Solar Panel Roof

[InnerMogul]

A full glass window is great, but when the sun is over head, you will want a different option to close/tint the glass quickly (Lexus GX 550 "Dynamic Sky"). If a sliding shade or electronic tint feature is not an option, perhaps sealing the roof completely can be an option and offering an active solar panel for the exterior roof top to add charging capabilities.

 

[R1TVT]

Even with my array of panels, which is enough to basically make electricity for my 3500 sqft house free, it would take more than 2 days to charge my 75kWh Polestar battery using the sun alone, with all power dedicated directly to vehicle charging. Solar panels just aren't that efficient yet - or rather, even BEVs are incredibly *inefficient* compared to all the lights and TVs and washing machines and clothes dryers and refrigerators and freezers and HVAC and so on that you have in your house.

Yes, efficiency will continue to improve. Regardless, if you own an EV and you own a house with a roof that is suitable for solar, you can do the math and see a payback for installing solar... And that payback becomes faster with an EV truck that needs charging. This is not assuming a battery bank either - this is assuming you are routing excess power back to the grid through your utility when you produce a surplus. A battery bank would be stellar but the expense is still very high with longer paybacks. If I lived in an area with frequent or long power outages, I would consider a battery bank, but that is not much of an issue in Northeast corridor, and you could still "plug-in" home appliances into your truck for core things like refrigeration or lights if you loose power, but I digress...

Personally, and at the end of the day, buying an American made EV truck (R1T) and adding solar to my roof (while subsequently reducing my carbon footprint) was one of the best decisions I have made. I would also classify doing this under a category of my most "patriotic" purchases, while also reducing my dependence on oil, gas, utilities, etc.. There's something pretty liberating and amazing about charging your truck at home from the sun shining over your own house, and automatically doing something better for the environment - esp as an outdoors person... This is why I have reserved a Scout.

 

[MountainDad]

I'm looking at a Scout Traveler Harvester for more practical reasons - EVs have fantastic torque and power; they have very low running costs, and so far, plugging them in to my L2 charger overnight is far cheaper than filling up a tank with fuel. We have 2 EVs for daily drivers - a PS2 and a Genesis GV60. The Polestar is a blast to drive, and the Genesis is a nice town car.

For my off-road vehicle, my Diesel Land Rover Discovery Td6 is a bruiser. True 500 mile range on the Interstate; torque for days for offroading, towing and overlanding; capabilities that have embarrassed Jeeps and Toyotas; and it's got as much space as a family of 3 plus a large dog needs for getting out of town for a long weekend with all the toys. The fact that mine has been fault-free for 7 years and 90,000 miles is a bonus. Thus, when I replace it, I want something that actually can replace it - particularly the combination of range and power/torque. I can't get a diesel with this capability any more...so it's a Traveler Harvester for me next, assuming all the marketing promises come to pass.

 

[johnathansutton]

A full glass window is great, but when the sun is over head, you will want a different option to close/tint the glass quickly (Lexus GX 550 "Dynamic Sky"). If a sliding shade or electronic tint feature is not an option, perhaps sealing the roof completely can be an option and offering an active solar panel for the exterior roof top to add charging capabilities.

I completely agree with you. I would love to see an option for the traveler Harvester to have a solar roof integrated with helping to recharge the batteries while on the go even if it is not a whole lot I think it is well worth it especially if you go to work it’s sunny out or it’s the middle of summer where the sun is beating down on the roof of the car anyways it would be great to have the EV getting a little bit of juice from the sun, and that would be an option for either version of the truck or SUV.

 

[cyure]

I completely agree with you. I would love to see an option for the traveler Harvester to have a solar roof integrated with helping to recharge the batteries while on the go even if it is not a whole lot I think it is well worth it especially if you go to work it’s sunny out or it’s the middle of summer where the sun is beating down on the roof of the car anyways it would be great to have the EV getting a little bit of juice from the sun, and that would be an option for either version of the truck or SUV.

That particular suggestion has been discussed a lot. With search you should be able to find lots of posts on solar on the roof.

 

[johnathansutton]

That particular suggestion has been discussed a lot. With search you should be able to find lots of posts on solar on the roof.

Well, fingers crossed I hope it happens and it becomes an option

 

[cyure]

Well, fingers crossed I hope it happens and it becomes an option

Look for posts from @SpaceEVDriver he’s a great one to follow and provides a lot of information on what’s possible and what isn’t based on a lot of factors and math!

 

[johnathansutton]

Look for posts from @SpaceEVDriver he’s a great one to follow and provides a lot of information on what’s possible and what isn’t based on a lot of factors and math!

Thank you

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I heard someone talking about me?

A solar roof is fine if your expectations are appropriately set. The PV cell arrangement would have to be properly, uniquely---and expensively---designed.

You need 800 volts to charge the Scout battery directly. That would require about 1600 cells. At common silicon cell sizes, that's about 1.5 square meters. For 400 mA.

If we were really lucky, we might be able to get 7.5 square meters of solar panels into the Traveler roof. That's 5 times 1.5. That would give us 2 Amps of current.

An 800 Volt battery with 120 kWh of storage is 150 Ah of charge. That's 75 hours of charging to refill the battery.

Impossibly inefficient!

Sure, if your expectations are that you would use the panels to charge up every day or whatever.

But if you have more reasonable expectations, you would note that some places in the US get a LOT of sunlight. Tucson, for example gets about 3600 to 3700 hours of sun a year. That's 48 recharges for free if your Traveler is outside in Tucson. That's almost one full recharge a week! Cut that down to 24 for various inefficiencies, acknowledgement that the roof is smaller than 7.5 square meters, and whatever else.

A full DCFC charge at $0.48/kWh is $57.60. Over the course of a year, someone in Tucson could save $1380. Maybe more. If they're only paying $0.10/kWh at home, that only sums to about $288/year.

You'll recover more by installing fixed panels, if you can. But if you can't install panels at home and you live in a place with good sun, a trickle charger roof might be worth the upfront cost.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Note that Jamie's point earlier in the thread is a highly important one. Maintenance of fixed panels is doing basically nothing. Maintenance of a panel on a vehicle? Much, much more.

 

[cyure]

I heard someone talking about me?

A solar roof is fine if your expectations are appropriately set. The PV cell arrangement would have to be properly, uniquely---and expensively---designed.

You need 800 volts to charge the Scout battery directly. That would require about 1600 cells. At common silicon cell sizes, that's about 1.5 square meters. For 400 mA.

If we were really lucky, we might be able to get 7.5 square meters of solar panels into the Traveler roof. That's 5 times 1.5. That would give us 2 Amps of current.

An 800 Volt battery with 120 kWh of storage is 150 Ah of charge. That's 75 hours of charging to refill the battery.

Impossibly inefficient!

Sure, if your expectations are that you would use the panels to charge up every day or whatever.

But if you have more reasonable expectations, you would note that some places in the US get a LOT of sunlight. Tucson, for example gets about 3600 to 3700 hours of sun a year. That's 48 recharges for free if your Traveler is outside in Tucson. That's almost one full recharge a week! Cut that down to 24 for various inefficiencies, acknowledgement that the roof is smaller than 7.5 square meters, and whatever else.

A full DCFC charge at $0.48/kWh is $57.60. Over the course of a year, someone in Tucson could save $1380. Maybe more. If they're only paying $0.10/kWh at home, that only sums to about $288/year.

You'll recover more by installing fixed panels, if you can. But if you can't install panels at home and you live in a place with good sun, a trickle charger roof might be worth the upfront cost.

I knew you would have the math!

 

[dreamweaver]

I heard someone talking about me?

A solar roof is fine if your expectations are appropriately set. The PV cell arrangement would have to be properly, uniquely---and expensively---designed.

You need 800 volts to charge the Scout battery directly. That would require about 1600 cells. At common silicon cell sizes, that's about 1.5 square meters. For 400 mA.

If we were really lucky, we might be able to get 7.5 square meters of solar panels into the Traveler roof. That's 5 times 1.5. That would give us 2 Amps of current.

An 800 Volt battery with 120 kWh of storage is 150 Ah of charge. That's 75 hours of charging to refill the battery.

Impossibly inefficient!

Sure, if your expectations are that you would use the panels to charge up every day or whatever.

But if you have more reasonable expectations, you would note that some places in the US get a LOT of sunlight. Tucson, for example gets about 3600 to 3700 hours of sun a year. That's 48 recharges for free if your Traveler is outside in Tucson. That's almost one full recharge a week! Cut that down to 24 for various inefficiencies, acknowledgement that the roof is smaller than 7.5 square meters, and whatever else.

A full DCFC charge at $0.48/kWh is $57.60. Over the course of a year, someone in Tucson could save $1380. Maybe more. If they're only paying $0.10/kWh at home, that only sums to about $288/year.

You'll recover more by installing fixed panels, if you can. But if you can't install panels at home and you live in a place with good sun, a trickle charger roof might be worth the upfront cost.

In our area there is a lot of people that have multiple classic cars, some even with vehicle lifts to double their pleasure. Many are also snowbirds so only here maybe 6 months of the year. Most utilize the roof mounted panels for trickle chargers.

 

[J Alynn]

I completely agree with you. I would love to see an option for the traveler Harvester to have a solar roof integrated with helping to recharge the batteries while on the go even if it is not a whole lot I think it is well worth it especially if you go to work it’s sunny out or it’s the middle of summer where the sun is beating down on the roof of the car anyways it would be great to have the EV getting a little bit of juice from the sun, and that would be an option for either version of the truck or SUV.

Question becomes are you willing to spend $3500 to get 4-5 miles a day?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Question becomes are you willing to spend $3500 to get 4-5 miles a day?

To go into a bit more detail.

The $3500 is a fixed cost.

One might want to amortize the cost over the entire ownership term. Let's say 15 years. The cost per day is $0.64/day. At 4 miles per day, that's $0.16/mile.

The cost for the equivalent power station with 1600 watts of solar is about $1500. The cost per mile is down to $0.07/mile.

Full DIY can bring it down even more. And the latter two leave room for expansion.

 

[Mousehunter]

The issue I have with a solar roof... My region gets about 5hrs of peak equivalent a day. A solar roof is unlikely to put out more than 1kw/h-and honestly 1/2 that is probably more likely. So 5kw/h per day - going to take a month to charge the battery fully. What you probably would get (best case) is about 10 miles per day.

So do the accounting yourself - what is 10 miles a day worth it to you. Your battery will not self discharge - that is a pretty big plus. But you might be able to put in a solar carport that can actually do some good for the same money.