solar panel for range boost?

[BEVolution]

Will be interesting what can be accomplished with a ladder rack full of solar panels for camping or remote travel. Not 100% practical but would work for some. This guy has solar powering deep cell batteries that then discharge to charge the Leaf batteries.
https://m.youtube.com/c/InnovativeSustainableSolutions/videos

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[EaglesPDX]

If you get a campsite with a 50amp outlet then you can charge the truck off the campsite and then connect the camper to the pro power onboard

I was thinking more of off grid camping.

 

[astricklin]

Will be interesting what can be accomplished with a ladder rack full of solar panels for camping or remote travel. Not 100% practical but would work for some. This guy has solar powering deep cell batteries that then discharge to charge the Leaf batteries.
https://m.youtube.com/c/InnovativeSustainableSolutions/videos

A lot of drag that eats up any range that you might gain unless you're staying put for weeks at a time.

 

[Rob]

I have wondered the same thing, so I just googled and saw a 100W solar panel for $85 at Wal-Mart, 40"x27". Google also says a 100W solar panel will produce between 280 and 450 Watt-hours of power per day. So, best case (closer to Equator, panel facing towards the sun) assume the max- 450 Watt-hours. Inside EVs website says the Lightning uses an average of about 500 Watt-hours per 1 mile (but that includes charging inefficiencies, however much that means).
So with about 2 minutes of amateur research (just an unreliable ballpark estimate) your $85 solar panel could give you about a mile per day of added range.
Maybe this answers the question "Why doesn't Ford offer solar panels on the Lightning?".

 

[Simpso57]

Here is the best Elon can do: 15 miles per day with panels on the Cybertruck:

https://electrek.co/2019/11/22/tesla-cybertruck-solar-roof-option-add-range/

 

[GarageMahal]

Here is the best Elon can do: 15 miles per day with panels on the Cybertruck:

https://electrek.co/2019/11/22/tesla-cybertruck-solar-roof-option-add-range/

On paper anyway.... pretty sure some of the numbers are based on tech that has yet to be invented

Its a good dream to be able to get a meaningful range boost from solar panels on the truck but it will only be a dream for a while yet.

 

[Danielims]

Mounting a 300w solar panel to your camper shell can be a worthwhile investment if you frequently camp in remote areas and want to extend the range of your Lightning. However, it's important to temper your expectations, as the amount of range you can gain will be minimal.

 

[sheldengildon]

I think your idea of integrating a 400W solar panel onto a camper shell to charge your Lightning and potentially extend its range is both innovative and practical! While it might not be sufficient to fully charge the vehicle, it could undoubtedly provide a valuable supplementary charge, particularly during prolonged stops or sunny drives.
In addition, considering the climate and solar potential in your region, like in Cork, Ireland, could provide valuable insights into the expected performance and efficiency of the solar panel setup. solar panels cork offer comprehensive information and resources tailored to solar solutions, which could further enrich your project planning and execution.

 

[RickKeen]

Solar makes sense in stationary locations with cheap land surface area.
Collect the energy, then load it into your vehicle when parked.

It may make sense for boondock expedition types of things where you can carry enough solar panels to be able to charge for a week of camping so you have enough range to get home. But that scenario involves deploying a dozen or more square meters of panels on the ground while parked, not one or two square meter on the vehicle while its moving.

Think in terms of the chapter in the book The Martian where he has to deploy his solar panels on the ground all day and then drive at night to get enough range across the surface of the planet.

(ignore that he had a portable nuke power generator available).
https://www.google.com/search?q=The...ate=ive&vld=cid:c19be941,vid:Ko3oCxEHkSU,st:0

 

[hturnerfamily]

Solar, on it's own, is expensive for the little power it can possibly provide. That's the simple stopping point for most any 'solar is the answer' conversation from those who initially blurt out such comments.
What they don't realize is the massive amount of work that is required to produce that single watt of power. It is NOT simply a small, cheap 'solar panel' that somehow 'magically' makes 'POWER'.
A solar panel is simply a collect device. It collects a little bit of sunshine, WHEN the sun is shining.

What the real technology consists of is all the equipment BEYOND the solar panel: wiring, connectors, a solar power Controller, a DC to AC INVERTER, and all the 'outlets' or plug/connection options to provide 'power' to what you want it to power, not to mention a BATTERY, not only to 'hold' the power, but to provide a buffer of time for more 'constant/consistent' power output. And, that's NOT the battery in your EV, it's a battery to hold the solar power, BEFORE it is Inverted to 120v/240v output to a CONVERTER to put it BACK into DC power, to help supply charging to an EV's battery.
And, this is not to mention that you CAN'T charge your EV while driving. If you think that you can somehow circumvent engineers and 'customize' your EV to accept some type of electrical power to your CONVERTER or DC power directly to your EV's traction battery, you might be in for a shock, literally. The idea has 'merit', but not practicality.

You may think that I'm over-complicating the process, and the process can be slightly different depending on the end goal, you can imagine that this is the very reason WHY any EV manufacturer has not provided this as any reasonable alternative or charging option, other than Nissan did with the Leaf many years ago, on certain models, but no longer do. Owners found NO value in it.

It's complicated.
It's Slow.
It's weak.
It's not reliable.
It's expensive.

 

[Bigisland Guy]

Here is a real-world example of what we did:

Purchased on Kickstarter an Anker Solix 3800 220v solar generator with a capacity of 3.8KW as a nighttime use generator for our job sites where there are noise restrictions. We powered it using 2 200-watt portable panels for a total of 400 watts and set it out for two days until we reached 100% capacity. We were able to directly charge our best mileage EV (Hyundai Ioniq actual 4.2 Kpm) and our result was a little over 14 miles added to the GOM. Take it for what it is worth. In regards to our real work world, it's impractical for us to do this. We will just continue to use our solar generator for its intended purpose because the charge rate is to slow to be practical on a portable basis.

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