Very good question. I would say not at the present time. The solar yield, which means amount of power you can harness per square foot is still not high enough to power the vehicle. Prius has it on the high end trim and all it can do is activate the heating or AC. Moving a 3,000 lb. car based on the amount of surface area you have available on a car, will not get us there presently. This is an opinion only from a person in the car industry who also has a BS in Engineering (me!) :-) But the future looks bright. I hope this helps.
I will admit, that would be something to start looking into for future vehicles. But at this time we need to give more directions to our electric vehicles first. We must have battery power build for longer trips, or charger stations so there is no problems with long trips. My question is this, we will regulate the price on electric charging?
Maybe a long ways off; if you have enough deep financial resources to make it through development and passion to pursue that, now might be good to start that journey.
I don't think so at this time. Other alternatives are out there and major universities have been experimenting with solar powered cars for a bit now. The cost is too much at this time and with hydrogen, and all electric vehicles on the market now with the hybrids being around already for years no sense for this.
I do not believe that there could be enough solar area to create a comfortable range of travel. You would need heavy investors as this would lose money for several years. There have been attempts to use solar to extend the range of current electric vehicles. But this is more a novelty than a real solution.
Not in the forseeable future. The solar panels required are too big. We haven't even begun to harness the capabilituies of Hybrids, a technology introduced in volume about ten years ago. It comes down to dollars and cents. All those hybrids that made a splash 10 years ago, are going to need battery replacements soon. Some may be in excess of $5000! Who would buy a used one to save money, only to face a $5000 bill for a new battery? As always with something new, follow the dollars and you can predict success or failure.
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Answers (11-20)
Very good question. I would say not at the present time. The solar yield, which means amount of power you can harness per square foot is still not high enough to power the vehicle. Prius has it on the high end trim and all it can do is activate the heating or AC. Moving a 3,000 lb. car based on the amount of surface area you have available on a car, will not get us there presently. This is an opinion only from a person in the car industry who also has a BS in Engineering (me!) :-) But the future looks bright. I hope this helps.
I will admit, that would be something to start looking into for future vehicles. But at this time we need to give more directions to our electric vehicles first. We must have battery power build for longer trips, or charger stations so there is no problems with long trips. My question is this, we will regulate the price on electric charging?
Maybe a long ways off; if you have enough deep financial resources to make it through development and passion to pursue that, now might be good to start that journey.
not in my lifetime
I don't think so.
yes
I don't think so at this time. Other alternatives are out there and major universities have been experimenting with solar powered cars for a bit now. The cost is too much at this time and with hydrogen, and all electric vehicles on the market now with the hybrids being around already for years no sense for this.
I do not believe that there could be enough solar area to create a comfortable range of travel. You would need heavy investors as this would lose money for several years. There have been attempts to use solar to extend the range of current electric vehicles. But this is more a novelty than a real solution.
Potentially in the West Coast Market
Not in the forseeable future. The solar panels required are too big. We haven't even begun to harness the capabilituies of Hybrids, a technology introduced in volume about ten years ago. It comes down to dollars and cents. All those hybrids that made a splash 10 years ago, are going to need battery replacements soon. Some may be in excess of $5000! Who would buy a used one to save money, only to face a $5000 bill for a new battery? As always with something new, follow the dollars and you can predict success or failure.