Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Said it before and I'll say it again.

It should sound like a Tie Fighter.

[Horse]

It's a really eerie, sci-fi noise though. Very 'woo-oooo!'

Neighbours have a Renault Zoe.

As they slow, approaching their house, it sounds like dying harmonium

[Noggin]

A mate in the uk has just bought a Porsche Taycan 4S

I’m kinda gutted I live too far away to have a go!!! Apparently it can be charged by solar panels on it too, so based on the sunshine stats around here I’ve suggested he visits

[Slenver]

Apparently it can be charged by solar panels on it too

Think he may be pulling your leg...

[Noggin]

Apparently it can be charged by solar panels on it too

Think he may be pulling your leg...

Good chance you're right - or that I misread his comment!! LOL

And free power whilst it’s sunny as I’ll take it straight from the solar panels

He probably has solar panels on the house!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Solar power on ya house combined with an EV is an attractive move.

Solar power without a battery is basically bullshit now, the 'feed in' tariff you get is pants (in the UK at least), it hasn't gone up in line with the 'buy' prices so now there's a huuuuuuuuuge disconnect between the two.

I didn't realise you could now do Vehicle 2 Grid in the UK (i.e. run your house off your car batt). I knew the cars could do it, but I was under the impression infrastructure didn't support it yet...but not so. There are a couple of hoops to jump through AIUI, but it's possible from a technical PoV now. My colleague's just started doing it, he's got 8kW of panels on the roof and he stores excess juice in his car's battery, then runs power off the car at night. Means he didn't have to pay another few thousand for a domestic battery.

[Slenver]

My colleague's just started doing it, he's got 8kW of panels on the roof and he stores excess juice in his car's battery, then runs power off the car at night. Means he didn't have to pay another few thousand for a domestic battery.

it's true and potentially quite cool. Though obviously if you're using it all on the house overnight then you can't use your car! So you save 'a few thousand' on a domestic battery by simply spending 50k on a car one instead

[Slenver]

He probably has solar panels on the house!

I suspect this might be what he meant

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

[Mr. Dazzle]

From my totally selfish POV.

I get a >2/3 discount on the car.

I only drive any real distance one day a week. Don't really care if my car is flat on Tue-Fri.

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

I saw a great rule of thumb on this once. "If it gets warm through use, it probably can't be solar powered". That's not to say you can't have a solar charged car, just that it won't charge "in real time".

[Noggin]

He probably has solar panels on the house!

I suspect this might be what he meant

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

Turns out they are on the garage!!

[Count Steer]

From my totally selfish POV.

I get a >2/3 discount on the car.

I only drive any real distance one day a week. Don't really care if my car is flat on Tue-Fri.

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

I saw a great rule of thumb on this once. "If it gets warm through use, it probably can't be solar powered". That's not to say you can't have a solar charged car, just that it won't charge "in real time".

Speaking of which, ie things getting warm, I was out and about yesterday chatting to a brainbox chap as we went and I pondered on why the nations with lots of spare space and sun, + with existing LNG shipping capacity didn't cover the land with panels and make hydrogen.

He said....it's too sunny! Output drops if panels get too hot and overheating is a problem. You'd have to motorise them all and find other ways of shading them. Dunno if it's true but he's usually right (about everything ).

[Slenver]

He said....it's too sunny! Output drops if panels get too hot and overheating is a problem. You'd have to motorise them all and find other ways of shading them. Dunno if it's true but he's usually right (about everything ).

I'm certainly no expert (and don't have any PVs myself), but was told by a guy I got round to look at the possibility of installing that that's even a problem here. He said April/May (or similar) is most efficient in the UK as it balances reasonable sunshine without too much heat. It drops off either side of that.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Yeah solar panels are what...20% efficient at best, and the rest gets turned into heat. AFAIK as they get hotter that efficiency gets worse. Something about band gaps, quantum physics or summit!

But, it does always raise the question in my mind, why doesn't anyone make combined PV/water heater units for the roof? All the wasted energy in PVs becomes heat anyway. I'm sure there are reasons, probably even good ones.

[Docca]

Still have the Volvo. With the hot weather, I’m getting 280 miles a charge. According to my Octopus thing I’m paying £2 a charge. That’s not bad

In the development I’ve moved to, I’d say at least a 3rd of the vehicles are EV. They are everywhere now.

[Taipan]

From my totally selfish POV.

I get a >2/3 discount on the car.

I only drive any real distance one day a week. Don't really care if my car is flat on Tue-Fri.

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

I saw a great rule of thumb on this once. "If it gets warm through use, it probably can't be solar powered". That's not to say you can't have a solar charged car, just that it won't charge "in real time".

Speaking of which, ie things getting warm, I was out and about yesterday chatting to a brainbox chap as we went and I pondered on why the nations with lots of spare space and sun, + with existing LNG shipping capacity didn't cover the land with panels and make hydrogen.

He said....it's too sunny! Output drops if panels get too hot and overheating is a problem. You'd have to motorise them all and find other ways of shading them. Dunno if it's true but he's usually right (about everything ).

Wasnt that the thinking behind the solar or smart flower. It could open its petals, err panels, and follow the sun or fold them away if not needed or it was too hot etc.

[Mr. Dazzle]

'tis also part of the reason really sunny/hot places look at using solar furnaces instead.



Just a shed load of mirrors reflecting light into a thing which gets hot (technical term) and is then used to make steam, a la conventional power plant.

[Pirahna]

My solar panels are less efficient in the winter, angle of the sun is the culprit. This time of year my batteries are fully charged by 10am so I don't really care if the panels are efficent or not.

[Horse]

He probably has solar panels on the house!

I suspect this might be what he meant

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

https://www.solarguide.co.uk/ambulance- ... and-fuel#/

2013

An ambulance service in the South East of England is turning to renewable solar energy to help power life-saving equipment in its rapid response vehicles.

The country’s first ambulance service to fit solar panels onto its emergency vehicles, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust initially started trialling the technology back in January 2012.

Proving successful, from September of that year all new rapid response vehicles (also known as RRVs) were fitted with solar panels. To date 36 vehicles have embraced solar power as a means of providing power for the secondary battery system which is used to power the on board emergency equipment.

[Count Steer]

'tis also part of the reason really sunny/hot places look at using solar furnaces instead.



Just a shed load of mirrors reflecting light into a thing which gets hot (technical term) and is then used to make steam, a la conventional power plant.

I've seen t'world's biggest one at Font-Romeu. (It's 60 years old and 1megawatt).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odeillo_solar_furnace

[Slenver]

He probably has solar panels on the house!

I suspect this might be what he meant

You can get cars with panels on the roof, but they'd probably cover the radio and lights on a sunny day!

https://www.solarguide.co.uk/ambulance- ... and-fuel#/

2013

An ambulance service in the South East of England is turning to renewable solar energy to help power life-saving equipment in its rapid response vehicles.

The country’s first ambulance service to fit solar panels onto its emergency vehicles, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust initially started trialling the technology back in January 2012.

Proving successful, from September of that year all new rapid response vehicles (also known as RRVs) were fitted with solar panels. To date 36 vehicles have embraced solar power as a means of providing power for the secondary battery system which is used to power the on board emergency equipment.

Pretty cool. I suppose an ambulance has the ideal roof for that kind of thing, plus presumably the battery already in place for all the gear.