David, I agree that solar only vehicles don't make sense. But, solar assisted BEV "hybrids" that can charge from either the solar panels on the vehicle while in use or another source at night might be something to pursue.
Matthew Pitts On August 22, 2019 11:56:00 AM EDT, EVDL Administrator via EV <[email protected]> wrote: >On 22 Aug 2019 at 13:12, Lawrence Rhodes via EV wrote: > >> The surface area for 3 kw of Sunpower Maxeon cells would be 8 feet by >23 >> feet. > >You're talking about a vehicle 15% longer and 31% wider than the >largest, >most bloated Chevrolet Silverado pickup. That's a 37% larger >footprint. >Where are you going to park it? > >This allegedly "green" solar vehicle would take up 157% more road and >parking space than a VW Polo, and at least 900% more than a bicycle. >Where >on earth does that kind of personal vehicle make sense? > >What's more, it won't work. Those 3kW PVs won't produce 3kW >continuously. >Vehicles travel and park in shade, on cloudy days, in winter, at night, >in >garages. Do you want to be the one to tell Joe and Jane Suburbanite >that >they can't use their $50,000 garage to protect their $150,000 solar EV? > >At the current state of the art, I just can't see standalone solar >vehicles >as practical. Maybe they'll be marginally practical someday IF we see >an >order of magnitude improvement in PV conversion efficiency, and IF that > >miraculous new invention is made from some cheap and plentiful material >in a >minimal-labor process requiring almost no energy input. But I don't >see >that happening in my lifetime. > >Besides, I just don't get why the idea of a standalone solar vehicle is >so >compelling. You have to sleep, so put your PV on your house. Right >now >that house is probably just sitting in the sun all day, converting the >sunlight to heat that you're pumping out with an air conditioner. Why >not >capture that solar energy instead, save it with whatever method works >for >you, and pump it into your EV while you sleep? > >That kind of solar vehicle is simple, practical, efficient, and >relatively >affordable. So why are we burning through person-hours developing >standalone solar vehicles that will never be affordable to anyone but >the >top 0.1% income range, and have zero chance of ever seeing commercial >production? > >You may have your own ideas, but I'll tell you what I think is one big >reason. Standalone solar vehicles are sexy. They snag the imagination >of >politicians and rich philanthropists with limited science education. >That >makes them a fabulous way to harvest grant money for both dodgy >"entrepreneurs" and legitimate but desperately underfunded nonprofits. > >David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA >EVDL Administrator > >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not >reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my >email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > >_______________________________________________ >UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html >http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA >(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) -- Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
