Can solar power charge an electric car?

[KimStevenson]

of course they can. it's a question of how much $ you want to pay and how much sun you get.

pretty much here it can be so variable that solar isn't good enough for anything in the winter, you can get a few sunny days at a time and then not have sun for six weeks in a row. this past late winter was the sunniest i remember in a long time.

instead of investing in solar here it makes a lot more sense to encourage the power company to invest in wind energy, more transmission lines and to also help people have better insulation and other things that help with efficiency for heating, hot water, cooking and lighting.

Thanks you so much

 

[KimStevenson]

Sorry Hun, can't take you out to dinner because it was overcast yesterday and the car doesn't have enough power to get us there and back...

Electricity is produced by moving a magnet through a coil of wire. I know this sounds very simple, but it's true.

I often wondered why this is not used on wheels of an electric car to help recharge it's power plant (batteries). There are 4 wheels on every car so you have the potential to have 4 little generators helping recoup some of the lost energy.

I'm just a simpleton, with a simpletons point of view.

Thanks a lot

 

[KimStevenson]

I don't understand the concepts very well... but doesn't the toyota hybrids do something like that @CrealCritter ?????

Thanks you

 

[KimStevenson]

Every form of generating electricity has its drawbacks, and kills wildlife of one sort or another. It's a flawed, fallen world we live in.

Thanks for your comment.

 

[marshals]

Just interesting how many solar panels does it take to run a Ford D150 for example?
Just to expand your mental outlook in solar PV technologies websolarguide.com/solar-panel-design/

 

[Daisy]

Just interesting how many solar panels does it take to run a Ford D150 for example?

Those things are HUGE! It would probably be more a question of the power the battery can contain. Solar works too well in Australia and storage of the energy is a bigger issue than generating the energy. Personal cars of a D150 size are few and far between where I am, but this would be the best place to run one on solar, with all the sunlight. I love the idea of charging while driving and have seen solar panels mounted on travelling cars. Though I expect those are for camp battery charging and not for use on the car itself.

I wonder when trucks will run on solar as, while the tech is quickly improving, its not an accessible option to be widespread yet. The new truck stop that was built up the road has a solar set up and is much too big just for the amenities there so I wonder when and how it will expand as there is no doubt that area is being developed to charge more than a couple of toilets.


Seems basic enough to charge batteries via solar, but how those batteries and panels are disposed of might be the next environmental issue to deal with.

 

[flowerbug]

Those things are HUGE! It would probably be more a question of the power the battery can contain. Solar works too well in Australia and storage of the energy is a bigger issue than generating the energy. Personal cars of a D150 size are few and far between where I am, but this would be the best place to run one on solar, with all the sunlight. I love the idea of charging while driving and have seen solar panels mounted on travelling cars. Though I expect those are for camp battery charging and not for use on the car itself.

I wonder when trucks will run on solar as, while the tech is quickly improving, its not an accessible option to be widespread yet. The new truck stop that was built up the road has a solar set up and is much too big just for the amenities there so I wonder when and how it will expand as there is no doubt that area is being developed to charge more than a couple of toilets.


Seems basic enough to charge batteries via solar, but how those batteries and panels are disposed of might be the next environmental issue to deal with.

they are fairly recyclable and relatively benign if left intact until they are recycled.

 

[wyoDreamer]

What is the true environmental cost of an electric vehicle? I saw a show a couple of years ago that talked about it.
They had a map of the earth and used a line to trace the parts - starting with mining the rare earth metals needed for the batteries, shipping the ore across the ocean to be refined, shipping the parts here and there for assembly. It was a real eye opener. Not to say a regular gas vehicle doesn't have some of those same costs.

Electric vehicles are great in some situations, but don't work well in all situations. They have a set range that they can travel - about 200 miles I think. So if we wanted to take an electric car to Milwaukee to visit a friend of ours:
A Nissan LEAF would not make it there on a full battery, but a Tesla would make it and give me about 25 miles of driving around when I get there. The Nissan LEAF would take 11 hours on a typical home charger (3.7 Kw) and the Tesla Model S would take 21 hours (bigger battery). Not very practical for a 1 day trip to visit.

 

[CrealCritter]

Those things are HUGE! It would probably be more a question of the power the battery can contain. Solar works too well in Australia and storage of the energy is a bigger issue than generating the energy. Personal cars of a D150 size are few and far between where I am, but this would be the best place to run one on solar, with all the sunlight. I love the idea of charging while driving and have seen solar panels mounted on travelling cars. Though I expect those are for camp battery charging and not for use on the car itself.

I wonder when trucks will run on solar as, while the tech is quickly improving, its not an accessible option to be widespread yet. The new truck stop that was built up the road has a solar set up and is much too big just for the amenities there so I wonder when and how it will expand as there is no doubt that area is being developed to charge more than a couple of toilets.


Seems basic enough to charge batteries via solar, but how those batteries and panels are disposed of might be the next environmental issue to deal with.

Lithium = Highly Toxic = Not at all good for the environment.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. If nuclear reactors were safe, everyone would have one in their back yard and get free heat, air and electricity.