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How Long Till Solar Powered Car?

How long to solar charging cars?

  • 2 Years

    Votes: 5 2.4%
  • 4 Years

    Votes: 6 2.9%
  • 6 Years

    Votes: 10 4.8%
  • 8 Years

    Votes: 34 16.2%
  • Never

    Votes: 155 73.8%

  • Total voters
    210
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Yeah unfortunately there is no function to edit poll questions; it became clear soon-after posting that it wasn't phrased specifically enough. Although it's been interesting to see how people have interpreted it, and how strongly people feel about their answers.
 
Absolutely. But that vehicle is not a Model ≡. Think something with lots of surface area, light weight, and low speed.

Thank you kindly.

Hmm. Something about halfway between a golf cart and an ATV - flat solar panel roof on top, all wheels driven electrically with big tires and lots of articulation, fairly low top speed (35 mph?) and almost unkillable. I could see it being very useful out beyond the reach of the grid...
 
SUNN Solar Electric Kit Car Vehicle

Curtis.jpg
 
With the Model 3S, you can solar charge your Tesla while at work. The added charge should be enough to take you all the way home...unless you live more than 100 meters away...or you park in the shade...or it's a non-sunny day...or it's winter in Sweden...or you need to drive home with your headlights on...or you use a car cover...or birds perch & crap all over your panels.

model-3-Solar.jpg
 
Let's flip this around.

"How long until there's a liquid or gas fuelled vehicle that carries its own mini-refinery?"

There never will be - refineries work much better when they're buildings. Likewise - even when there's a dramatic increase in solar panel efficiencies (peskovite pv? graphene plasmonics? - who knows?) they will always be better in large arrays on the ground or on rooftops or even floating on lakes.
 
Let's flip this around.

"How long until there's a liquid or gas fuelled vehicle that carries its own mini-refinery?"

There never will be - refineries work much better when they're buildings. Likewise - even when there's a dramatic increase in solar panel efficiencies (peskovite pv? graphene plasmonics? - who knows?) they will always be better in large arrays on the ground or on rooftops or even floating on lakes.

Yeah, great idea to cover lakes in solar panels. Very ecological. I hear the amazon rainforest has quite a lot of available surface area too.
 
Yes, I've said it over and over, because I get asked all the time: It makes no sense to put PV on a car. Even if they were 100% efficient, it still wouldn't do much. This is especially true with the usage pattern of cars presently (this may soon change though!): Parked most of the time. Put it on a solar carport over where the car is parked, and then you can use the power more efficiently. (power the grid during the day when peak power demands exist, then charge your car at night)
 
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Yes, I've said it over and over, because I get asked all the time: It makes no sense to put PV on a car. Even if they were 100% efficient, it still wouldn't do much. This is especially true with the usage pattern of cars presently (this may soon change though!): Parked most of the time. Put it on a solar carport over where the car is parked, and then you can use the power more efficiently. (power the grid during the day when peak power demands exist, then charge your car at night)

Here in the US, I certainly agree.

I'm starting to think a 3rd world solar mule might make a whole lot of sense, though.

Something about the size of a golf cart, probably certified under NEV rules in the US, built very ruggedly with AWD and balloon tires and a smallish battery pack and solar panel flat roof.

It'd kinda be a 21st century mule - an integrated way to move a couple of people or a few hundred pounds of stuff around in most kinds of terrain with no maintenance or fuel requirements, no infrastructure to set up or maintain.

With the right accessories, it could fill in as a tractor or drive water pumps, mills, saws, and so forth.

They'd also come in handy right after a major disaster, if you could get them there in useful numbers quickly.
Walter
 
That's a better idea, but still not enough insolation on roof that size to make it decent. You might be able to stretch and put 600 watts of solar on that roof if you are lucky, so figure most of the time it's not parked optimally, maybe even partially shaded. A couple of kWh if you are lucky and doing it right. How far can that take you? Even a small electric bicycle needs 250w. I'm going to assume an AWD mule-tpye vehicle needs a 10kW motor, and will probably pull a few kW driving on average. So you might get an hour of operation each day if you are lucky. (I'm being optimistic)

Still better off installing panels on the house (or village) and plugging the vehicle in. They can be tilted optimally and not shaded.

Here in the US, I certainly agree.

I'm starting to think a 3rd world solar mule might make a whole lot of sense, though.

Something about the size of a golf cart, probably certified under NEV rules in the US, built very ruggedly with AWD and balloon tires and a smallish battery pack and solar panel flat roof.

It'd kinda be a 21st century mule - an integrated way to move a couple of people our a few hundred pounds of stuff around in must kinds of terrain with no maintenance or fuel requirements, no infrastructure to set up or maintain.

With the right accessories, it could fill in as a tractor and drive water pumps, mills, saws, and so forth.

They'd also come in handy right after a major disaster, if you could get them there in useful numbers quickly.
Walter
 
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