Solar panels are not very efficient. The theoretical limit for solar panel efficiency is just 33% for crystalline silicon cells, which means only 33% of the power from the sun that hits the solar panels will actually be converted into usable power. So why would anyone want these inefficient cells to power a car? Well, a new startup called lightyear might have the answer. On June 25 of this year, the Lightyear One was unveiled, the company’s first vehicle. But unlike other EVs there is more than one way to charge it. You can go the traditional route and just plug in on the back, or you can use the built in solar panels on the roof and hood of the car to charge.
Before we get into the specs and other stuff, let's talk about charging. Lightyear claims this car can get around 7.5miles/hour (12km/hr) of charge while sitting in the sun. Which sounds pretty bad when you compare it to traditional charging methods. But think about how much time your car spends just sitting in the sun. I know for me, it's a lot. On a typical workday, I commute about 15 miles (24km) one way to my office, my car is parked outside for 10 plus hours, which equates to about 75 miles (120km) of additional range, then I have a 15 mile (24km) commute home. So just during a typical work day, I would gain 45 miles (72.4km) of range. Just in a day. I only work 4 days a week, so in a typical work week I would net 180 miles (290km) of range!
This is just a crazy thing to think about. If you’ve got a relatively short commute, you would almost NEVER have to charge. Just switching to an EV you never have to go to a gas station again, but imagine never having to find a charger again! If you run out of charge, just pull over and wait until your battery charges up again, no need to get towed to the next charger.
But obviously this isn’t foolproof, there are times when the sun isn’t shining, or your car might be covered in snow, but lightyear has designed this car to provide about 40% of the mileage needed for people in the netherlands, who drive an average of 12,400 miles (20,000km) per year. So this car will provide around 5000 miles (8,000km) per year.
So how does lightyear achieve all of this? Well their key to everything is the efficiency of the car. Because solar itself is not very efficient, the car has to make it up elsewhere. This is done first with how aerodynamic the car is, with a very long, sloping design that cuts down drag. Unfortunately because of the design and the solar panel on the roof, it eliminates the rear window, but they will most likely just add a backup camera.
In addition to the design, the car will also charge via the solar panels while driving. This won’t be enough to drive forever unless you are driving really slowly, but it will extend the range a bit.
The car has a rated range of 450 miles (725km) according to the WLTP, but lightyear claims it will be able to handle up to almost 500 miles (800km) more ideal conditions.
As for acceleration, it pretty lackluster at just 10 seconds 0-60mph (100kmh), but it's very clear that this car is meant to travel over long distances, not be a high performance supercar.
Unfortunately it does come with a supercar price tag. Just to reserve the car it will cost 119,000 euros, or about $135,500 USD.
So given the high initial price and overall startup nature of this company, this car is more just a proof of concept than anything else. Lightyear is out to prove that a solar powered car is possible, and they will probably use any money they make from this vehicle to help create a cheaper, more mass market car.
According to lightyear, they will start delivering these vehicles in 2021, but for now we are stuck with just plugging EVs in to power them.
__
#solar #ev #lightyearone
Want to invest in companies like Tesla? Join Robinhood and we’ll both get a stock like Apple, Ford, or Facebook for free. Sign up with my link here:
Lightyear One website:
Music from Punch Deck:
---SOCIAL MEDIA---
Twitter:
Instagram:
Snapchat:
0 Comments