Vault Mounted solar panel system

[SparkChaser]

I have a 4"x 12" panel on the dash of my Ranger. This keeps the battery topped off when I leave it for weeks at a time when on a trip or since I only drive it about once a week. Now this is an ICE vehicle and lead acid battery. If we can get an integrated panel, I am sure there is enough generated by the square footage of the glass roof to maintain the sentry mode or any other non-driving charges. The new flexible solar panel films are what I think can make the difference. After I get the truck I will look into adding a roll out cover that fits over the vault cover. If I wind up with a rack above the vault, then it will go on that. Hoping there will be a way to plug that into the system to charge

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[samroy92]

But the thrust of it is: what would you pay for it as an option?

I’d assume that any such system that is ruggedized enough (to not just be a maintenance money pit) would be an option that costs….

… $3,500?

In Austin, average all-in electricity cost is ~$0.13 / kWh

I think that’s an ROI tipping point of 26,923kWh

At your estimate of 6.4KwHs/8hr workday in optimal conditions, isn’t that 4,200 days - or 11.5 years - of charging in optimal conditions before breakeven?

even if my option cost estimate of $3,500 is off by an order of magnitude (or two), then on the other side of the equation subtract for cloudy days. Or consider what that $3,500 would be after equivalent time in a market index fund?

but if instead like your hypothetical, it’s free - then why not!

But you are also missing a main point: Convenience and Value. What is it worth to you to be off grid keeping a camp stove, cooler, heating - all online without electricity nearby? All the while being perfectly integrated into the car software! But your broader economics point is still correct. I would pay $5k for the option.

 

[cvalue13]

But you are also missing a main point: Convenience and Value. What is it worth to you to be off grid keeping a camp stove, cooler, heating - all online without electricity nearby? All the while being perfectly integrated into the car software!

The vehicle does all that without solar

You’d be paying $5K to do it just a little longer

which I don’t judge, I’ve spent a lot more on a lot less

but as a market, it seems a bit… luxury

 

[tmeyer3]

The vehicle does all that without solar

You’d be paying $5K to do it just a little longer

which I don’t judge, I’ve spent a lot more on a lot less

but as a market, it seems a bit… luxury

A little longer is not quite accurate. Allow me to explain:

I camp with my model y all the time. The issue with electric car camping is not about "how much charge do I have?" The question you'll immediately discover once you're out there is, "how fast am I losing charge to phantom drain?", and, "at what point is the charge too small to get home?"

Offsetting only phantom drain can change your plans from a 2-3 day trip to a full week or longer. More than offsetting phantom drain, I mean only enough to add 1% instead of drain 1% per day, completely removes an EV as a "limiting ingredient" on your outing.

1% on a 100kWh truck can be more than recovered with as little as 200W. 400W doesn't seem unreasonable. The claim for 5%-10% per day? Hell yeah! $5k is worth it if you want to be in nature for any duration greater than a week.

As it is currently, I charge my model y on a bluetti 350W panel and a 1000W inverter. That's more than enough to stay on the beach for 2 weeks without issue, and that's what matters.

 

[cvalue13]

1% on a 100kWh truck can be more than recovered with as little as 200W. 400W doesn't seem unreasonable. The claim for 5%-10% per day? Hell yeah! $5k is worth it if you want to be in nature for any duration greater than a week.

we’re not at all disagreeing, we’re just coming to a different conclusion about a different question

for the target audience you just described, the value proposition may well be there as you describe

the separate question is: does that target audience justify the introduction of the feature in the vehicle?

I don’t think so. The added manufacturing cost and complexity of such a vehicle-integrated solar solution, only to l address the portion of the market that wants to extend a a 2-3 day trip in the charger-less boondocks to a full week or longer has got to be … very small.

PS: I don’t have a Tesla, instead a Lightning, and increasingly get the feeling from conversations around here that this “phantom drain” is more of a Tesla-specific consideration I need to learn more about

especially if, in your camping example, there’s no way to temporarily turn off the vehicle features causing this “phantom drain”

my Lightning loses … nearly nothing? … just sitting there

 

[firsttruck]

.....
PS: I don’t have a Tesla, instead a Lightning, and increasingly get the feeling from conversations around here that this “phantom drain” is more of a Tesla-specific consideration I need to learn more about
......

Teslas generally have more features than competing EVs.
Cybertruck will probably have too.

Solar could offset the drain of Tesla's Sentry Mode?
Does Ford Lightning have a feature like Tesla's 360 degree surround Sentry Mode?

Hopefully Cybertruck will have climate control in vault. Does Ford Lightning have that?

We expect Cybertruck to have octo-valve heat pump like in Model Y. Solar during day might be able to offset drain from octo-valve heat pump. Does Ford Lightning have high efficiency heat pump. ?


--------------------------------------------

Frozen: Sorting F-150 Lightning cold-weather fact from fiction
By Joel Feder
March 10, 2023
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...tning-winter-range-charging-test-drive-review

.....
Does the F-150 Lightning have a heat pump?
The F-150 Lightning doesn’t have a heat pump, which might have helped it in the cold. A heat pump acts like an air conditioning system in reverse to move heat energy to the cabin rather than create it. It can increase cold-weather range by up to 20%. That can be the difference between getting to a charger or not on a road trip. Gitanjli McRoy, chief engineer of Ford’s EV energy management systems for the F-150 Lightning, told Green Car Reports the truck doesn’t have a heat pump because Ford balanced what was technically ready, could be optimized, and deliver the best value while getting the truck developed. The way the plumbing is done offers the Lightning opportunities to heat-share where it can, according to McRoy. The engineer wouldn’t comment on the Lightning’s roadmap for such a feature but noted the team is continuing to improve the truck.

--------------------------------------------

 

[cvalue13]

Teslas generally have more features than competing EVs.
Cybertruck will probably have too.

Solar could offset the drain of Tesla's Sentry Mode?

And they don’t turn off when desired, so people can only camp worrying about whether “phantom drain” will be the difference maker between a 3-day or week-long trip?

But not to worry, people instead can pay $3-5,000 for an optional solar array of questionable efficiency to extend their camping trip?

Stay on task here

 

[TyPope]

Hey, with the attach points, I can see some opting for a "hat" for the CT that's flat and sits just above the roof, maybe only an inch or two thick that has a solar array. Then, one could also be set for the bed the same way. Maybe they could be connected when wanted and leveled to the top of the truck for a camp style tent thing where the top is all solar... People who don't want solar cn skip it, those who want it can buy either the roof part, the vault cover part, or both AND the tent sides... Hmm... could be neat.

 

[NJturtlePower]

Fisker is trying the solar thing with their SolarSky roof on the new Ocean. ?

They claim, " When fully exposed to the sun, the Fisker Ocean Extreme’s SolarSky can produce up to 1,500 clean, emissions-free miles per year, and under ideal conditions may increase to beyond 2000 miles* – all powered by pure sunshine. "




I have a Ocean Extreme on order, locked in last summer and hope to take delivery later this year as my CT holdover vehicle. ?

https://www.fiskerinc.com/ocean

 

[SparkChaser]

Is this what you want? I think this is a lot of weight and drag so I am looking for something much smaller in storage and simpler in design.

 

[SparkChaser]

If you can use the new flexible solar panels or film, this might be more workable.

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[CyberGus]

To charge a Tesla with mobile solar, you must use an inverter to make 120V for the Mobile Connector. Going from DC->AC->DC is not the most efficient route.

If Tesla puts any kind of solar charging capability into the Cybertruck, then it should be ready to accept additional external panels efficiently and easily.

Elon was not opposed to integrated solar when asked, but he's not been touting it either. YMMV

 

[restyle]

I have a Ocean Extreme on order, locked in last summer and hope to take delivery later this year as my CT holdover vehicle. ?

Ive got the Ioniq 5 with the Solar Roof option which is probably around the same size as that of the Fisker's.
I probably wouldnt have optioned it myself, but all the first edition 'Project 45's came to Europe with it prefitted.

Ive been taking readings from it every week so we can have a look at the total solar accumulated energy over the last year.
15th May 2022 = 38404Wh

14th May 2023 = 141706Wh

So total Solar Power from the roof over 1 year = 103302Wh = 103kWh
Which on a good day is enough energy to take me just over 400 miles
Worth noting I'm in the UK, so the Californian sun would probably generate at least 3X as much.

More details HERE in the I5 Forum

 

[cvalue13]

Which on a good day is enough energy to take me just over 400 miles

and with the size of the CT would be … half that?

but im curious as for your Fisker, how does this additional 400mi of charging/year factor into the real world effects?

Because even in California sun, let’s say that figure doubles to 800mi / year, or 2.2mi per day

is that a difference maker for you in any particular, discrete, use case?

or does it for you boil down to the comfort of knowing it’s saved you (in TX electricity cost terms) … $13 per year?

 

[Greshnab]

Fisker is trying the solar thing with their SolarSky roof on the new Ocean. ?

They claim, " When fully exposed to the sun, the Fisker Ocean Extreme’s SolarSky can produce up to 1,500 clean, emissions-free miles per year, and under ideal conditions may increase to beyond 2000 miles* – all powered by pure sunshine. "




I have a Ocean Extreme on order, locked in last summer and hope to take delivery later this year as my CT holdover vehicle. ?

https://www.fiskerinc.com/ocean

so check my math for me.. but that is a whole 4 miles a day... maybe up to 5 on ideal conditions IF you only park in sunshine??

that seems like a questionable add at best.

In all honesty the energy production per square foot of solar panel right now is simply to low to be of benefit on antyhing short of an RV or a Semi with a trailer.

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