Austin Company Developing EV Solar Kits For Cars
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- 9/2/24 update: At last check EV Solar Kits's website wasn't working and several checks since this video was orginally produced seem to indicate the project has been abandoned.
Original post: An Austin, TX-based startup called EV Solar Kits is designing a solar-powered, clip-on roof for Tesla’s Model 3 and Y, along with external fold-out panels, which the company claims can generate up to 60 miles of range a day in perfect conditions.
• EV Solar Kits website: www.evsolarkit...
• EV Rider website: evrider.tv
• EV Rider on Facebook: / evriderfl
• EV Rider on Instagram: / evriderfl
• EV Rider on Twitter: / bortzinjax
When I checked their website, there is still no production on this kit and worst of all "Returns & Refunds. We are unable to offer any returns/refunds on this kit" hard pass.
and now the website is gone 🤷♂️
It's a shame an inverter and battery are being used at all. This proposal isn't much more sophisticated than using your typical solar generator with some PV panels and plugging the vehicle in manually.
While it would come with more NRE, the ultimate solution in terms of cost and efficiency is a custom MPPT charge controller that feeds the HV bus directly.
DC to DC inverter you need to up the voltage over 400 volt to make it work or go AC which you would have more lost.
The end goal us a cybertruck sized vehicle and a stepvan being covered with enough panels to go 30 miles a day.. and the abtteries are easily replaceable and afordable sorta like with NIO. Also with Full self driving.. Cant think of a vehicle more useful
This is Rip, from the future in 2024, no product yet, but I think it's a really cool idea, especially if it's an easy thing to clip on and off for when you want the extra juice.
I'm wonder how it effects aero and if it offsets those loss and more when you have on while driving around.
I'd argue that it's not a good idea. We're talking about 0.6kwh per hour max, in the best conditions. That'll take 77 hours to charge the smallest Model 3 battery to 80%. Assuming it's summer (12 hr of sun per day), no clouds, and perfect sun alignment all day every day, that's nearly a full week for one 80% charge. This is why car-based solar isn't viable, the energy per square meter from the sun just isn't high enough. Even charging to just 10% to make it out of a jam would take 9.5 hours.
I wish this company gave monthly updates at least.
ikr. they are missing out BIG TIME
Here from the future it was all a scam.
I'm getting about 25km a day with portable foldable solar panels. Don't w8 on prototypes or company's, create your own solutions.
Solar roof to run car AC is a viable solution.
Steele doesn't seem to know what "fast" charging is? Also, the solar kit looks to have a battery dedicated for solar storage. That's pretty wasteful. The solar panels charge the extra battery for a little while and then you convert that energy to AC to send to the car, the car converts that AC back to DC for the car's battery and then you drive around with an empty extra battery all day. I like the idea, but it needs to be integrated better to the car so you don't need to carry around a big extra battery.
Hi Will. You're absolutely right, the optional battery is only on our overland model. Our commuter does not feature a battery so there is no secondary AC/DC transition. The Overland has a camping/offgrid feature that makes a battery helpful. I hope this helps!
You must have a buffer battery to provide a smooth enough linear output for the vehicle charging protocols to be convinced it is a suitable supply plus the comms on the charge side requires a reference voltage. DC to AC then AC to DC, there is no other practical way to do it and the losses are minimal (8%?) There is not sufficient stable DC to provide DC to car and any other method would involve getting involved going deep down the hole of vehicle warranty. A 1kW battery would weight around 7Kg so no big shakes to a 1900 Kg car
I thought of using solar power to charge my Fiat 500e. I have an EcoFlow Delta 2, but I learned that possibly I could more accurately receive 50% of the listed solar panel watts.
I jumped at a second 1kHr Delta 2 for under $700 during Amazon Prime Days. Now, I get 4+4 additional distance using the 2 machines.
its been 2 years and they aren't shipping any kits yet.
What’s also funny is that in road trips, the extra drag this will cause on the roof (which is a highly sensitive area for drag) will probably cost you in range close to what they are claiming - each leg of the trip…
Indeed but when you are stopped it’s also charging right?
@@ukaszw6623 yes! If you don’t drive your car, this is a great investment!
It's all nonsense anyways. Their basic math is a complete lie. I love their "cover entire route" level of solar charging for Amazon vans. Basic math says they could get about 3-5 miles per day in ideal conditions. Total nonsense. Scam.
Cyber truck overlander kit might be the move
25 miles per day perfect conditions is a lie. Ignoring losses, it would require about 6.25KWH from the panel, which would be about 16 hours perfect direct sun in the equator, which is impossible to get in 1 day. In the realm of reality, it may add 8-10 miles, which is decent, but isn't going to be your only source of charging.
Love the idea
These cars are way to heavy and not aerodynamic enough for the panels to be of any real use. That’s where the Aptera comes in
Thank god I got vaporware vibes from EV Solar Kits and passed on putting down a deposit. Website no longer exists.
I am wondering if there are any news on this project. I'm looking forward to it being released!
It would be more efficient to pump electrons in direct current directly into che car battery without using a Y splitter on the charging port and an additional battery and inverter. Also there is a lot of "solar real estate" not used on the frunk...
Could you imagine an EV van with a complete solar roof and the free permanent range it would get !?
Actually I can. After 8 years and 200k+ miles of EV ownership, my wife and I are planning to get an Etransit or Esprinter next and doing a 3 tier solar array on the top so when we stop somewhere to boondock we have like 3-5kw of solar to push back into the HV battery and keep the AC running. Super excited to try it in a couple years when we have all our ducks in a row!
This is already a missed opportunity on the ford transit ev.
you are describing rivian van built for amazon
You just showed us you know nothing about the sun, or solar power.
IT's a small thread. If the solar panels become efficient enough, then it's a good choice. But it may as well happen that battery themselves become too good, and you'd have a 1.000 km ev car that can also charge in 5min. In those conditions, roof solars are a waste of money. They are even now, if you consider recent Tesla cars updates.
😂 bro come on. You’re gonna have to leave it parked up on the street for a week to get 100 miles out of it. IN OPTIMAL conditions..
not to mention you lose the panoramic view and it looks “average”
60 miles a day, lol. Maybe if you were parked on mount everest above the atmosphere in the middle of july, during a solar flare.
I thought of this idea as a kid in the 80s but not for evs. Every car should have a panel simply just to top up the lead acid battery when not in use.
the clip on roof needs to be flush with the vehicle otherwise it will ruin the aerodynamics, and hence, the mileage.
Wish the model 3 kit with the trunk foldout was available. I'd totally buy it.
late 2022? It is mid 2024 and still "pre-order"
Yep, that interview was done back in March 2022. The company hasn't made any progress toward a launch as far as I can tell.
I would rip this right off every Tesla I saw and sell em on eBay
😂😂😂
need car to be cooked under the sun. gonna be hot and toasty when you get into the car.
I like that but link to website doesn't work
I want one asap!!!!
Read the title as "Autism Company"
This sounds amazing. Been looking for a product like this for Wrangler 4xE and other vehicles.
I believe Wasik took the pre-order money and ran away!!!
Clip-on panels will protrude and reduce the range, so how many miles does it actually add?
It appears this start up failed to reach production so we'll likely never know.
No website.
Very good ❤
A lot of manufacturers don't add a solar roof to their cars simply because it isn't worth the added cost. Sure, if you want to go out and spend a few hundred or a thousand bucks for an aftermarket kit to get a handful of extra miles a day, go for it. However, there's not a large market for people who would pay for this to make it worth the dealership's cost in adding this to their production line and making it an option.
“More on this, tonight at 9”
Terrible idea lol. Why would you want all those panels sticking out the back of your car. I’d never be able to park and use them in NY.
Well, what to say ... Solar isn't the way to charge these vehicles. Simply put, pv efficiency is still quite low, topping out at 22.8% as we speak. This means indirectly, that more surface will be needed to fight the low efficiency and get some meaningful results, in this case they call it charge. Imagine the car surface, ok, you would need to go x3,x4 that area to get the car exited. Theoretically, can be done, at home and if you designate the space or get all this stuff on the roof, it can be done. Next, forget about this direct charging from PV panel to vehicle battery. The EV needs a steady supply, could be at low amps(low speed charge) but cannot be up and down. This will destroy the vehicle ctrl system. This is what happened with Photo voltaic panels. The potential generated, changes based on light conditions and is everything but steady (over time). For this, the storage battery gets filled up and the vehicle can take charge from it. Losses under 10%< not too much added weight.
Can you add on to any car to make as camper. This is one of the needs before adding one of these cars to my property along with safer exchangeable batteries
Off course it had to be for Tesla only Sad , Hyundai is going to take over the whole industry soon so they should start making them for Hyundai vehicles too as they will sell more in the future , great panels congrats
Waiting for the Tesla guy taking up two parking spots with the foldout…
All this talk of solar powered EVs and not a mention about Aptera? That's a little bit of an oversight
This would void your Tesla warranty... The problem with solar on car roofs is they make very little energy and are useless.
25 miles? Do they not know how to do math? Snake oil, folks. Just buy an Aptera, which will actually work.
Aptera, who's been promising a solar car since 2019? That it would be production ready in 2020? The same aptera that's still seeking more investments and doesn't have one single car on the road mid way thru 2024?? That Aptera?? 😅😂😂
@@javibuddy What have you accomplished since 2019? And Aptera is happening as we type. PI builds are being built right this second. You were wrong. Now what?
@googleuser6814 lol ok buddy sure. You must have missed how they just secured 65million more to build crash test vehicles. I'll come back here at the end of next year to see how cool your car is. 😅
this guy wants to buy some dogecoins..
Imagine no battery drain and trickle charge keeping the main battery nice and warm.
I'd be happy with just 5 or8 miles of charge per day.
Solar roofs are already a reality. I'll soon be reviewing the Fisker Ocean, which claims it can generate 1,500-miles from solar per year and I recently reviewed a Prius Prime with a solar roof, which in perfect conditions can recharge itself in 12-days. Here's the Prius review that includes stats on its solar production: evrider.tv/23-toyota-prius-prime-phev-combines-style-efficiency/
What ever happened to this?
Not a real product yet still nothing available, this guy seems to be scamming people at this point in time. Don't give them money until they actually have a product.
I won't go as far as to use the word scam but I agree that it appears very unlikely we'll see anything from EV Solar Kits. No visable progress has been made since I intrerviewed him back in 2022.
@@EVRider No progress in 2 years and he took money is the very definition of a scam. If they produce a product ill retract my comment but at this point a spade is a spade.
8 hours of full sun will get you about 2-3 miles is what the industry can get. How do they get 25 miles? It's either a billion dollar company or pump and dump.
Bonet is missing the panel.
Can you use an heliostat to charge it faster?
Cool idea using a sun tracker but I doubt it, at least from EV Solar Kits. The attempted startup hasn't made any visable progress toward a launch since this video was made back in March of 2022. At this point I highly doubt we'll see them get their vision beyond CGI videos and renderings.
This video a year old and they still haven't released anything
Correct. I just checked their website. I don't see any signs of progress. This may end up being one of these start ups that doesn't get beyond the idea stage.
Cyber kit?
Will it have some ac plug 110 and or 220v
This video was produced more than a year ago. At the time there was no mention of external plugs. I got the impression the inverter was intended solely for the car. You can try reaching out to the company on its website, although I still don't see any signs that the product has been fully developed or is shipping yet: www.evsolarkits.com/
Is there a EV Kit (Roof clip on kit) I could use for my Subaru Crosstrek? I'm a apt dweller and could not set out the flex panels.
snowcrustracer, Not that I'm aware of, although Steele said once they get production up and running they would be looking at what other vehicles it might make sense to develop kits for.
@@EVRider Ok, Thank you. It's would be helpful if they designed the flex panels to lay over the hood and roof of a car with locks.
vapor ware
🥰🥰🥰👍👍👍
When is it available?😂
I doubt it will ever be available. As best I can tell they have not made any significant progress toward production since this video was done 2 years ago.
Nice idea but completely pointless. I would have to drive my Tesla Model 3 for 10 years to even come close to a break even. Also lets not forget that charging your battery too slow is also stressful for the battery.
Charging a battery "too slowly" is not a thing and does not damage your battery, in no published research have I ever encountered such a phenomenon.