WEBVTT - Can Solar Panels Power Cars? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.440 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:10.200 brain Stuff, Lauren vocal bomb. Here. There may be no 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.520 such thing as a free lunch, but what about a 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:15.240 free ride. I think of how awesome it would be 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:18.000 if your car could keep running without you spending a 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:21.439 dime on fuel. If you drove a solar powered car, 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:25.759 that dream could be a lot closer to reality. Much 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.360 like solar powered homes, solar cars harness energy from the sun, 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:34.160 then converted into electricity. That electricity then fuels the car's 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:36.800 power train, which is similar to the combination of an 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:40.120 electric motor and battery based energy storage that drives modern 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:45.400 hybrid cars. Solar cars can accomplish this through photovoltaic cells. 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:48.720 These are the components in solar paneling that convert the 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:53.280 sun's energy to electricity. They're made up of semiconductors usually 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.880 made of silicon, that absorbed light. The sunlight's energy then 0:00:57.000 --> 0:01:00.880 freeze electrons in the semiconductors, creating a flow of electrons. 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.800 That flow generates the electricity that powers the battery or 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:09.639 the specialized motor in solar cars. The earliest solar cars 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.600 were d I y jobs of the nineteen seventies, mostly 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:17.440 designed and dissembled in car enthusiasts garages. Several organizations also 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.039 experimented with race cars designed to take advantage of solar power. 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:26.839 The World Solar Challenge began in nineteen three and races 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:31.560 about three thousand kilometers or miles across Australia every two years. 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:35.680 The American Solar Challenge started in nineteen nine and follows 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:38.640 a route across North America that changes almost every year. 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:44.280 These helped engineers understand the potential and the limitations of 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:49.560 collecting and storing solar energy, maximizing aerodynamics, and identifying other 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.440 challenges to running a car powered off of the sun. 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:58.520 As for major auto manufacturers contributions to the field, Ford 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:02.840 and Mazda notably both introduced solar hybrid concept cars in 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.120 the mid two thousands, and Catillac designed a concept car 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.359 that used solar panels to help power accessories like interior 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.200 lighting and audio, which typically draw off of a car's 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:16.320 electrical system and thus in turn contribute to fuel consumption. 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.200 And none of these concept cars made it to production, 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:25.000 which means they were never available to consumers, and after that, 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:28.320 investment in solar car technology more or less when dark, 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:33.040 at least as a mainstream pursuit. But in the meanwhile, 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:37.200 many automakers have shifted development resources toward making hybrid and 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.919 plug in hybrid cars more practical, efficient, and affordable than ever. 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.880 So is it time to give solar cars another shot? 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:49.400 The new generation solar cars that are on the horizon 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.720 are more like hybrids that add solar power to the mix. 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.800 It's now less about making these solar panels themselves better 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:00.000 and more about the fact that hybrid and electric cars 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:04.720 and their infrastructure is better. In other words, it's easier 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.760 and more affordable than ever for consumers to go buy 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.359 an electric or hybrid car, and these cars are more efficient, 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.799 easier to charge, and have fewer compromises overall than e 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:18.760 vs and hybrids of just a few years ago. That 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.480 means there are more people who could potentially take advantage 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:24.120 of solar power to run a car, and that solar 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.880 power will literally go farther than it would have in 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:32.560 the past. And that said, solar panel technology has improved too. 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:36.200 It's more affordable and easier for most consumers to incorporate 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:40.000 into a home update. But solar powered cars still have 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.280 a long way to go. It's unlikely that we'll see 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:45.520 a car that can be fully powered by a solar 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.520 panel that's been integrated into the roof, because a panel 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.120 that size is just too small to produce the power 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.920 needed for a car. Energy Stage, a company that helps 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.320 consumers research and shot for solar technology, estimates that a 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.280 car completely covered in solar panels, not just the roof, 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.200 could only power an electric car for a maximum of 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.120 twenty five miles or forts a day, and that's assuming 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:12.600 weather and other conditions are absolutely perfect. Yet, Energy Stage 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:14.760 argues that a solar panel that gives a car a 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:16.880 boost of just a few miles a day would still 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:21.720 be worth the investment, and several automakers are investing in 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.760 the technology. High tech company light Year released two light 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.080 Year research vehicles to test its integrated solar technology on 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.799 the road in June. Of The company says it's preparing 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.839 to begin production on an exclusive series of cars equipped 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.479 with its solar technology by the end of one for 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:43.120 delivery in two Toyota is testing a version of the 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:47.279 Prius with an integrated solar roof in Japan. This demo version, 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.920 which is not for sale, can charge the car while 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:53.280 it's being driven. It's earlier version could only charge while parked. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:59.239 Sonata Hybrid, however, is available to American consumers and comes 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.120 with a solar roof panel that recharges the car's batteries. 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.599 The roof panel generates enough electric power to increase the 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.600 car's driving range by about two miles or three kilometers 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:13.719 a day, and the Testlas cyber truck, which was unveiled 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.320 in November of twenty nineteen but isn't expected to be 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:20.440 released until two has an option for solar panels, even 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:23.840 though CEO Elon Musk has previously said that solar panels 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:28.599 on cars are too inefficient, and that brings us to 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.080 the question of whether or not the extra cost of 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:35.160 adding solar panels to a car is worth it. For example, 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.680 cars in sunnier locations and cars that are parked outside 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.719 rather than in a garage will generate more solar power 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.039 and offer more of a financial benefit to owners, but 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.760 it still remains to be seen whether the financial costs 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:53.240 to automakers will be beneficial enough to produce them. Meanwhile, 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.400 there are d I Y solar panel kits available that 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.000 are designed to contribute to powering the battery of an 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:03.200 electric or plug in hybrid car via the homes charging system. 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:06.359 Similar aftermarket kits are offered and marketed as ways to 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.720 help power r vs or trailers. They can also be 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.800 used to collect and store energy for camping accessories such 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:15.560 as tents or cooking setups like those designed to mount 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:22.880 in the bed of a pickup truck. Today's episode is 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.640 based on the article Solar panels are Slowly making their 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.119 Way on Cars on house toff works dot com, written 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:31.160 by Kristen Conger and Sres three Wi. Brain Stuff is 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:33.240 production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.680 works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.680 more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.480 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.