Solar Panels
Created September 8, 2005, at 6:22 am by Anonymous
I've seen solar panels that can be plugged into regular car cigarette lighters to recharge the battery.
Anyone know what one of these would do to a Toyota Hybrid? Would the cigerette lighter plug in actually make it to charge the battery? If so, would this help or hurt the life of the battery?
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Do the math on how much power you get out of the solar panel versus how much power is in the battery. It's pitifully insignificant. (We've discussed this here before somewhere...I'll see if I can find it.)
Paul, I'm curious about the math on that. Just how much energy would be generated by a solar panel over the course of a year in terms of total fuel. Of course there are all different sizes/types solar panels. What would the range be? Thanks
i have recently added solar panels to my home, $12,000 for 18 panels, a 3Kw system (sharp electric panels).
i typically get 17 Kw-hr's of juice every day. that is about 2/3 of my typical monthly electric bill which equates to about $65 a month of savings. for my area that ends up as a 9 year payback after considering the typical 5% increase per year in electric bills. (which i expect to rise significantly in this same 9 years).
now, what is this in gasoline? i don't know, but i know it's not one for one, dollar for dollar.
$65 of electric is not $65 in gasoline.
i suspect electric is more expensive, so possibly $60 electric equals $45 gasoline. (total guess). i know from using a natural gas pottery kiln that natural gas is about 5 times cheaper then electric for the same, similar size kilns. (actually my gas kilns are bigger then the electric).
now, if that $45 per month charges my car, i could be driving every month for "free".
~ but the panels are some 20 feet by 14 feet in size. not practical to have on top of a car.
however, a plug in hybrid to extend the battery power every night could be useful with solar at home.
see ya
I emailed Toyota on this very subject since I was able to find a solar panel which plugged into the cigarette lighter (and therefore of course would only be charging the 12 volt battery), but got no reply.
Here's the potential problem that I see - at least for my 2005 Prius, the circuit to the cigarette lighter is open when the ignition is off - in other words, I don't think there would be any charge going through because it is disconnected from the battery. I tried my cell phone charger on the two 12 volt "cigarette lighter" holes in my Prius and neither worked with the car off (which is presumaly when you'd be wanting to gain the solar power - while sitting in at work while the sun shines on the car in the parking lot).
Bottom line - won't work, at least I don't think so.
OK, there are more options with this thread, wired panels, different types of solar capture and of course how much light is generated in your are. please check out my solar projects at www.mjpwebsales.com Most the info is for the home but these suppliers can custom fit to any size and shape of panels.
There is at least one company making solar panels specifically for hybrid cars: Solatec LLC.
http://www.solatecllc.com/products.htm
They had a press release December 7, 2005 about their $2,195 kit, with they claim improves fuel economy by 10%.
More info here: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/12/flexible_roofto.html
Walter, as I said in September (above): "It's pitifully insignificant." The Solatec and GreenCar Congress websites to which you refer both state that the solar cell array shown puts out 30 watts, which equates to 0.04 horsepower (one horsepower = 747 watts).
I'm sorry, but a good wash and wax job would have more effect on the vehicle's speed or range than adding 1/25th of a horsepower to a car.
It seems to me the advantage is not in driving, but in charging the batteries when it sits and that energy then contributes to the overall gas mileage of the car, which, if as claimed, is up to 10%, is significant.
Maybe I am missing something but 30watts of solar power seems insignificant for a hybrid. I look at it this way: If the car is parked in the sun for 5 hours, that is 5 x 30 = 150 watt-hours that can be stored in the hybrid battery. If you are really easy driving, you might use 10 horse power or about 7470 watts. The 150 watt-hours from the solar panel would be used up in about 1 minute. That doesn't seem like it is going to give a 10% improvement unless you are driving for a very short time.
Jay, you're right. You and I have both obviously been reluctant to speak plainly about this 30-watt package for $2,195: It's a scam, pure and simple. Folks, it's a hoax.
Not only would it not work, it seems pretty expensive, too. A 5 watt system can be obtained for less than $100, so 6 * $100 = $2200?
Here is a thought!
Would the math work if you put solar panels on your home and a set of batteries and recharge the hybrid at night?
eholm, that's what Steve (fourth message in this thread) did. But even with a house-roof's worth of solar cells, it's still marginal.
And remember that the hybrids we have today can only run about one mile on the battery. Even if you have enough solar capacity to fully charge the battery, you will only get one mile of savings. Actually you don't even get that because the hybrid will run the IC engine until it is warm. You might as well have the IC engine charging the battery during that time or the fuel is mostly wasted bringing the engine up to operating temperature. I don't see how the solar chargers can make any significant difference in gas milage given the limited battery capacity and operating characteristics of the hybrids now available.
Regarding solar use on automobiles, taking an integrated approach, perhaps a few additional things are worth consideration! 1) Nanotechnology is substantially increasing our capture and conversion capabilities-perhaps 50-60% in the next five years. 2) Battery technology is seeing the same kinds of advances. 3) Solar panels (I use this term lightly) are likely to be built into Macron or Lexan or some other similiar high strength PVC., allowing every panel on the automobile to capture photons convert them to electrons and perhaps even store them. 4) New materials and construction techniques coupled with increased market demand and competition are likely to significantly reduce the costs of such systems. 5) Other technologies such as wind resistance, thermionics and other renewables might also be explored to assist solar in battery recharge.
No url
"i have recently added solar panels to my home, $12,000 for 18 panels, a 3Kw system (sharp electric panels)."
how did you get started with buying solar panels and determining what you needed and where to get them from. I live in Oklahoma and am wanting to buy solar panels but dont have a clue where to start? can any help
"Here's the potential problem that I see - at least for my 2005 Prius, the circuit to the cigarette lighter is open when the ignition is off - in other words, I don't think there would be any charge going through because it is disconnected from the battery." (a quote from Glenn)
Yes; So one needs to connect directly to the 12V battery using a diod (against accidental battery discharging) and a protective element (a fuse or resistor).
This is useful for any car to keep the battery charged when one is away for more than 2 weeks; a small solar panel can do the job.
For driving on solar energy we need a plug-in hybrid.
This would only add charge to the 12v starter battery, not the NM-hydrides.
Mr./Ms. "Anonymous"
I am looking to install solar panels. It's been two years since the above post, how's it working out thusfar?
Cheers!
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