don't electric cars come with PV tops ?

32 volt boater · Sep 8, 2022

Ok I get it your not going to charge it in a few hours but I thought the things were supposed to be all green and stuff.

How much power does it take to charge a electric car? On average, an electric vehicle uses around 30 kWh to travel 100 miles.

It would really add up if it was built into all the roofs.

meetyg · Sep 8, 2022

Many factors are the reason why...
In general, there isn't enough area on a roof of your standard sedan to house a significant amount of solar panels. Solar panels will also add weight, so you will actually be wasting energy hauling that weight around during the night or when it's cloudy.
Most solar panels today are only 20-25% efficient.
Also, most EV have a battery pack with around 400v. You would need alot of solar cells in series to get to that voltage (or panels with alot of amps and a boost converter).

Not to mention cost, more complicated manufacturing etc...
There are some new EVs that have solar built in, but they are either very expensive (a.k.a Lightyear One) or very odd looking (Sono Sion, Aptera).

Charleswgibbs · Sep 8, 2022

On the low side an ev will consume .25kwh per mile driven. You'd be lucky to generate 2 kWh a day with a roof sized array. So like 8 miles of range a day. Even that seems high.

schmism · Sep 8, 2022

so do the rest of the math. 30,000wh/100mi = 300wh/mile

if the avg roof has 150w on it then it makes less than 4 miles a day sitting in a parking lot of full sun all day. It "adds up" like teaspoons in the ocean add up.

Ampster · Sep 8, 2022

32 volt boater said:
I thought the things were supposed to be all green and stuff.

How much power does it take to charge a electric car? On average, an electric vehicle uses around 30 kWh to travel 100 miles.

I have solar panels on the roof of my home and charge mostly from the sun. My EVs are either in my garage or in the driveway of my home so that is my excuse.
You are correct it does not take a lot over time but I suspect the economics are what drive the conclusion to not put them on EVs. Do you drive an EV? If so you could put some panels on a roof rack and give it a try and report back. It works on motor homes and in the middle of the ocean if you have the space on the deck or bimini of a boat

noenegdod · Sep 8, 2022

This one does:

Bluedog225 · Sep 8, 2022

Though solar parking structures make sense in great swaths of the southwest.

Ampster · Sep 8, 2022

Bluedog225 said:
Though solar parking structures make sense in great swaths of the southwest.

Even in Northern California Kaiser has put them in many of their parking lots. Even though they are not always perfectly oriented South those economics are probably pretty good given the high energy costs in California. If a landlord is involved, the landlord may benefit from the tax credit that a non profit like Kaiser can not use.

Mattb4 · Sep 8, 2022

Better question is why no wind turbines? You could generate a lot of power driving along at 60-70mph.

niktak11 · Sep 8, 2022

Mattb4 said:
Better question is why no wind turbines? You could generate a lot of power driving along at 60-70mph.

Why no magnets? You could just pull yourself along.

Mattb4 · Sep 8, 2022

niktak11 said:
Why no magnets? You could just pull yourself along.

Great idea, you could just flip the magnet from North to South for reverse gear.

Ampster · Sep 8, 2022

Mattb4 said:
Better question is why no wind turbines?

Sorry, this guy in China beat you to that idea.

. He even got a segment on Fox News.

32 volt boater · Sep 8, 2022

niktak11 said:
Why no magnets? You could just pull yourself along.

Why no electricity in the street ?

schmism · Sep 9, 2022

32 volt boater said:
Why no electricity in the street ?

I'm going to assume this is a serious question and not a troll....There are a magnitude of issues with electricity in the streets, the first of which would be saftey. Protecting people from high voltage exposed rail (the classic subway third rail) means this is a non-starter. Not to mention maintenance, rain, snow etc problems.

There are several pilot programs attempting to use inductive coils in the payment to wireless transmit power but cost effective and efficiency means its also a non-starter

Delmar · Sep 9, 2022

32 volt boater said:
Ok I get it your not going to charge it in a few hours but I thought the things were supposed to be all green and stuff.

How much power does it take to charge a electric car? On average, an electric vehicle uses around 30 kWh to travel 100 miles.

It would really add up if it was built into all the roofs.

There is barely enough solar power available to charge my golf cart that draws magnitudes less watts, and this is in the strong south Texas sun.

32 volt boater · Sep 9, 2022

schmism said:
I'm going to assume this is a serious question and not a troll....There are a magnitude of issues with electricity in the streets, the first of which would be saftey. Protecting people from high voltage exposed rail (the classic subway third rail) means this is a non-starter. Not to mention maintenance, rain, snow etc problems.

There are several pilot programs attempting to use inductive coils in the payment to wireless transmit power but cost effective and efficiency means its also a non-starter

I can never seem to think of anything first,

Delmar · Sep 9, 2022

32 volt boater said:
I can never seem to think of anything first,

The demand for power will be at peak times, as opposed to charging batteries at night. Just ask California:

Californians Told Not To Charge Electric Cars As Heatwave Singes State

Californians were told Wednesday not to charge their electric vehicles during peak hours, just days after the state said it would stop selling gas-powered cars, as the aging electricity grid struggles with a fearsome heatwave.

www.ndtv.com

The video is from Germany. Curious how they are generating power after turning off their nuke plants, and Russia turning off their natural gas supply.

schmism · Sep 9, 2022

Delmar said:
The video is from Germany. Curious how they are generating power after turning off their nuke plants, and Russia turning off their natural gas supply.

Its been in the news. They short version is they arn't shutting them down

TÜV's Bühler: Restarting retired nuclear plants in Germany is technically feasible

Joachim Bühler from safety inspection operator TÜV says Germany can bring three closed nuclear plants back to life.

balkangreenenergynews.com

32 volt boater · Sep 9, 2022

In Europe, street lighting consumes a significant amount of electricity: there are more than 56 million street lighting luminaires in operation, with an estimated electricity consumption of 35 TWh. A terawatt-hour is a unit of energy equal to outputting one trillion watts for one hour.

Here in America its so stupid how mall parking lots are all lit up at 4am.

I think Europe will be OK if they just quit being so incredibly wasteful. All those lamps could probably power all the highway trucking instead.

shopman · Sep 9, 2022

noenegdod said:
This one does:

I was going to post this same video. If they're able to deliver this vehicle in their target price range, it will be a game changer.

Why don't electric cars come with PV tops ?

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