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Kinda related: in my city they introduced regular solar cells on roofs of public transport to charge the regular battery on ICE buses and apparently that averag

by ajuc 7y ago

Kinda related: in my city they introduced regular solar cells on roofs of public transport to charge the regular battery on ICE buses and apparently that averages 4-5% lower fuel consumption over a year (so - all the weather conditions, indcluding 3 months of pretty cold winter and cloudy rainy autumn), and it makes the batteries lose capacity much slower. These buses use batteries for lots of stuff - lights, automatic doors, AC, ticket machines, external and internal displays. Apparently there are problems with batteries running empty when the buses have to wait for the next course too long. Also the batteries are losing capacity too quickly when they are charged all the way down often. They introduced the pilot program in 2013 and in 2017 they decided to put solar cells on all the buses. Links in Polish: http://www.mpk.lublin.pl/imgs_upload/image/aktualnosci_fotki/panele_foto.jpg http://www.mpk.lublin.pl/imgs_upload/image/aktualnosci_fotki... http://www.transport-publiczny.pl/mobile/lublin-wszystkie-autobusy-mpk-beda-mialy-panele-fotowoltaiczne-55324.html http://www.transport-publiczny.pl/mobile/lublin-wszystkie-au...

reaperducer 7y ago
When I lived in the America's desert southwest, the school buses were partially solar powered. The panels weren't on the roof, though, they were where the buses were parked. Each bus had a port on the side for hooking into the panel grid in between runs. I think the reason there weren't panels on the roof is because the roofs usually had two air conditioners on them. I suspect the solar plug-in wasn't for locomotion, but to power the air conditioners.
- delfinom 7y ago
  Yes. It's a valid technique to keep the temperature on a fleet controlled so you don't waste time cooling down a bus later in the day before picking up students. Solar panels let them make it basically free. And the solar panels on the fixed roofs of the power stations will recoup their cost over time far longer than potential lifespan of a vehicle.

by ajuc 7y ago

reaperducer 7y ago

When I lived in the America's desert southwest, the school buses were partially solar powered. The panels weren't on the roof, though, they were where the buses were parked. Each bus had a port on the side for hooking into the panel grid in between runs. I think the reason there weren't panels on the roof is because the roofs usually had two air conditioners on them. I suspect the solar plug-in wasn't for locomotion, but to power the air conditioners.

delfinom 7y ago
Yes. It's a valid technique to keep the temperature on a fleet controlled so you don't waste time cooling down a bus later in the day before picking up students. Solar panels let them make it basically free. And the solar panels on the fixed roofs of the power stations will recoup their cost over time far longer than potential lifespan of a vehicle.