4 ms·

How about a trailer for the Tesla semi that is covered in panels (top and sides) and has just enough battery so that after about ~10 days sitting in the sun it'

by grecy 4y ago

How about a trailer for the Tesla semi that is covered in panels (top and sides) and has just enough battery so that after about ~10 days sitting in the sun it's full. You plug it into the semi to charge it, and of course it charges it's internal battery while you're driving. A trucking company could just have 10 on them on rotation, so each day it's using a "full" one while the others charge Obviously we're not getting a ton of range, but free range is free range.

dredmorbius 4y ago
As with virtually every other suggestion for solar-on-vehicle for actual mobility (not house / auxiliary services): the idea becomes vastly more sensible and practical when you separate the mobile and cPV components. A battery trailer that can be coupled to a vehicle is a reasonable suggestion. I've made it myself. But for charging that battery ... you're far better off putting the PV in a fixed location well-suited to solar power, rather than on the mobile vehicle itself where the array is not usable whilst the vehicle is in motion, the hard-coupling means that the battery itself only affords a 10% duty cycle (as opposed to something closer to 30-50% if charged off-vehicle from mains), is subject to road wear (vibration, shock, collisions, debris), and adds significant mass to a moving vehicle (which reduces overall efficiency). Better yet: have that PV be part of the overall power grid so that when you don't need it to specifically charge vehicle batteries, it can serve other electrical needs. Yes, of course, if you're looking at a location that is off-grid and has little local electrical infrastructure it's possible that some fully-self-contained solution works. We do put PV on satellites and spacecraft, or on (usually small, low-draw) remote applications ... because it's difficult to run extension cords to Earth (or interplanetary) orbits, and running dedicated grid across 1,000s of km of wilderness for a single use is expensive. But again, we have other options here as well, including fuel-based power systems, radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs, for both terrestrial and space use), and possibly even small on-site next-gen nuclear plants (though I've ... concerns here, they are a serious proposal however). The real lesson on solar-powered vehicles (automobiles, lorries, ships, aircraft) is that the power density and available solar flux are simply very poorly matched. There are reasons why fuel-based prime movers were so widely adopted, and that in their stead, typical alternatives include electrified routes (for rail, and some barge traffic), or wind (the traditional option for moving ocean cargo). Direct-solar electrified transport will be at best limited, or limited to small, slow, and exceptionally light-weighted, mostly-autonomous vehicles rather than passenger or cargo services.

by grecy 4y ago

dredmorbius 4y ago

As with virtually every other suggestion for solar-on-vehicle for actual mobility (not house / auxiliary services): the idea becomes vastly more sensible and practical when you separate the mobile and cPV components. A battery trailer that can be coupled to a vehicle is a reasonable suggestion. I've made it myself. But for charging that battery ... you're far better off putting the PV in a fixed location well-suited to solar power, rather than on the mobile vehicle itself where the array is not usable whilst the vehicle is in motion, the hard-coupling means that the battery itself only affords a 10% duty cycle (as opposed to something closer to 30-50% if charged off-vehicle from mains), is subject to road wear (vibration, shock, collisions, debris), and adds significant mass to a moving vehicle (which reduces overall efficiency). Better yet: have that PV be part of the overall power grid so that when you don't need it to specifically charge vehicle batteries, it can serve other electrical needs. Yes, of course, if you're looking at a location that is off-grid and has little local electrical infrastructure it's possible that some fully-self-contained solution works. We do put PV on satellites and spacecraft, or on (usually small, low-draw) remote applications ... because it's difficult to run extension cords to Earth (or interplanetary) orbits, and running dedicated grid across 1,000s of km of wilderness for a single use is expensive. But again, we have other options here as well, including fuel-based power systems, radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs, for both terrestrial and space use), and possibly even small on-site next-gen nuclear plants (though I've ... concerns here, they are a serious proposal however). The real lesson on solar-powered vehicles (automobiles, lorries, ships, aircraft) is that the power density and available solar flux are simply very poorly matched. There are reasons why fuel-based prime movers were so widely adopted, and that in their stead, typical alternatives include electrified routes (for rail, and some barge traffic), or wind (the traditional option for moving ocean cargo). Direct-solar electrified transport will be at best limited, or limited to small, slow, and exceptionally light-weighted, mostly-autonomous vehicles rather than passenger or cargo services.