Carbon82 Moderator July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Toyota Covers Prius With Solar Panels That Also Charge Battery On The Move Automakers are looking to maximize the driving range of their plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, and solar panels are the hottest solution right now — literally. Toyota is well aware of that and has announced a plan to begin public road trials from late July 2019 with Prius PHV vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries. The trials will take place in Japan and benefit from the support of Sharp Corporation and the country’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). As part of the program, Sharp will supply onboard solar battery panels using high-efficiency cells. According to the automaker, the goal is “to assess the effectiveness of improvements in cruising range and fuel efficiency of electrified vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries.” Toyota installed the Sharp-supplied solar panels on the roof, hood, rear hatch door, and other parts of the Prius PHV to produce a demo car for public road trials. Compared to the Prius PHV that’s already available with a solar charging roof system, the demo car is superior in every respect. At 860 W, the rated power generation output is 4.8 times bigger and the solar battery cell conversion efficiency exceeds 34 percent (versus 22.5 percent). Most importantly, the demo car uses a system that charges the driving battery both while the car is parked and when on the move. This development is expected to lead to “considerable improvements in electric-powered cruising range and fuel efficiency.” More specifically, Toyota claims the experimental vehicle’s daily maximum charge to the battery while the vehicle is parked is equivalent to a driving range of 44.5 km (27.6 miles), compared to the production car’s 6.1 km (3.8 miles). Things get better when the car is moving, as the daily maximum charge and power supply to the driving and auxiliary battery amounts to a driving range of 56.3 km (35 miles). The production Prius PHV’s solar charging system only supplies power on the move to the auxiliary battery, which powers the navigation and other systems. Toyota will conduct the trials under various driving conditions in Toyota City, Tokyo, and other areas in its homeland. The goal is to use resulting data for the development of an onboard solar recharging system. I know some are going to say it look like sh*t (tai gor in dialect), but given that it can provide energy for >50Km per day, I don't mind actually, not only to save my wallet, but our mother earth. ↡ Advertisement 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ct3833 Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Toyota Covers Prius With Solar Panels That Also Charge Battery On The Move Automakers are looking to maximize the driving range of their plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, and solar panels are the hottest solution right now â literally. Toyota is well aware of that and has announced a plan to begin public road trials from late July 2019 with Prius PHV vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries. The trials will take place in Japan and benefit from the support of Sharp Corporation and the countryâs New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). As part of the program, Sharp will supply onboard solar battery panels using high-efficiency cells. According to the automaker, the goal is âto assess the effectiveness of improvements in cruising range and fuel efficiency of electrified vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries.â Toyota installed the Sharp-supplied solar panels on the roof, hood, rear hatch door, and other parts of the Prius PHV to produce a demo car for public road trials. Compared to the Prius PHV thatâs already available with a solar charging roof system, the demo car is superior in every respect. At 860 W, the rated power generation output is 4.8 times bigger and the solar battery cell conversion efficiency exceeds 34 percent (versus 22.5 percent). Most importantly, the demo car uses a system that charges the driving battery both while the car is parked and when on the move. This development is expected to lead to âconsiderable improvements in electric-powered cruising range and fuel efficiency.â More specifically, Toyota claims the experimental vehicleâs daily maximum charge to the battery while the vehicle is parked is equivalent to a driving range of 44.5 km (27.6 miles), compared to the production carâs 6.1 km (3.8 miles). Things get better when the car is moving, as the daily maximum charge and power supply to the driving and auxiliary battery amounts to a driving range of 56.3 km (35 miles). The production Prius PHVâs solar charging system only supplies power on the move to the auxiliary battery, which powers the navigation and other systems. Toyota will conduct the trials under various driving conditions in Toyota City, Tokyo, and other areas in its homeland. The goal is to use resulting data for the development of an onboard solar recharging system. I know some are going to say it look like sh*t (tai gor in dialect), but given that it can provide energy for >50Km per day, I don't mind actually, not only to save my wallet, but our mother earth. When the manufacturers could find a more efficient ways to generate energy , bring the cost down and there is demand, I am sure they would beautify it. Just wait and see. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watwheels Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbWwn_YCr8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesc Hypersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 (edited) What a good idea. Why waste free energy? We should put this on our roof tops. Tesla even made solar panels that look exactly like roof tiles. No one can tell its panels. Edited July 10, 2019 by Jamesc 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGMCF328 Turbocharged July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 (edited) Toyota Covers Prius With Solar Panels That Also Charge Battery On The Move Automakers are looking to maximize the driving range of their plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, and solar panels are the hottest solution right now — literally. Toyota is well aware of that and has announced a plan to begin public road trials from late July 2019 with Prius PHV vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries. The trials will take place in Japan and benefit from the support of Sharp Corporation and the country’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). As part of the program, Sharp will supply onboard solar battery panels using high-efficiency cells. According to the automaker, the goal is “to assess the effectiveness of improvements in cruising range and fuel efficiency of electrified vehicles equipped with high-efficiency solar batteries.” Toyota installed the Sharp-supplied solar panels on the roof, hood, rear hatch door, and other parts of the Prius PHV to produce a demo car for public road trials. Compared to the Prius PHV that’s already available with a solar charging roof system, the demo car is superior in every respect. At 860 W, the rated power generation output is 4.8 times bigger and the solar battery cell conversion efficiency exceeds 34 percent (versus 22.5 percent). Most importantly, the demo car uses a system that charges the driving battery both while the car is parked and when on the move. This development is expected to lead to “considerable improvements in electric-powered cruising range and fuel efficiency.” More specifically, Toyota claims the experimental vehicle’s daily maximum charge to the battery while the vehicle is parked is equivalent to a driving range of 44.5 km (27.6 miles), compared to the production car’s 6.1 km (3.8 miles). Things get better when the car is moving, as the daily maximum charge and power supply to the driving and auxiliary battery amounts to a driving range of 56.3 km (35 miles). The production Prius PHV’s solar charging system only supplies power on the move to the auxiliary battery, which powers the navigation and other systems. Toyota will conduct the trials under various driving conditions in Toyota City, Tokyo, and other areas in its homeland. The goal is to use resulting data for the development of an onboard solar recharging system. I know some are going to say it look like sh*t (tai gor in dialect), but given that it can provide energy for >50Km per day, I don't mind actually, not only to save my wallet, but our mother earth. I don't mind too. If I don't travel much, 50km is good enough for me, and that means I am going to pay nothing for fuel. If bulk of the car owner switch to solar panel car, some of these fuel companies might have to close shop, and not to mention much lesser revenue for government from petrol tax. No wonder LTA has to work on ERP 2.0, because no more petrol tax, also cannot earn from electricity charges. This is truly green energy source. Edited July 10, 2019 by SGMCF328 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjkbeluga 5th Gear July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 So bird poop will literally tank the car.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ct3833 Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 So bird poop will literally tank the car....Where got bird poop? Next time everyone will want to park their car under hot sun, all the trees will be chopped to eliminate shade. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesc Hypersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 I don't mind too. If I don't travel much, 50km is good enough for me, and that means I am going to pay nothing for fuel. If bulk of the car owner switch to solar panel car, some of these fuel companies might have to close shop, and not to mention much lesser revenue for government from petrol tax. No wonder LTA has to work on ERP 2.0, because no more petrol tax, also cannot earn from electricity charges. This is truly green energy source. ERP 2.0 peak hour surcharge to make up for no more petrol tax $5 for every km driven. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kb27 Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Accident will be real expensive to replace. What say the insurance companies ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartlander Turbocharged July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Currently this kind of solar panels are popular in USA with those RVs. But the purpose has been to charge accessories like laptop, mobile devices, etc, and not to power the car as definitely not feasible at current technology. Quite cheap as it cost only less than S$1k to include the complete kit to allow for off-grid living. But I think is illegal here as the mechanical parts will protrude from the car outline, not to mention voiding car warranty which everyone is afraid of haha. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volvobrick Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 That's the big difference between real Japanese engineers and Sillyporean one - here we put heavy soil and try to plant grass instead of solar panels! If I were to be Toyota, I would cover the front windscreen with panels too and view through a camera/monitor system like armoured vehicle. Maybe can go extra 20km. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inlinesix Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Currently this kind of solar panels are popular in USA with those RVs. But the purpose has been to charge accessories like laptop, mobile devices, etc, and not to power the car as definitely not feasible at current technology. Quite cheap as it cost only less than S$1k to include the complete kit to allow for off-grid living. But I think is illegal here as the mechanical parts will protrude from the car outline, not to mention voiding car warranty which everyone is afraid of haha. Battery (the 1 that power EV motor) of this Prius is charged via regen and solar. Goal Zero has solar panel that can maxi charge at 200w. To charge up a 20k mAh powerbank, it will take 45 - 90mins Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inlinesix Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 That's the big difference between real Japanese engineers and Sillyporean one - here we put heavy soil and try to plant grass instead of solar panels! If I were to be Toyota, I would cover the front windscreen with panels too and view through a camera/monitor system like armoured vehicle. Maybe can go extra 20km. I think there are some bus that are experimenting with solar panel now. Unfortunately, Kowloon bus already started with solar panel few years back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobayashiGT Internal Moderator July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 They should just learn from watchmakers like Citizen and Casio. They do know abit about solar power. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoElite 6th Gear July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 would be visually less distasteful if they were to make the white sheets black instead Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic July 10, 2019 Share July 10, 2019 Reminds me of the ancient china soldiers with their armanents...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karoon Turbocharged July 12, 2019 Share July 12, 2019 its kinda pointless... at most will generate 0.5kWh.... how far can that go? thats like 2MJ, energy in 1/16 litre of petrol... go a few hundred meters Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inlinesix Supersonic July 12, 2019 Share July 12, 2019 its kinda pointless... at most will generate 0.5kWh.... how far can that go? thats like 2MJ, energy in 1/16 litre of petrol... go a few hundred meters Your number correct or not? Toyota said can add 44.5km range le. ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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