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Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by mattmaroon on Friday September 13, 2019 @09:02AM (#20961687)
You're not far off on the math for the most efficient cars, but I can't even get that much solar on top of a 23' camper, and that's with full sun and assuming I can park directionally. You're talking about 80 sq ft. Even taking into account these more efficient panels, you're looking at maybe 10 mi a day range added, best case.

And that's assuming you're parking outside at all while at work. In suburbia you might be. Good luck in any big city.

Overall I don't see how this is going to be economically efficient any time soon, even in the best use cases. It seems better to have fixed solar and a plug. But I hope I'm wrong.

Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by aembleton on Friday September 13, 2019 @09:31AM (#20961944)
There's also the extra weight involved. If you used that extra weight for more batteries instead of solar panels, you might have even more range.
Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by jfengel on Friday September 13, 2019 @11:24AM (#20962941)
If they could paint the solar cells directly into the surface of the car, it would add little additional weight. Most of the weight of a solar panel is the backing and frame to provide stiffness, and you could use the car body for that.

That's a big "if", though. Photovoltaic paint is currently around half as efficient as commercial solar panels.

Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by codedokode on Saturday September 14, 2019 @08:11AM (#20970294)
It doesn't have to be a paint, it could be a film.
Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by wiglaf1979 on Friday September 13, 2019 @10:49AM (#20962660)
Something like this might be what you want. Hangs on the window and is solar powered.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Solar-Sun-Powered-Power-Window-Fa...

Re:Toyota is trying to put solar panels on a Prius to charge... by travisporter on Sunday September 15, 2019 @12:32AM (#20975579)
That was proven to be useless. However, I found this project https://acool.global/. Anyone have any insights on this?