Honestly it seems like a no-brainer to me to put a solar panel on the roof of electric cars to increase their action radius, so I figured there’s probably one or more good reasons why they don’t.

Also, I acknowledge that a quick google could answer the question, but with the current state of google I don’t want to read AI bullshit. I want an actual answer, and I bet there will be some engineers eager to explain the issues.

    • Tja@programming.dev
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      25 days ago

      Parked at work it will probably have a building nearby that creates a shadow. In a traffic jam, assuming perfect sun conditions and no shade, a 100W panel will generate around about 500m (or yards) of range per hour. Meanwhile the AC will use about 700W to 1kW of power to prevent your face from melting.

      Some tests on YouTube report a realistic addition of 1 mile per day using the car in a typical commute.

    • SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz
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      24 days ago

      You’re better off putting the panel somewhere where it always gets sun, and isn’t extra weight you have to haul around.