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What happens when it gets hit by a bit of flying debris on the highway? Screwdriver, piece of wood, rock, etc? Do I have to call insurance to get the panel repl
by killjoywashere 7y ago
What happens when it gets hit by a bit of flying debris on the highway? Screwdriver, piece of wood, rock, etc? Do I have to call insurance to get the panel replaced? Or just hail. Can I own this car in the midwest?
- jasonhansel 7y agoThat's what killed the Solar Road: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-solar-road-turned-out-colossal-failure-2019-8 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/worlds-...
- wlesieutre 7y agoThat and pretty much everything else about it
- smokelegend 7y agoUnderrated comment!!
- not_a_cop75 7y agoLess than what happens when you take a rock or brick through a windshield. For one, you don't die when your solar panel gets a scratch or a dent.
- nexuist 7y agoSeems like an odd complaint to me. What happens if your mirror gets hit by a rock on the highway? Or the front windshield? The solar panel is just another part of the vehicle that can be damaged, no? If your car is being assaulted by solid objects at highway speeds so often that it becomes a serious concern to factor into your next car purchase, I very strongly suggest moving somewhere safer.
- adrianN 7y agoCracks on windshields and dinged paint are cheaper to repair than high efficiency solar panels.
- kchamplewski 7y agoThat's only assuming the external glass of the panel cannot be replaced without also replacing the actual energy generating panel beneath.
- dredmorbius 7y agoWindows ... generally ... aren't high-power electrical equipment. Solar cells aren't simply inert panels of glass or silicon, but circuits of cells for which damage may affect a large portion of a panel. Solar panels as it is suffer degredation and a lifespan of ~20-25 years, in stationary mounts, due to sunlight, UV, wind, rain, hail, sand, dust, stones, and other forms of degradation. Road debris, rocks, falling tree limbs, pine cones, other vehicles, birds, insects, and more, could impact or degrade solar panels. A chipped windshield can be filled or replaced, at fairly modest cost. Trailing-edge rear windows might have integrated defogger wires or radio aerials, generally front glazing doesn't. Solar panels are rather more fussy. Body nicks and dings can be effectively ignored. PV damage, not so much.
- insulanus 7y agoGood point, but would you leave your car without solar panels out in the hail? If it really breaks, then you have a car just as useful as before, until you get the solar panel fixed. Whether this is good or bad comes down to how much the panels will add to the cost.
- not_a_cop75 7y agoIn hail, you worry more about windshields than anything else. Hail is pretty random, and baseball size does occasionally happen. So for most people, I'm guessing that would just mean throwing a larger blanket on the car to try and prevent impact damage.
- diogenescynic 7y agoThe car would not rely on the solar panel for constant operation, so the same thing that happens to escalators when they stop working and becomes stairs—-the solar powered car just becomes a normal hybrid or electric vehicle. Then you get it fixed.
- fyfy18 7y agoI have a Gen 3 Prius with the "solar roof" option that is used to run ventilation when parked, so you don't come back to a uncomfortably hot car. The solar panels are covered by thick glass (I guess toughened), so there is no more chance of them being damaged than a window.