Excellent coverage of EVs with onboard solar by CNET.

There is a lot of cynicism regarding solar-powered cars, even here at CleanTechnica. The obvious issue is that solar electricity just can’t provide enough power per square foot of surface area to adequately power a car’s top. There are many factors working against it, as explained by a well-known automotive engineer on YouTube. Therefore, it is much more difficult for conventional media to convince readers to understand today’s growing solar car business. Let’s talk about why they’re such a struggle before we move on to what CNET did with solar cars so you can see how much better they did.

THE REASONS WHY SOLAR CARS ARE A DIFFICULT PROBLEM Unless you desire a very impractical vehicle that can only travel at 15 MPH in good sunlight, it is obvious that you cannot power the electric motor straight from the solar cells as you would if you were operating an experimental car or competing in a college engineering team race. Therefore, you must construct a typical electric vehicle (EV) that draws its electricity from a battery and then uses its cells to recharge the battery. You can only get a few kilowatt-hours of charge from that per day, though.

The final word? In traditional cars with normal designs and construction methods, solar energy isn’t very useful. It might only power auxiliary systems, or it might increase the range by a few miles per day. However, it is a good idea to design automobiles that can run on solar power by adding solar cells or increasing efficiency.

Building a folding solar array is one option to increase the number of cells, but this method is uncommon because it is not always possible to deploy a folding solar array in parking lots without obstructing other vehicles, trees, or fences. Therefore, that strategy isn’t particularly commercially viable right now. It also has the unfortunate circumstance of essentially performing the same function as a solar roof or shade, therefore it is preferable to charge from fixed solar installations to obtain some genuine power rather than attempting to cram that onto the automobile.

The other strategy is to emphasize effectiveness. The three competitors for solar panels mounted on moving vehicles, Lightyear, Aptera, and Sono, all use this strategy.

HOW ARTICLE ON CNET APPROACHES THIS They begin in the subhead with a fairly accurate explanation of the aforementioned issue: However, depending on how you use them, they could only plug in sometimes.

I must admit that I was really impressed with that summary. They didn’t go into as much detail as I did above; instead, they concentrated on how the car will function for the driver, which is a lot better strategy than beginning with how the sun’s energy travels to the wheels. The simplest way to inform people of what they truly need to know is to say, “Hey, it’s an EV, but you don’t have to plug it in as much.”

The Lightyear 0, the Sono Sion, and the two-seat Aptera are three new vehicles that are discussed after that. Once more, they emphasize the useful details regarding the autos that prospective purchasers should be aware of.

The Lightyear is obviously pricey, so they address that first (probably so readers can scroll on). They then review the key figures, informing readers that Lightyear claims the vehicle’s 54 square feet of solar panels can provide up to 45 miles of daily driving range in addition to its approximately 390 miles of total battery capacity (according to the European WLTP test cycle, which is more optimistic than US ratings). A DC rapid charger can provide 320 miles in around one hour when connected.

In regards to the Sion, they inform readers that it has a maximum range of 190 miles and a solar range of 70 to 150 miles per week. This is another illustration of the somewhat arbitrary dual-range estimates provided by solar car businesses because of the two different ways their vehicles obtain electric power.

In their opening statement for the Aptera, they say that while the odd design is all about efficiency, it pays off in terms of solar range per day. They describe that, The car needs a smaller, lighter battery pack that will increase the vehicle’s lightweight and enable the vehicle to attain a significant state of charge from the sun. An interactive mapping tool is used by Aptera to show you how much solar driving you may expect. An Aptera can also be customized with battery options that range from 250 to an almost unbelievable 1,000 kilometers.

Additionally, they provided some extremely understandable commentary to aid readers in understanding (assuming they got really interested and read that far). They discuss both the advantages and disadvantages that might prevent solar cars from becoming a mainstream product.

Discussion of the readiness element of solar cars was one item that especially interested me. They say solar cars are an intriguing choice for those of us who practice preparedness because we know that nearly nothing will work when the grid goes down because almost everything is going electric (and it will). For those of us who are concerned about such things, it’s comforting to know that even though you’re only partially off the grid, you still have a car that can make short trips.

AT THE END Although I’ve seen a lot of OK coverage as well as some truly appalling coverage of the developing solar EV business, I’d rate this article to be among the best and performs a better job than I normally do.

They can’t be as technical because they are playing in front of a different audience, obviously, but they demonstrate that even moderately complex ideas can be presented in a way that is still understandable for people who just want to get in and drive with the least amount of fuss and technical understanding/learning curves. This is something we should probably do, at least for the opening sentences, before going into greater detail for the audience who is more technically minded.

In addition to accessibility, they demonstrate how complexity (charging from the grid and onboard solar) offers a lot of room for misinterpretation. Those of us who witnessed the tremendous misunderstandings the Chevy Volt initially encountered are all too aware of how easily people may become confused by even a small amount of complexity.

Aptera donated the featured image.

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