Hyundai, Kia to put solar panels on vehicle roofs

[Kia Stinger]

Filed under: Green,Hyundai,Kia,Technology,Electric,Hybrid

Solar systems would supplement ICE, hybrids and full electric vehicles
Continue reading Hyundai, Kia to put solar panels on vehicle roofs

Hyundai, Kia to put solar panels on vehicle roofs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Oct 2018 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Waynerm002]

About time someone takes solar seriously and add it to vehicles to provide extra charging.

 

[DaJackson]

About time someone takes solar seriously and add it to vehicles to provide extra charging.

You mean like Fisker did 10 years ago?

 

[Doel]

"Considering the modest output of solar panels small enough to fit on a vehicle's roof, and the high cost, it'll be interesting to see whether Hyundai and Kia can make a practical argument for this move, or if it's just a marketing move. Then again, all the easy efficiency plays have already been made, and any tiny gain adds up."

Definitely my thoughts on this. I'm not up to date on my solar panel tech, but as far as I know solar roofs on cars have very small returns on range. If you have a parking spot that gets full sun every day, you could see some charge for sure but solar energy is not a dependable energy source and you're still going to need to plug in. Makes much more sense to get roof panels on your house honestly.

 

[ScottM]

I know less than nothing about all this stuff, BUT... couldn't all the glass in the car have some sort of solar component to it? I know it's about the roof because the sun is above and moves East to West, so that gets the most sun...but other glass parts get hit as well and could maybe collect the suns energy too? As I said, I know negative about this whole solution...I was just typing out loud.

 

[Doel]

I know less than nothing about all this stuff, BUT... couldn't all the glass in the car have some sort of solar component to it? I know it's about the roof because the sun is above and moves East to West, so that gets the most sun...but other glass parts get hit as well and could maybe collect the suns energy too? As I said, I know negative about this whole solution...I was just typing out loud.

there are a lot of regulations around automotive glass, not a materials engineer but I imagine it would be really hard right now to develop a panel that was transparent, met impact requirements, had good efficiency, and was cost effective. I know they're developing transparent solar panels, but they aren't actually in use yet. Maybe 10+ years from now this may be a possible option.

 

[Waynerm002]

You mean like Fisker did 10 years ago?

Yeah, a few manufacturers have done something similar over the years but one would think that by now they would have something figured out to make the use more widespread. When I was in Mongolia, I saw a lot of places, (homes, gers/yurts) using solar panels, granted they don't have a ton of electronics in use as a US home would have but I think it can work to provide some assistance.

 

[ScottM]

there are a lot of regulations around automotive glass, not a materials engineer but I imagine it would be really hard right now to develop a panel that was transparent, met impact requirements, had good efficiency, and was cost effective. I know they're developing transparent solar panels, but they aren't actually in use yet. Maybe 10+ years from now this may be a possible option.

That's true, safety should be paramount. It would be cool though, to see what could be done. I was even thinking about regular panels on the car and such. I'm sure there is lots more to it than that, but to harness something that is out and about half the day with the zillions of cars out on the road each day would be awesome to see as a norm.

What about those big rigs that haul stuff all day long?? My thinking is also not specific use to that vehicle, but "saving it" and selling it or transferring it to some other car/device?

Boy, I got some grand ideas today.