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Solar panels make great sense on ICE vehicles. Trickle charge from small solar panel may preserve internal battery much better. And there are RVs. Some people

Solar panels make great sense on ICE vehicles. Trickle charge from small solar panel may preserve internal battery much better. And there are RVs. Some people use solar panels on cars as their only source of electricity!

AdrianB1 4y ago
RV and sailing boats have a relatively large area that can be used for panels. Small installations (less than a couple of kW) have a low efficiency, the inverter and storage losses benefit of scale are lost.
steveBK123 4y ago
RVs are by their nature stationary for long periods of time, and the RV are using the solar to power appliances & creature comforts inside.. which is rounding error next to moving a multi-ton vehicle.
- t344344 4y ago
  What is your point? Article says that it "makes no sense", I provided two counter examples. ICE cars also have batteries, if that gets flat, car is not going anywhere. Solar panels can be quite essential, if vehicle is parked for extended periods. It is not just some rounding error!
  - steveBK123 4y ago
    RVs also generally have spare tires, fridges, microwaves and beds! Why doesn't my sedan? Tesla needs to release a Model S with a microwave, fridge, spare tire and bed!
    - t344344 4y ago
      Again! Trickle charge from solar panel extends battery life of internal (part of ICE) lead battery. This battery slowly discharges from internal resistance, other electronics (car alarm), GPS spyware... That means less batteries, less lead in nature, more green stuff, happy Gaia... And even EVs like Tesla has slow discharge. It makes sense to put small solar panels on top, so they can do firmware updates. https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/solar-panel-keeps-car-battery-topped-off-through-obd-ii-port/ https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/solar-panel-keeps-car-batter...
      - pixl97 4y ago
        It makes sense on EV for the same reason as ICE. There are any number of devices in a car that are always sucking down some small amount of power. Alarm/security/camera systems for example. Clocks and chips that store settings. If you're gone for a week you'd rather not have your battery go down.
        sclarisse 4y ago
        There’s a device for that called the Norelco Genius 2D. It is suitable for permanent installation in your car on the premise you have access to an outlet. It costs $50. If you have street parking only it is questionable whether you will be able to leave a car a whole week without incurring the wrath or a municipal agency. If you have parking lot parking only in an outside lot at an apartment complex of some sort, you might prefer a panel, though I more that you can get a kind that you leave on the dashboard that plugs into the lighter socket for a similar price —without the convenience of an integrated form factor admittedly but still.
mikestew 4y ago
We use solar panels to run the microwave, not move an 11,000 lb. vehicle. As I said in another comment on this very page, the math isn’t hard. Most HN readers can probably do the calculations in their head. And yet half the comments are evidence that some folks can’t be bothered to do even that simple exercise.
- steveBK123 4y ago
  It's astonishing really the confident stubbornness. There's a reason that every company that has tried this has gone bankrupt or soon will. The path to mass market EVs is having good charging accessibility and low prices. Adding more cost and telling owners to remember to park in the sun is not it.
  - t344344 4y ago
    I know a few people who make good money on installing solar panels on cars. I will probably use their service on my next conversion. Not everyone cares about EVs.
dev_tty01 4y ago
> Solar panels make great sense on ICE vehicles. Trickle charge from small solar panel may preserve internal battery much better. Hmm. I just bought a new 36 month battery for $110. Never in the last three years did I have any issues with the battery not being "preserved." $2000 of solar for no measurable impact on the usability of my ICE? This doesn't make sense. $2000 buys me 50 years worth of 36 month batteries. The only time you would need trickle charge is if the car is parked for long periods of time with no plug-in available for trickle charging. That's a niche need. Plug-in trickle charge for the life of the car would cost a lot less than $2000. RV? When parked with no plug-in power available, sure it would be nice to have some electricity without having to run the motor. Other than that, the tiny bit of solar you could put on the roof is completely insignificant with respect to the power needed to move the extremely heavy RV.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  Last nearly two years I have used my ICE in worst possible way. Nearly completely short city driving from cold start during winter included. Never has it failed to start due to battery being low. For RV and boats I think solar panels make most sense. But it is not for moving the vehicle, but to charge a alternate battery that is mainly used for electronics, tv, computers and maybe, maybe a fridge...

AdrianB1 4y ago

RV and sailing boats have a relatively large area that can be used for panels. Small installations (less than a couple of kW) have a low efficiency, the inverter and storage losses benefit of scale are lost.

steveBK123 4y ago

RVs are by their nature stationary for long periods of time, and the RV are using the solar to power appliances & creature comforts inside.. which is rounding error next to moving a multi-ton vehicle.

t344344 4y ago
What is your point? Article says that it "makes no sense", I provided two counter examples. ICE cars also have batteries, if that gets flat, car is not going anywhere. Solar panels can be quite essential, if vehicle is parked for extended periods. It is not just some rounding error!
- steveBK123 4y ago
  RVs also generally have spare tires, fridges, microwaves and beds! Why doesn't my sedan? Tesla needs to release a Model S with a microwave, fridge, spare tire and bed!
  - t344344 4y ago
    Again! Trickle charge from solar panel extends battery life of internal (part of ICE) lead battery. This battery slowly discharges from internal resistance, other electronics (car alarm), GPS spyware... That means less batteries, less lead in nature, more green stuff, happy Gaia... And even EVs like Tesla has slow discharge. It makes sense to put small solar panels on top, so they can do firmware updates. https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/solar-panel-keeps-car-battery-topped-off-through-obd-ii-port/ https://hackaday.com/2020/03/10/solar-panel-keeps-car-batter...
    - pixl97 4y ago
      It makes sense on EV for the same reason as ICE. There are any number of devices in a car that are always sucking down some small amount of power. Alarm/security/camera systems for example. Clocks and chips that store settings. If you're gone for a week you'd rather not have your battery go down.
      - sclarisse 4y ago
        There’s a device for that called the Norelco Genius 2D. It is suitable for permanent installation in your car on the premise you have access to an outlet. It costs $50. If you have street parking only it is questionable whether you will be able to leave a car a whole week without incurring the wrath or a municipal agency. If you have parking lot parking only in an outside lot at an apartment complex of some sort, you might prefer a panel, though I more that you can get a kind that you leave on the dashboard that plugs into the lighter socket for a similar price —without the convenience of an integrated form factor admittedly but still.

mikestew 4y ago

We use solar panels to run the microwave, not move an 11,000 lb. vehicle. As I said in another comment on this very page, the math isn’t hard. Most HN readers can probably do the calculations in their head. And yet half the comments are evidence that some folks can’t be bothered to do even that simple exercise.

steveBK123 4y ago
It's astonishing really the confident stubbornness. There's a reason that every company that has tried this has gone bankrupt or soon will. The path to mass market EVs is having good charging accessibility and low prices. Adding more cost and telling owners to remember to park in the sun is not it.
- t344344 4y ago
  I know a few people who make good money on installing solar panels on cars. I will probably use their service on my next conversion. Not everyone cares about EVs.

dev_tty01 4y ago

> Solar panels make great sense on ICE vehicles. Trickle charge from small solar panel may preserve internal battery much better. Hmm. I just bought a new 36 month battery for $110. Never in the last three years did I have any issues with the battery not being "preserved." $2000 of solar for no measurable impact on the usability of my ICE? This doesn't make sense. $2000 buys me 50 years worth of 36 month batteries. The only time you would need trickle charge is if the car is parked for long periods of time with no plug-in available for trickle charging. That's a niche need. Plug-in trickle charge for the life of the car would cost a lot less than $2000. RV? When parked with no plug-in power available, sure it would be nice to have some electricity without having to run the motor. Other than that, the tiny bit of solar you could put on the roof is completely insignificant with respect to the power needed to move the extremely heavy RV.

Ekaros 4y ago
Last nearly two years I have used my ICE in worst possible way. Nearly completely short city driving from cold start during winter included. Never has it failed to start due to battery being low. For RV and boats I think solar panels make most sense. But it is not for moving the vehicle, but to charge a alternate battery that is mainly used for electronics, tv, computers and maybe, maybe a fridge...