2020 Sonata Hybrid’s Solar Roof Charges Battery Up To 60 Percent Each Day

Started by cawimmer430, August 06, 2019, 06:08:16 AM

cawimmer430

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.



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/
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12,000 RPM

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
Protecctor of the Atmospheric Engine #TheyLiedToUs

RomanChariot

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.

FoMoJo

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

12,000 RPM

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
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FoMoJo

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.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

giant_mtb

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.

r0tor

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Submariner

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/
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Eye of the Tiger

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Galaxy

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. 

12,000 RPM

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MX793

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.
Needs more Jiggawatts

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Galaxy

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/

cawimmer430

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:



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Laconian

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:
Kia EV6 GT-Line / MX-5 RF 6MT

Soup DeVille

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.
Maybe we need to start off small. I mean, they don't let you fuck the glumpers at Glumpees without a level 4 FuckPass, do they?

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12,000 RPM

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.
Protecctor of the Atmospheric Engine #TheyLiedToUs

AltinD

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)

2016 KIA Sportage EX Plus, CRDI 2.0T diesel, 185 HP, AWD

CaminoRacer

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.
2020 BMW 330i, 1969 El Camino, 2017 Bolt EV

Laconian

`
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.
Kia EV6 GT-Line / MX-5 RF 6MT

Laconian

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.
Kia EV6 GT-Line / MX-5 RF 6MT

MX793

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)
Needs more Jiggawatts

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NomisR

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.

CaminoRacer

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.
2020 BMW 330i, 1969 El Camino, 2017 Bolt EV