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Will Adding a Solar Panel To Your Car Save Gas?
This post was originally posted here: Will Adding a Solar Panel To Your Car Save Gas?
The latest push towards environmentally friendly and sustainable resources involves fitting gas/electric hybrids and other vehicles with solar panels. Solar panels offer a great way to generate extra electricity without relying on generators powered by fossil fuels.
Several small companies, including Solar Electrical Vehicles in California, have set about installing solar panels on hybrids and recreational vehicles. Even major automotive manufacturers such as Toyota are taking notice and offering roof-mounted solar panels on their next-generation hybrid sedans.
There are plenty of benefits to using solar panels including:
- Reducing loads placed on the battery and alternator by power windows, stereo equipment and other powered components
- Adding solar-powered interior fans, reducing A/C usage
- Reduced A/C usage improves your vehicle’s fuel economy
- Using solar power to power plug-in chargers and other electronics that use the vehicle’s DC power outlet
For hybrid and pure electric vehicles, solar panels are being touted as another green way of extending travel range. The amount of extra range offered with the addition of solar panels usually depends on the number of panels installed on the vehicle’s roof and the amount of power consumed by the vehicle’s electric-traction motors. One company touted a 10% gain in mileage for their solar panel-equipped hybrids, while Fisker, the makers of the Karma plug-in hybrid, claims only 5 all-electric miles per week, provided the vehicle remained parked in the sun. With these figures, it will be a while before you can run your vehicle solely on solar power.
Owners of self-propelled and towed RVs should look at the advantages that solar panels offer. Instead of relying solely on generators or their tow vehicle’s power plant, RV owners can instead use the power collected by their installed solar panels and stored in their batteries as a supplemental power source for operating electric amenities. Not only does this save fuel, but it also cuts down on emissions generated by standalone generators and the vehicle’s power plant.
For all other vehicle owners, the only way that adding solar panels to your vehicle will boost fuel economy is if you also integrate some sort of additional battery storage…and then electrify some important components. Unless you’re ambitious about building your very own electric car, the only real benefit to solar panels might be one of those little solar powered car coolers you use during the summer to keep your interior cool.
The amount of electricity generated by solar panels depends on the number of panels used. The more solar panels present on the roof, the more power they are able to generate. The biggest caveat with roof-mounted solar panels lies with the relatively small amount of surface area available on the roof of an average automobile. While car owners may be deterred somewhat by this limitation, RV owners will be able to benefit thanks to the larger surface area offered on their roofs.
Author Jason Lancaster is currently working on adding a solar panel to his bicycle to conserve his energy output. He also writes for Olathe Toyota Parts which sells quality OEM Toyota parts for less.
Read more at Talking About Green
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