Solar charging kit in the works for Rivian

[SASSquatch]

There’s just not enough area for any significant amount of power to be produced. And solar panels aren’t that efficient. Best you are going to get is low 20%s efficiency. Even spacecraft solar panels have only recently broke 30%.

Solar efficiency for most cells on the market is in the 5-10% range. New cells in development are reaching well over 30%.

I'm not saying you power the car from solar, although with an efficient enough design like Aptera you can power the entire vehicle with solar, I'm talking about reducing or eliminating phantom drain.

That is absolutely doable.

Sponsored

 

[R1Ser]

This is really interesting. I have just put together a DIY version of this exactly for camping trips.

Very nice, would you be able to share more details on this?

 

[emceter]

Does this mount sort of like a roof rack and could it be used for everyday driving? My wife parks outside at work so I wonder if we could just pop that on the R1S roof and offset at least a tiny bit of cooling cost or like a mile or two of the commute.
And yes we have solar on the house but this just seems cool so I’m curious how usable y’all think this is for everyday use

 

[emoore]

Solar efficiency for most cells on the market is in the 5-10% range. New cells in development are reaching well over 30%.

I'm not saying you power the car from solar, although with an efficient enough design like Aptera you can power the entire vehicle with solar, I'm talking about reducing or eliminating phantom drain.

That is absolutely doable.

No it’s not 5-10%, it’s in the 20s. And there will have to be a huge change in cells to get panels cheap enough to get over 30%. Just not going to happen for decades.

 

[SASSquatch]

No it’s not 5-10%, it’s in the 20s. And there will have to be a huge change in cells to get panels cheap enough to get over 30%. Just not going to happen for decades.

You don't need 30% efficiency to generate enough useful energy to deal with phantom charge.

And most cheap solar cells sold on Amazon are in the 20's in efficiency?

I have some swamp to sell you...

 

[SASSquatch]

Rivian gets name dropped in this system under development that will add 10-20 miles of range a day from a solar tonneau and integrated battery pack.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/worksport-terravis-solar-tonneau-cover-truck-bed-power-system/

 

[emoore]

You don't need 30% efficiency to generate enough useful energy to deal with phantom charge.

And most cheap solar cells sold on Amazon are in the 20's in efficiency?

I have some swamp to sell you...

Ummmm I was talking about real solar panels not some garbage off of Amazon.

#	Make	Model	Power	Efficiency
1	Aiko Solar	Black Hole series	460 W	23.6 %
2	SunPower	Maxeon 6	440 W	22.8 %
3	Longi Solar	Hi-Mo 6 Scientist	445W	22.8 %
4	Canadian Solar	Hi Hero HJT	445 W	22.8 %
5	Jinko Solar	Tiger NEO N-Type	440 W	22.5 %
6	Risen Energy	Hyper-Ion HJT	440 W	22.5 %
7	Recom Tech	Lion Series	425 W	22.4 %
8	REC	Alpha Pure R	430 W	22.3 %
9	SPIC	Andromeda 2.0	440 W	22.3 %
10	Qcells	Q.Tron-G1+	400 W	22.3 %

 

[SASSquatch]

Ummmm I was talking about real solar panels not some garbage off of Amazon.

#	Make	Model	Power	Efficiency
1	Aiko Solar	Black Hole series	460 W	23.6 %
2	SunPower	Maxeon 6	440 W	22.8 %
3	Longi Solar	Hi-Mo 6 Scientist	445W	22.8 %
4	Canadian Solar	Hi Hero HJT	445 W	22.8 %
5	Jinko Solar	Tiger NEO N-Type	440 W	22.5 %
6	Risen Energy	Hyper-Ion HJT	440 W	22.5 %
7	Recom Tech	Lion Series	425 W	22.4 %
8	REC	Alpha Pure R	430 W	22.3 %
9	SPIC	Andromeda 2.0	440 W	22.3 %
10	Qcells	Q.Tron-G1+	400 W	22.3 %

The point still stands. You don't need anywhere near 30% efficiency to deal with something like tamping down on phantom drain in a Rivian or even running accessories like a fan to keep the interior cool during hot days.

Oh wait, the Prius was doing that with small rooftop solar panels in 2010...

 

[Thedude]

The point still stands. You don't need anywhere near 30% efficiency to deal with something like tamping down on phantom drain in a Rivian or even running accessories like a fan to keep the interior cool during hot days.

Oh wait, the Prius was doing that with small rooftop solar panels in 2010...

I don’t think anyone is arguing that point. It isn’t hard or expensive to build a DIY solar bed or roof rack that could be plugged into the charge port to eliminate phantom drain. Issues arise when people think this will be an effective means of actually charging the truck without waiting weeks.

 

[SASSquatch]

I don’t think anyone is arguing that point. It isn’t hard or expensive to build a DIY solar bed or roof rack that could be plugged into the charge port to eliminate phantom drain. Issues arise when people think this will be an effective means of actually charging the truck without waiting weeks.

Then I think you and I are effectively saying the same thing. My original point was that solar charging could be an effective way at providing supplementary power for things like phantom drain or even accessories.

Unless the vehicle design has extreme efficiencies like the Aptera vehicle which can be powered by solar and driven up to 40 miles a day without the need for charging, using solar as a primary charging option is not going to happen in a very inefficient vehicle like the Rivian.

 

[Deacon]

This is really interesting. I have just put together a DIY version of this exactly for camping trips.

Could you share how you did that - please.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Rivian gets name dropped in this system under development that will add 10-20 miles of range a day from a solar tonneau and integrated battery pack.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/worksport-terravis-solar-tonneau-cover-truck-bed-power-system/

The elephant in the room is this line in the Rivian warranty. Being forced to use the charge port means you're taking at least 20-25% off the amount of energy recovered and can only be done while the vehicle is stationary. (I actually did a test a few weeks ago, if you plug a charger in while the vehicle is in drive it goes to emergency park.) I wouldn't pay for a commercial system that could charge under this exclusion unless they made a legally enforceable guarantee that they would cover all costs related to a malfunction.

 

[Blueassassin]

I just want a stick on panel for the hood to run my fridge /freezer.​

​

Oh wow looks like someone sells one already even though it doesnt match the hood design very well.​

https://www.lensunsolar.com/Products/Hood-Solar-Panel/Rivian-Hood-Solar?product_id=708​

​

 

[zymolysis]

2000 W * 3 hrs FSE/d = 6 kWh/d. 6000/500 = 12 mile/da

Very cool but not very practical.

12 miles (per day) on top of what you've got left in your battery would be welcome. Dragging an EV with a depleted battery for 12 miles would be backbreaking labor.

 

[zefram47]

Ummmm I was talking about real solar panels not some garbage off of Amazon.

#	Make	Model	Power	Efficiency
1	Aiko Solar	Black Hole series	460 W	23.6 %
2	SunPower	Maxeon 6	440 W	22.8 %
3	Longi Solar	Hi-Mo 6 Scientist	445W	22.8 %
4	Canadian Solar	Hi Hero HJT	445 W	22.8 %
5	Jinko Solar	Tiger NEO N-Type	440 W	22.5 %
6	Risen Energy	Hyper-Ion HJT	440 W	22.5 %
7	Recom Tech	Lion Series	425 W	22.4 %
8	REC	Alpha Pure R	430 W	22.3 %
9	SPIC	Andromeda 2.0	440 W	22.3 %
10	Qcells	Q.Tron-G1+	400 W	22.3 %

How large are those panels? The top of the atmosphere sees ~1370 W/m^2 and at the surface is closer to 1200 W/m^2. At 22.5% efficiency that's only around 270 W/m^s of solar panel, assuming ideal alignment to zenith at solar noon. Those power ratings seem way too high.

Sponsored