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I see a lot of folks in this thread doing the math of how this works out, which is great, hard numbers == good. But as one who went to a considerable amount of
by mikestew 7y ago
I see a lot of folks in this thread doing the math of how this works out, which is great, hard numbers == good. But as one who went to a considerable amount of effort and research to put solar on the roof of our RV camper (which has a lot more roof than a Hyundai), and as one who owns a Nissan Leaf and knows how much an EV draws, I needed no napkin to know it was a gimmick before I even clicked the link.
Cramming a panel on every bit of usable space, using the best panels my money could buy me, got us 410W (26' RV, kinda small). That'll almost run half a microwave under perfect conditions at noon on the summer solstice. It is a long enough way from running a car that I'll use the napkin to wipe burrito sauce away.
- psweber 7y agoWhat a beautiful comment 1. Complement audience 2. Establish credibility 3. Set up punchline ("I needed no napkin") 4. Explain first hand experience to make point 5. Deliver punchline ("Wipe burrito sauce")
- vladojsem 7y agoI get your point. So is roof-based solar pure marketing?
- mikestew 7y agoI mean, they're not lying. I just don't think it's worth the opportunity cost for the measly added mileage you get. If they can put solar up there, then I'd rather have a full-glass roof. EDIT: And now that you make me think about it more, it's just dumb; or maybe an interim solution at best. Because solar panels on the roof of my house is much more scalable, efficient, and for the same power output, less expensive (no one does crash-tests on my house roof). The "interim" part comes from admitting that residential roof solar is quite uncommon, but hopefully not forever. Let me edit some more with an extreme example: my electric scooter that I ride work every day. I could squeeze some panel on there somewhere, and add a teensy bit of extra mileage. But I won't, because remember that RV solar I talked about? Most of the time it's just sitting there doing nothing, so I ran an extension cord from the inverter to the scooter and electric bicycles. Now our Personal Electric Vehicles are solar-powered, and all I did was run an extension cord. (Tiny though it might be, the RV solar can easily handle a scooter and some bikes.)
- erik_seaberg 7y agoRooftop solar requires landlord permission and wiring a reserved parking space, which works if you own a house and garage but it's a pretty big impediment to wider apartment coverage.
- mikestew 7y agoI completely get where you're coming from. Buuuut, in this case it's as if you don't have availability at your apartment for a Level 2 charger, so Hyundai gives you one of those little hand-cranked generators.
- erik_seaberg 7y agoYeah, it would take a lot of squirrels on exercise wheels to add up to what this unit can do. But none of these are really going to move the car much more than pushing it.
- vladojsem 7y agoI get your arguments and when I think about it, I agree with you. It is similar to Tesla roof tiles: they are expensive, not so efficient, take longer time to install than regular solar panels. They just look good on your roof (also disputable). You pay extra for the aesthetics ;-)
- gwbas1c 7y agoI usually point out that solar panel shade structures on parking lots with chargers underneath will work much better than a car with solar panels on it. That being said, 780 miles (1300km) of free range by just parking outside is pretty cool!