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Aptera's First Solar Road Trip. 300 Miles, One Charge

(aptera.us)
49 points geox | 3 comments | 31 Mar 25 11:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.745s | source
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pinkmuffinere ◴[03 Apr 25 05:02 UTC] No.43564937[source]▶
> Even on an overcast day, the team saw over 545 watts of solar input

Let’s (generously) assume that was the minimum they saw, and let’s (generously) say they charged for 14 hours. That’s 7.63 kWh gained over the day, in almost ideal conditions. Flagstaff’s high altitude means stronger sunlight, and they can do regenerative braking as they come down the mountain. In my Nissan leaf, 6 kWh would get me about 20 miles. If they are much more efficient, they maybe got 50 miles from the charging on that day, and the other 250 from the charge they started with.

I’d love to be wrong about any of the above! Solar panels on cars would be so cool! It just doesn’t seem useful. Please correct me if I’m mistaken.

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1. LeoPanthera ◴[03 Apr 25 05:17 UTC] No.43565030[source]▶
50 miles of free driving a day sounds incredible, but you're implying that's a bad thing? I'm confused.
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2. nindalf ◴[03 Apr 25 08:26 UTC] No.43566580[source]▶
With how cheap solar panels are getting, why not slap a few of them on the roof of every EV? Some days they get you 10 free miles, other days 20 or 30. If you’re a commuter, you’re basically driving for free at that point.

Sure it’s not enough on road trips, but why is that a problem?

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3. rcxdude ◴[03 Apr 25 08:51 UTC] No.43566795[source]▶
The solar cells themselves may be cheap, I don't think putting them on the roof of a car (without ruining the aerodynamics) is particularly cheap, yet. Most people would be better served putting the solar panels on the roof of their house.