This actually is a great idea. All future EVs should have this feature. Every bit of range and battery charge helps!
2020 Sonata Hybrid's Solar Roof Charges Battery Up To 60 Percent Each Day
Following its Korean launch, Hyundai's all-new 2020 Sonata Hybrid will soon debut in North America, so the automaker has released more details about the vehicle's solar roof charging system.
A first for the brand, the panels mounted on the roof charge the vehicle's battery even while driving, thus preventing battery discharge, improving fuel efficiency, and reducing CO2 emissions.
(https://images.carscoops.com/2019/07/6f771df8-2020-hyundai-sonata-hybrid-3.jpg)
Furthermore, the 2020 Sonata Hybrid benefits from additional electrical power and driving range thanks to this technology. According to the company, the system , which comes as standard, can charge 30 to 60 percent of the battery per day and six hours of daily charging will increase travel distance by an extra 1,300 km (808 miles) annually.
When solar energy activates the panel's surface, the roof converts it by using photons of light from the sun. This creates the electron-hole pairs in silicon cells, which in turn generate electricity that is subsequently converted to the standard voltage by a controller, and then stored in the battery.
"Solar roof technology is a good example of how Hyundai Motor is moving towards becoming a clean mobility provider. The technology allows our customers to actively tackle emissions issue. We are striving to further expand the application of the technology beyond eco-friendly vehicle lineup to vehicles with internal combustion engine," says Heui Won Yang, Senior Vice President and Head of Body Tech Unit of Hyundai Motor Group.
The 2020 Sonata Hybrid is powered by a Smartstream G2.0 GDi HEV four mated to a six-speed hybrid transmission with Active Shift Control technology.
The gasoline engine develops 150 HP and 188 Nm (139 lb-ft) of torque, with the electric motor adding another 51 HP and 205 Nm (151 lb-ft). Hyundai says it currently has no plans to bring the Sonata Hybrid to Europe, where it continues to sell the i40 in sedan and wagon body styles.
Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2019/08/2020-sonata-hybrids-solar-roof-charges-battery-up-to-60-percent-each-day/
6 speed auto in 2020 huh. I guess it's not that big of a deal with the hybrid system... just hope it's a better gear spread than my Optima
It is cool to see solar panels implemented like this but it doesn't sound like they are cost effective. If it increases annual travel by 800 miles with a reasonable 30mpg and $3.00 per gallon gas you only save about $80 per year. I'm sure this solar panel implementation adds more than $1000 to the price of the car so it will take a long time to pay off unless you live in a really sunny area.
A good idea that needs more development.
Quote from: RomanChariot on August 06, 2019, 09:16:35 AM
It is cool to see solar panels implemented like this but it doesn't sound like they are cost effective. If it increases annual travel by 800 miles with a reasonable 30mpg and $3.00 per gallon gas you only save about $80 per year. I'm sure this solar panel implementation adds more than $1000 to the price of the car so it will take a long time to pay off unless you live in a really sunny area.
This should get more like 40-45MPG as a hybrid but that only drives your point home further
Quote from: FoMoJo on August 06, 2019, 10:06:47 AM
A good idea that needs more development.
No it's a bad idea which only serves as a marketing gimmick. For example I'd be curious to know how much weight those panels add, and how that affects fuel mileage. I'd bet it's a wash
Quote from: 12,000 RPM on August 06, 2019, 10:11:22 AM
This should get more like 40-45MPG as a hybrid but that only drives your point home further
No it's a bad idea which only serves as a marketing gimmick. For example I'd be curious to know how much weight those panels add, and how that affects fuel mileage. I'd bet it's a wash
I think it's just a good idea before its time. In this case, you are right, a marketing gimmick, but it may spur the manufacturers towards a more efficient solar panel solution that will work.
Quote from: 12,000 RPM on August 06, 2019, 10:11:22 AM
For example I'd be curious to know how much weight those panels add, and how that affects fuel mileage. I'd bet it's a wash
Solar panels are quite light.
"How heavy are solar panels? On average, solar panels and the mounting equipment weigh 2-4 lbs per square foot (10-20 kg per square meter)..."
Granted, that's for roof-mounting on a house, so for a car, probably close to that or even lighter. But...probably negligible either way, when it comes to MPG. No more effect that a nice panoramic sunroof. The weight of the electric motor and battery is far more significant.
6 speed auto is better then a cvt at least
Quote from: 12,000 RPM on August 06, 2019, 06:24:01 AM
6 speed auto in 2020 huh. I guess it's not that big of a deal with the hybrid system... just hope it's a better gear spread than my Optima
The 2017 Versa had a 4-speed: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15091182/2017-nissan-versa-sedan-automatic-test-review/
Quote from: Submariner on August 06, 2019, 12:06:33 PM
The 2017 Versa had a 4-speed: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15091182/2017-nissan-versa-sedan-automatic-test-review/
Junk. Burn it with fire. Even though it is the best transmission Nissan put in a car that year.
Speaking of solar powered cars that brings Dutch company Lightyear One to mind, which wants to bring an electric car to market that can produce 12km of range per hour on average via solar power. At this point it has to be considered almost vaporware, however the founders did win the solar car challenge so they have some credibility.
Quote from: Submariner on August 06, 2019, 12:06:33 PM
The 2017 Versa had a 4-speed: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15091182/2017-nissan-versa-sedan-automatic-test-review/
1 Versa = 1 turd, at least according to the NIST
Does that charging capability take into account cloud cover? Because around here, particularly from October to May, there isn't much direct sunlight. Like maybe 3-4 hours per day, average.
Quote from: MX793 on August 07, 2019, 06:42:12 AM
Does that charging capability take into account cloud cover? Because around here, particularly from October to May, there isn't much direct sunlight. Like maybe 3-4 hours per day, average.
You are talking about the Sonata or the Lightyear One?
Lightyear does have a calculator on their website that breaks it down in to summer, winter, fall, and spring.
https://lightyear.one/
Quote from: Galaxy on August 06, 2019, 12:26:03 PM
Speaking of solar powered cars that brings Dutch company Lightyear One to mind, which wants to bring an electric car to market that can produce 12km of range per hour on average via solar power. At this point it has to be considered almost vaporware, however the founders did win the solar car challenge so they have some credibility.
And it looks like something out of
Star Trek. :tounge:
(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qkav53BeOfm5dOlb7A97GPbxfKk=/0x0:1280x720/1200x800/filters:focal(316x404:520x608)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64114050/lightyear_one_official_presskit_pictures_2019_001.0.jpg)
(https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/Lightyear-One-Mountain-drive-e1561446146276.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
60 percent of a tiny mild hybrid battery! With their best case scenario of 808 miles per year, that's 2-3 miles saved each day. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Laconian on August 07, 2019, 01:10:46 PM
60 percent of a tiny mild hybrid battery! With their best case scenario of 808 miles per year, that's 2-3 miles saved each day. :rolleyes:
It looks to be about a 300 watt array (interesting that None of the press materials ever says exactly what it is).
In terms of constant power output, that's roughly 1/3rd of a horsepower (after storage and inverter losses). Or, perhaps more succinctly, it would tale about 3 hours of charging to produce 1 HP for 1 hour.
This has me thinking.... how much would a solar panel over a parking spot produce? I figure they are about 20'x8' and Google says they do about .02kW/SF. 3.2kW? So for the average EV a theoretical 10 miles an hour. Those panels cost $0.25/W too so $800 for the panel? Actually sounds reasonable.
In early 2000s, VW and probably a few other brands, were putting solar panels where the sunroof stays to power the fan that would run while the car is parked in order to keep the interiors cool(er)
Quote from: Laconian on August 07, 2019, 01:10:46 PM
60 percent of a tiny mild hybrid battery! With their best case scenario of 808 miles per year, that's 2-3 miles saved each day. :rolleyes:
Yeah, it's more marketing than actually useful.
`
Quote from: Soup DeVille on August 07, 2019, 01:35:29 PM
It looks to be about a 300 watt array (interesting that None of the press materials ever says exactly what it is).
In terms of constant power output, that's roughly 1/3rd of a horsepower (after storage and inverter losses). Or, perhaps more succinctly, it would tale about 3 hours of charging to produce 1 HP for 1 hour.
Admittedly it's not just 1HP=1HP, since hybrid assist helps keep ICE load down, out of gas-guzzling ranges.
But yeah... pretty underwhelming!
Quote from: AltinD on August 07, 2019, 04:21:21 PM
In early 2000s, VW and probably a few other brands, were putting solar panels where the sunroof stays to power the fan that would run while the car is parked in order to keep the interiors cool(er)
Now I thought
that was pretty clever. Solar jujitsu.
Quote from: Galaxy on August 07, 2019, 10:02:47 AM
You are talking about the Sonata or the Lightyear One?
Lightyear does have a calculator on their website that breaks it down in to summer, winter, fall, and spring.
https://lightyear.one/
From what I can tell it's just looking at latitude and computing the delta between sunrise/sunset. It says I have 12 days of "carefree range" in the winter. I think that "zero" might be more realistic. We hardly see the sun for about four months.
Quote from: Laconian on August 07, 2019, 10:07:20 PM
From what I can tell it's just looking at latitude and computing the delta between sunrise/sunset. It says I have 12 days of "carefree range" in the winter. I think that "zero" might be more realistic. We hardly see the sun for about four months.
Same here. We only get 25% of possible sunshine in the winter months due to heavy cloud cover, and at this latitude those days already don't have much daylight (9-10 hours)
221 days of carefree range. But considering i'm parked indoors at home, and parked in an underground parking lot at work, i'm not sure how I can accomplish that.
Quote from: AltinD on August 07, 2019, 04:21:21 PM
In early 2000s, VW and probably a few other brands, were putting solar panels where the sunroof stays to power the fan that would run while the car is parked in order to keep the interiors cool(er)
I think that's what solar panels should be used for. It reduces battery use and let's all the juice be used for range instead of climate control.