Solar panel glass roof

[youdiscussedme]

Translucent solar panels are already manufactured relatively inexpensively. What would it take to get a 3rd party (or @Ford Motor Company ) to manufacture a glass roof for MME that has integrated solar panels? I know it wouldn't charge it within a day or sun exposure, but an added trickle charge would be nice.

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[thinkrama]

Wishful thinking! It would certainly be amazing if either Ford or 3rd party pitches in.
Fisker Ocean is doing something similar.

 

[youdiscussedme]

Wishful thinking! It would certainly be amazing if either Ford or 3rd party pitches in.
Fisker Ocean is doing something similar.

Indeed. Aptera was my first love in the EV realm, and Fisker was a distant second. I like the open visibility of a glass roof (I've always enjoyed the view of sun roofs), and don't want to lose that, so translucent solar panels seem logical.

 

[A-A-Ron]

Peak solar efficiency under perfect sunny conditions tops out around 1kw/sq m. Your roof is about a square meter so under perfect conditions you’re never going to get more than a kw/hr or 3 mi range/hr. The cost and complexity make this a really difficult feature to justify.

 

[youdiscussedme]

Peak solar efficiency under perfect sunny conditions tops out skins 1kw/sq m. Your roof is about a square meter so under perfect conditions you’re never going to get more than a kw/hr or 3 mi range/hr. The cost and complexity make this a really difficult feature to justify.

It's a perfectly good addition for those who camp, and for someone who uses accessories, or just an additional power source while driving. I fully understand that it doesn't add a ton of power, but having a constant source trickle in would be nice without being tethered to a plug. I get that it might not be worth it to some, but there is definite value to others. Especially as solar panel efficiency improves.

 

[Chuck]

Translucent solar panels are already manufactured relatively inexpensively. What would it take to get a 3rd party (or @Ford Motor Company ) to manufacture a glass roof for MME that has integrated solar panels? I know it wouldn't charge it within a day or sun exposure, but an added trickle charge would be nice.

The amount of energy produced by such a solar panel wouldn't be useful.

 

[youdiscussedme]

I never asked if it was useful or justifiable. I asked what it would take/cost to produce. ? I see value in an added trickle charge.

 

[dtbaker61]

Translucent solar panels are already manufactured relatively inexpensively. What would it take to get a 3rd party (or @Ford Motor Company ) to manufacture a glass roof for MME that has integrated solar panels? I know it wouldn't charge it within a day or sun exposure, but an added trickle charge would be nice.

well.... it might have some cool factor, but the benefit would never be worth the cost.

translucent modules are far less efficient (7%) than 'regular solar' modules (20-22%). So.... the entire roof might produce 75watts on a perfectly sunny day at noon in the summer. With 6 hours of effective sun in summer, you *might* generate 0.5 kWhr..... and it would be suitable really only for 12v..... which is already backed up by your main traction battery.

Much, much, much more effective use of solar and your money to make sure your house or wherever you charge your MME is using 'regular' Solar modules (or wind, or hydro) to generate the Energy you put into your car.

 

[SuperRob]

... having a constant source trickle in would be nice without being tethered to a plug.

We don't know to what degree constant solar charging is going to impact battery longevity. Maybe not much, since regen kind of does this too.

I think solar to the home, where's it's stationary and can be stored in an auxiliary battery for later use, makes a lot more sense. I know that's not an option for a lot of people (including me, I live in a townhome), but I honestly haven't seen an example of solar working with cars enough to justify the engineering and cost. I would wait and see how things go with Aptera and Fisker.

 

[dtbaker61]

I never asked if it was useful or justifiable. I asked what it would take/cost to produce. ? I see value in an added trickle charge.

you *could* buy pre-assembled flex panels (at about $3/watt) like this
https://www.bougerv.com/products/4pcs-100w-cigs-flexible-solar-panel? , but they are not translucent at all....

you can also get individual cells and paste them to the inside of your glass roof and wire them together in parallel/series to get the voltage you want, and then add diodes and connect to a window fan or a charge controller and to your LVB if you want a fun DIY science project.

 

[superdave80]

It's a perfectly good addition for those who camp, and for someone who uses accessories,

You would probably be better of with some solar panels stored under your rear cargo area for when you go camping. It will be far cheaper, more efficient, and you can place them for more sun exposure.

or just an additional power source while driving. I fully understand that it doesn't add a ton of power

I think you are vastly overestimating how much useful energy you would get out of this setup.

 

[youdiscussedme]

well.... it might have some cool factor, but the benefit would never be worth the cost.

translucent modules are far less efficient (7%) than 'regular solar' modules (20-22%). So.... the entire roof might produce 75watts on a perfectly sunny day at noon in the summer. With 6 hours of effective sun in summer, you *might* generate 0.5 kWhr..... and it would be suitable really only for 12v..... which is already backed up by your main traction battery.

Much, much, much more effective use of solar and your money to make sure your house or wherever you charge your MME is using 'regular' Solar modules (or wind, or hydro) to generate the Energy you put into your car.

That's

We don't know to what degree constant solar charging is going to impact battery longevity. Maybe not much, since regen kind of does this too.

I think solar to the home, where's it's stationary and can be stored in an auxiliary battery for later use, makes a lot more sense. I know that's not an option for a lot of people (including me, I live in a townhome), but I honestly haven't seen an example of solar working with cars enough to justify the engineering and cost. I would wait and see how things go with Aptera and Fisker.

That's a very fair point, and something to consider. I appreciate the viewpoint.

 

[AKgrampy]

And as mentioned you would be charging your LVB and not the HVB with this kind of set up so perhaps some savings but I believe costs would have to come way down before it became an available aftermarket option.

 

[highland58]

It's a perfectly good addition for those who camp, and for someone who uses accessories, or just an additional power source while driving. I fully understand that it doesn't add a ton of power, but having a constant source trickle in would be nice without being tethered to a plug. I get that it might not be worth it to some, but there is definite value to others. Especially as solar panel efficiency improves.

If you are sitting at one spot in a campground, you could setup portable panels, multiple ones if needed.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I recall there was a Prius, maybe the 2d Generation Prius, which did have a small solar panel... and it ran that Prius's tilt skylight fan in hot weather to get the heat out of the cabin.

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