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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.