Solar Roof Option

[Booga]

It totally makes sense to get the US and the world off of oil, to stop the global warming pollution, to save the planetary ecology and, if that fails, build space faring capability in case we wreck the place.

But those endeavors, Solar City, Tesla and SpaceX were highly risky and Musk did it because it was the right thing to do, not to make money. It's not about the money.

Same with putting solar panels on EV cars. It's not so much about the 2-3 miles a day, the 1kWh per day, its about the idea of doing it. It makes sense.

The difference is that putting them on roofs of a building or electric cars on the road will make sense economically in the foreseeable future, not "never." Solar panels on the roof of a car don't make sense economically based on the energy they can harness, even thinking about advances coming in 10-20 years. The others are pretty good today, and get better over time.

Again - if he was running a nonprofit, things would be different. They make a bigger impact in getting people to switch behaviors by lowering the cost of an EV and good education/awareness rather than a "cool" solar panel on the roof of a car that adds 1 mile per day under ideal conditions.

 

[ecarfan]

Didn't Elon and/or JB say during that last stockholder's meeting that they don't really like the idea of putting solar panels on a car. Something along the lines "stationary installations make much more sense" or so.

Yes, they did make that statement and were very clear that solar panels on a car make no sense in regards to recharging the battery and powering the vehicle.

What Toyota is doing is a gimmick to attract attention. What Toyota should be doing is cancelling their FCV program and get serious about EVs. But Toyota management has invested too much money and pride into their FCV rat hole to stop, yet....

 

[EaglesPDX]

Solar panels on the roof of a car don't make sense economically based on the energy they can harness, even thinking about advances coming in 10-20 years.

Buying a Tesla 3 doesn't make economic sense either. It's not about the money.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Buying a Tesla 3 doesn't make economic sense either. It's not about the money.

I buying one because EV is cheaper than ICE by far.

I need a car. I would rather buy a $35K EV than a $35K ICE. That makes sense.

If you are not buying an M3... then why are you in this forum?

 

[JRP3]

I can't imagine who would want to cover up that beautiful roof.

Beauty is subjective. I think this looks pretty good

 

[Garlan Garner]

Beauty is subjective. I think this looks pretty good

Yes it does.. however my question is this. Unless you are 13 feet tall - How many times are you going to see this view?

No thanks. Panoramic view is still the best thing for my height.

 

[JRP3]

Unless you are 13 feet tall - How many times are you going to see this view?

Model S is less than 5 ft high, so most people can see the roof. I'm not expecting the Model 3 to be 12ft high.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Model S is less than 5 ft high, so most people can see the roof. I'm not expecting the Model 3 to be 12ft high.

The vantage point of the picture is someone being about 13ft tall. That was my point.

Well. Enjoy the view.. If Tesla changes its mind.

 

[Electric700]

Beauty is subjective. I think this looks pretty good

Me too.

 

[liuping]

Well 2-3 miles a day so it adds up, 60-90 miles a month.

It's been a fun and practical option on the Prius. No reason it wouldn't be on the Tesla.

2-3 miles of range from solar on the car would save you less ten cents of electricity based on the average cost of electricity in the US. To put that in perspective, it's less than the cost of wear on you tires for driving those 2-3 miles.

If you have solar at home it is saves you literally zero cents in electricity.

For me it is worth $0 to add it to the car, so if it costs more than that or adds any complexity to the car, it is not worth it.

 

[EaglesPDX]

Beauty is subjective. I think this looks pretty good

That looks excellent. It matches the Tesla tech.

 

[JRP3]

Looks as if Elon and I are on the same page:

Solar glass tiles can also incorporate heating elements, like rear defroster on a car, to clear roof of snow and keep generating energy

Elon Musk on Twitter

 

[Topher]

On the question of melting snow/ice of solar roof tiles:

Assume worst case of 1" of freezing rain on the roof. That's 5 pounds of ice per square foot, which requires 144 BTUs per pound (or 688 BTUs or 200 Wh total). That represents 2 hours of full sunlight falling on that square foot (at 100% efficiency). If all the melting happened by solar power from the PV itself (presumably stored from previously), that is 13 hours worth sun energy (i.e. 3-4 days worth). Worst case.

What probably really happens is that the sun does most of the melting directly when it hits the dark surface of the tiles, melts a bit of the snow or ice, which promptly slides off the roof. Most regular solar panels around here shed their snow loads by noon on the first sunny day after the storm, so you lose a few hours of production. In the winter when production isn't great anyways.

Thank you kindly.

 

[Garlan Garner]

On the question of melting snow/ice of solar roof tiles:

Assume worst case of 1" of freezing rain on the roof. That's 5 pounds of ice per square foot, which requires 144 BTUs per pound (or 688 BTUs or 200 Wh total). That represents 2 hours of full sunlight falling on that square foot (at 100% efficiency). If all the melting happened by solar power from the PV itself (presumably stored from previously), that is 13 hours worth sun energy (i.e. 3-4 days worth). Worst case.

What probably really happens is that the sun does most of the melting directly when it hits the dark surface of the tiles, melts a bit of the snow or ice, which promptly slides off the roof. Most regular solar panels around here shed their snow loads by noon on the first sunny day after the storm, so you lose a few hours of production. In the winter when production isn't great anyways.

Thank you kindly.

My regular shingles melt the snow and ice by themselves when the sun hits them.

 

[Model 3]

Just for the record:

Elon confirms solar roof on the M3
View attachment 201176

 

[MissAutobahn]

Just for the record:

Deployable !!!?
If Elon THAT makes happen.... I would like to kiss him ... YES YES YESSSS

 

[Zoomit]

I could see replacing the frunk volume with a deployable solar array. It might use a forward hinge the hood and a series of 2-3 telescoping panels that cover the windshield and roof. (pure speculation on my part)

 

[Zoomit]

...or the hood just folds back on the windshield revealing a panel in the frunk, and a panel then folds back again over the roof from the hood. That would provide 3 solar panels and is not too far fetched from an engineering perspective. Park towards the sun, get some juice and shield the cabin from heating. A similar design might be possible with S/X/3.

 

[BluestarE3]

Deployable !!!?
If Elon THAT makes happen.... I would like to kiss him ... YES YES YESSSSView attachment 201192

I think Elon needs to lay off the Ambien for a while and get some natural sleep.


Elon Musk–Verified account ‏@elonmusk
@MacTechGenius I'm the only author, so, love or hate it, that's me. I've learned some lessons though, such as tweeting on Ambien isn't wise.
9:33 AM - 4 Nov 2016

 

[nwdiver]

...or the hood just folds back on the windshield revealing a panel in the frunk, and a panel then folds back again over the roof from the hood. That would provide 3 solar panels and is not too far fetched from an engineering perspective. Park towards the sun, get some juice and shield the cabin from heating. A similar design might be possible with S/X/3.

Sure... there's lots of things you can engineer. But covering the car with solar would really only be worth it if it costs <$500. Do you really think it'll cost <$500?