Before I started out to build my EV, i considered using PV panels, or Photovoltaic panels on my car. After punching the numbers, the idea was shot down by very unsubstantial numbers. Just recently i did some more research on latest PV technologies, and there is a company that is beginning to produce a higher spectrum PV technology. A higher spectrum means that the panel will capture more of the light spectrum, from infared to ultraviolet. Here is an article on the technology: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...08C4CB8A197667
Now, to do the math again:
They claim that a cell the size of .04" will output a max of 2.6 Watts. However this is concentrated light, nonetheless it is a hurlte that can be overcome with the use of platic lenses over the cells.
If i were to just cover my roof:
My roof = 41" x 52" = 2,132 sq in
25 cells in an inch = 53,300 cells on the roof
53,300 cells output 138,580 Watts
My pack voltage requires 457.9 V, that is roughly 300A of charging current!
That is more than enough current to charge my battery pack while sitting idle. Imagine never plugging in your EV, and getting great range at the same time! If my EV used less than 300 A on a flat road, i could drive untill the sun went down. This is quite a breakthrough and if it could be adapted to an EV, we could easily have 1000+ mile range EV’s, with no grid-dependance.
Sorry to rain on your parade but your calculations are fundamentally flawed. While these cells can produce the power that they claim, they can’t get past the fact that the amount of power available from the sun is around 1kw / square metre. They produce that sort of power in a stationary application with huge mirrors or lenses focusing the light onto them.
The amount of sun power falling on your car will never be enough to power it. It can be enough to very slowly charge your vehicle over a period of a few days but that is all.
[QUOTE=rlaxton;1139]
The amount of sun power falling on your car will never be enough to power it. It can be enough to very slowly charge your vehicle over a period of a few days but that is all.[/QUOTE]
Ha ha - just get a car for each day of the week! Problem solved!
[QUOTE=rlaxton;1139]Sorry to rain on your parade but your calculations are fundamentally flawed. While these cells can produce the power that they claim, they can’t get past the fact that the amount of power available from the sun is around 1kw / square metre. They produce that sort of power in a stationary application with huge mirrors or lenses focusing the light onto them.
The amount of sun power falling on your car will never be enough to power it. It can be enough to very slowly charge your vehicle over a period of a few days but that is all.[/QUOTE]
Man…that was really exciting until you decided to “bring the rain”.
Don’t let you dream end just yet. The hood of a Saturn SW is 4.5’X3’ and the top is 3.5’ by 7’. That adds up to 38 square feet or 3.7 meters. If you have 33% efficient cells spread out over 3.7 sq meters and direct sun you would get 1.16 KW. Say it’s not perfect and you only get 1 KW for 6 hr a day and .5KW for 3 hr to make 9 hr at work. That adds up to 7.5 KWhr of energy. If you use 200 watts per mile that means you can drive 37.5 miles on the energy absorbed during the work day. That sounds high to me but I can’t find the error in my calculations??? I have read about cells created in labs as high as 45% efficient and 1 meter sq = 10.7639 sq Feet I thought?
These posts are 8 years old, any new ideas? When I mentioned this to my Converter, he mentioned that the drag caused by anything mounted on the roof would reduce the range to offset any gain from the solar.
I just had solar panels installed on my home, so I will be using solar to charge the car at home.
