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The parent comment had good analysis. Your “short version” is wrong. > $2000 is a blip in the price of a car and will be recouped. If a $2000 price increase s
by PragmaticPulp 4y ago
The parent comment had good analysis. Your “short version” is wrong.
> $2000 is a blip in the price of a car and will be recouped.
If a $2000 price increase saves $50/year (approximate numbers) then it would take 40 years to pay back. But solar panels degrade over timeframes that long.
It also introduces complexity, so the average cost of ownership goes up as owners must repair broken panels, deal with water intrusion from a solar panel roof having more failure points than a solid roof, pay more expensive collision repair costs and so on. The mere existence of a solar roof would increase cost of ownership significantly.
Solar panels to charge EVs just doesn’t make engineering sense.
- messe 4y ago> But solar panels degrade over timeframes that long. Not to mention the rest of the car.
- sokoloff 4y agoI can make $73/yr from $2k invested in 30-year Treasuries. The $50/yr from solar panels will literally never pay off against a risk-free, weight-free, maintenance-free, depreciation-free, liquid investment that’s 50% better financially.
- mitthrowaway2 4y agoI don't bring a $200 solar panel camping with me because I think it will save on my monthly electricity bill compared to getting those joules from the household outlet. I bring it with me because the household outlet is not available at my camp site. Similarly, in this case, I think "saving $50/year" is the wrong comparison. Its value comes from adding charge to the battery in locations where you probably don't have the option to pay the meter price.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]