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I'm an electric car driver, and I'm still skeptical. It's hard to imagine a scenario where I accidentally run out of batteries and then can afford to wait for

I'm an electric car driver, and I'm still skeptical. It's hard to imagine a scenario where I accidentally run out of batteries and then can afford to wait for MULTIPLE DAYS before finishing my trip. Pretty sure I'd at least want to get a tow to the nearest gas station, where they would be able to plug me in if necessary. Even a plain old 120V 15A plug has much more power than solar, and works overnight...

dmos62 6y ago
It's not about substituting charging stations. It's about getting _part_ of your energy requirements from the panels. Check the figures in the grandfather comment: energy gains are in the ballpark of 1000 miles / year.
- Twirrim 6y ago
  > energy gains are in the ballpark of 1000 miles / year That's not a small amount. The US DoT puts average US driving at around 13,500 miles/year. In Germany (Sono Motor's home market) it's 8,000. So we're talking meeting nearly 7.5% of US, and 12.5% of German, average driving needs. Just from sticking a solar panel on the roof of a vehicle.
  - ryathal 6y ago
    That's absolute best case for panels producing peak power at all daylight hours. 500 miles/year is more likely for a car parked outdoors away from shade during all daylight hours, based solely on panels not being at peak production. Then there are cloudy days, shaded spots, garages, tunnels, overpasses, dirt, bird poop. Then there is the difference between estimated miles and actual miles based on real driving habits. Then you have to consider any potential body damage that could occur, that will at best reduce the solar gains and at worst render the system useless or total the car. If a car in a real scenario get more than 3% of it's miles from these panels I would be surprised.
stonemetal12 6y ago
The only plus I can see is that if you leave your car at the airport for a week or some other long term parking situation, you don't come back to a dead battery.
- bin_bash 6y ago
  You'd have to remember to park on the roof!
- Kirby64 6y ago
  Assuming you aren't parked underground. Many airport parking lots are multi-tiered parking garages for density. Sure, you can park on the roof, but maybe rooftop becomes the more 'coveted' spot if this did take off.
- eldaisfish 6y ago
  Many large airports and certainly the majority of airports in large metropolitan areas have underground or covered parking.
  - mbreese 6y ago
    Most still have the large extended parking lots that are a bit further away. Those are always large outdoor lots, even at a place like SFO. These are more geared towards the longer term parking scenario the parent post referred to.
- bdamm 6y ago
  Normal EVs can sit for a week and not have a dead battery. There is some value to having that trickle charge but not a ton. IIRC there was a solar powered Prius where the panel powered a cabin fan and that kinda makes sense.
- mikestew 6y ago
  Over the past twelve months our Leaf has sat for weeks at a time without being driven. It has never failed to “start”. When it sits at the airport, it sits in the charger spot with all the other EVS.
arghwhat 6y ago
> It's hard to imagine a scenario where I accidentally run out of batteries and then can afford to wait for MULTIPLE DAYS before finishing my trip. In a lot of places, it's either keep moving or hope someone finds you fast enough. Not all roads are within throwing distance of a town or city. In more common cases, it might be enough to cover limited driving (I think it might be able to cover my current car utilization in full), or at least offload the grid a bit. And in remote locations with limited or no power, it'll give occasional driving capabilities.
tppiotrowski 6y ago
With decent LTE coverage in national forest and BLM areas I could see people sitting in the desert for a week and then moving onto another location while they work remotely out of their van, though it’s pretty cheap to buy square 200W panels. I didn’t read about the efficiency of this technology.
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  People definitely do this already, there's several forums dedicated to people who stuff their van or RV with batteries and cover the roof with solar panels so they can live off grid or go on extended boondocking trips. If Starlink does remove the location restriction, I'll spend more time in the wilderness than I do at home.
MrRiddle 6y ago
Imagine you go to a coastal area for vacation, and have a turbo charger 50 miles away. If you go around visiting beaches every day 10-20km away, it might remove the need to go to a super charger. It might not be practical to plug in a place you’re staying at.
gnramires 6y ago
Well yes it varies a lot by condition, it seems in the worst case (temperate winter, cloudy) you get about 5 miles per day, i.e. about 1 mile per hour of daylight. Still, it does seem like a useful feature. It should be plausible to run out of juice relatively close to an outlet (gas station, hotel, good samaritan, etc.) since electricity is virtually everywhere. Waiting a few hours to get to the nearest facility should not be too bad. It's more of the capability that attracts me (like having insurance without ever needing). Given typical numbers of panel output I wouldn't be surprised if it (nearly) pays for itself anyway, so I don't see the need to be overly skeptical. (ben_w estimates ~1.8 year payback) See other arguments cited elsewhere as well: avoiding deep discharge in case of battery depletion. If you leave your depleted car sitting for a while (days? weeks?), you will see degradation of the precious battery, which represents most (about 40%) of the cost of the car. A cheap insurance to preserve your most vital asset is also a great feature.

dmos62 6y ago

It's not about substituting charging stations. It's about getting _part_ of your energy requirements from the panels. Check the figures in the grandfather comment: energy gains are in the ballpark of 1000 miles / year.

Twirrim 6y ago
> energy gains are in the ballpark of 1000 miles / year That's not a small amount. The US DoT puts average US driving at around 13,500 miles/year. In Germany (Sono Motor's home market) it's 8,000. So we're talking meeting nearly 7.5% of US, and 12.5% of German, average driving needs. Just from sticking a solar panel on the roof of a vehicle.
- ryathal 6y ago
  That's absolute best case for panels producing peak power at all daylight hours. 500 miles/year is more likely for a car parked outdoors away from shade during all daylight hours, based solely on panels not being at peak production. Then there are cloudy days, shaded spots, garages, tunnels, overpasses, dirt, bird poop. Then there is the difference between estimated miles and actual miles based on real driving habits. Then you have to consider any potential body damage that could occur, that will at best reduce the solar gains and at worst render the system useless or total the car. If a car in a real scenario get more than 3% of it's miles from these panels I would be surprised.

stonemetal12 6y ago

The only plus I can see is that if you leave your car at the airport for a week or some other long term parking situation, you don't come back to a dead battery.

bin_bash 6y ago
You'd have to remember to park on the roof!
Kirby64 6y ago
Assuming you aren't parked underground. Many airport parking lots are multi-tiered parking garages for density. Sure, you can park on the roof, but maybe rooftop becomes the more 'coveted' spot if this did take off.
eldaisfish 6y ago
Many large airports and certainly the majority of airports in large metropolitan areas have underground or covered parking.
- mbreese 6y ago
  Most still have the large extended parking lots that are a bit further away. Those are always large outdoor lots, even at a place like SFO. These are more geared towards the longer term parking scenario the parent post referred to.
bdamm 6y ago
Normal EVs can sit for a week and not have a dead battery. There is some value to having that trickle charge but not a ton. IIRC there was a solar powered Prius where the panel powered a cabin fan and that kinda makes sense.
mikestew 6y ago
Over the past twelve months our Leaf has sat for weeks at a time without being driven. It has never failed to “start”. When it sits at the airport, it sits in the charger spot with all the other EVS.

arghwhat 6y ago

> It's hard to imagine a scenario where I accidentally run out of batteries and then can afford to wait for MULTIPLE DAYS before finishing my trip. In a lot of places, it's either keep moving or hope someone finds you fast enough. Not all roads are within throwing distance of a town or city. In more common cases, it might be enough to cover limited driving (I think it might be able to cover my current car utilization in full), or at least offload the grid a bit. And in remote locations with limited or no power, it'll give occasional driving capabilities.

tppiotrowski 6y ago

With decent LTE coverage in national forest and BLM areas I could see people sitting in the desert for a week and then moving onto another location while they work remotely out of their van, though it’s pretty cheap to buy square 200W panels. I didn’t read about the efficiency of this technology.

rootusrootus 6y ago
People definitely do this already, there's several forums dedicated to people who stuff their van or RV with batteries and cover the roof with solar panels so they can live off grid or go on extended boondocking trips. If Starlink does remove the location restriction, I'll spend more time in the wilderness than I do at home.

MrRiddle 6y ago

Imagine you go to a coastal area for vacation, and have a turbo charger 50 miles away. If you go around visiting beaches every day 10-20km away, it might remove the need to go to a super charger. It might not be practical to plug in a place you’re staying at.

gnramires 6y ago

Well yes it varies a lot by condition, it seems in the worst case (temperate winter, cloudy) you get about 5 miles per day, i.e. about 1 mile per hour of daylight. Still, it does seem like a useful feature. It should be plausible to run out of juice relatively close to an outlet (gas station, hotel, good samaritan, etc.) since electricity is virtually everywhere. Waiting a few hours to get to the nearest facility should not be too bad. It's more of the capability that attracts me (like having insurance without ever needing). Given typical numbers of panel output I wouldn't be surprised if it (nearly) pays for itself anyway, so I don't see the need to be overly skeptical. (ben_w estimates ~1.8 year payback) See other arguments cited elsewhere as well: avoiding deep discharge in case of battery depletion. If you leave your depleted car sitting for a while (days? weeks?), you will see degradation of the precious battery, which represents most (about 40%) of the cost of the car. A cheap insurance to preserve your most vital asset is also a great feature.