Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

In order to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization as soon as possible, powerful countries are studying photovoltaic, wind power, hydropower and other clean energy. New energy vehicles, which are at the forefront of the field of environmental protection, naturally also intend to develop in the direction of solar energy. Huawei, Tesla, Toyota and other industry giants are developing solar charging technology for cars.

However, judging from the current actions of car companies, many industry giants seem to have taken a wrong path.

Cars need solar charging, but don't get it wrong. At present, there are two main schemes for car solar charging. The first is to build photovoltaic devices on top of buildings at fixed locations, and then use energy storage devices to store electricity. In addition to being used for car charging, it can also be incorporated into the national grid and sell electricity to make money.

In addition to charging stations, this is also the case with the Powerwall launched by Tesla in 2015. Solar energy household energy storage devices can not only be used for car charging and daily life, but also take advantage of changes in peak and valley electricity prices to charge batteries at night while electricity prices are cheap and high during the day, and then sell electricity to make a difference. Xilai even launched a scheme to charge cars at night and sell electricity during the day.

(Tu Yuan: Tesla) although the cost of this scheme is high, it has good practical value, and it can really save energy and reduce emissions, but for new energy car owners, whether the solar charging device is deployed in the charging station or at home, the charging experience is no different from the traditional scheme. As a result, some car companies have designed another scheme, that is, cars come with a solar charging panel.

The original intention of car companies to install solar charging devices for cars is that, on the one hand, it can improve the battery life of cars, on the other hand, it can reduce the travel costs of users. As for the contribution to carbon neutralization, it can only be said that talking is better than nothing.

It seems that car solar charging is a good solution, and the bZ4X, a new energy vehicle launched by Japanese auto giant Toyota, supports optional solar charging devices. Some time ago, AITO, a new force in car building, also exposed that the new car M9, which will be launched at the end of this year, will support solar panels on the roof and provide a range of 20 kilometers per day.

(photo Source: Guangzhou Auto Toyota) however, if you really understand it in detail, you will find that the car equipped with solar charging device is simply outrageous design. As early as 2013, the Dutch car maker Lightyear launched its first solar car, Stella, and a prototype of the mass production model Lightyear 0 in 2019.

The car has about 5-inch solar panels at the top, which theoretically has a peak power of up to 1.05kW and can be recharged for 70 kilometers a day. The daily commute seemed to be enough, but the car sold for as much as $263000, which was unacceptable to consumers and ended up with only about 150 orders.

Two months after the delivery, the company suspended production of the Lightyear 0 and launched the iterative model Lightyear 2 in early 2023. As a result, only a month after the launch of the new car, the subsidiary of the new Dutch carmaking power, which is used to produce cars, declared bankruptcy.

It is normal for a new car-building power to go bankrupt, but Toyota bZ4X's solar charging device is called "IQ tax" by netizens, and even many netizens are not optimistic about the solar charging of the M9. Can it be said that solar cars are destined to be impossible?

Solar cars, don't be an IQ detector. Solar cars and charging are not mutually exclusive. Netizens are not optimistic about solar cars, mainly because they are not worth it.

Toyota bZ4X, for example, costs 20000 yuan to install a solar dome, and officials say it can travel 1750 kilometers a year, or less than 5 kilometers a day. Officials say the car consumes 100 kilometers of energy (11.6kWh), which means it can generate about 203kWh of electricity a year. Recently, the price of the charging station has increased, and the electricity at one point is about 1.50 yuan, which can save 304.5 yuan a year, and it will take about 66 years to get back the cost.

(photo Source: Guangzhou Auto Toyota) there is also a premise that vehicles should be parked in bright places as far as possible and should not be blocked by indoor and underground parking lots.

Although the compulsory scrapping period of vehicles has been cancelled in China, it has been changed to 600000 kilometers, but even if you drive only 10,000 kilometers a year, you will not be able to get back the cost.

Some people may say that solar-powered cars are useless now, and the technology continues to upgrade iteratively, and it may be able to become mainstream in the future. Xiaotong just wants to say that it is better to expect solar-powered cars than hydrogen-powered and nuclear-powered cars.

(image source: pixabay) We use data to say that the solar constant refers to the density of energy that radiates vertically to the earth's surface at an average distance from the earth, in terms of power, is about 1.3608 ±0.0005 kW / m ², calculated according to Lightyear 0 laying 5 kilowatt solar panels, assuming that there is no loss at all, and that it can generate about 6.8kWh of electricity an hour, enough to travel about 50 km. Isn't it beautiful? But the premise is that there is no wear and tear, and the car should always follow the sun, after all, the sun will not always shine directly to the same place.

At present, the conversion efficiency of most common solar panels on the market is between 15% and 25%. Although the conversion efficiency of a small number of high-end products can reach about 30%, it is still too difficult to prop up solar cars.

Up to now, the solar charging device of the M9 can only provide a car with a range of 20 kilometers a day, which is much better than that of the Toyota bZ4X, but the cost of installing a solar charger is so high that people who are willing to buy it are probably really committed to environmental protection, and it is almost impossible to pay back.

Car companies, stop messing with the sun.

Looking at the cars of the future in sci-fi movies, Xiaotong is full of longing, no need to recharge, can gallop freely, and even be able to fly in the city. In different sci-fi works, sci-fi works also give different solutions about the power sources of cars in the future, such as nuclear power, solar energy, and microwave ultra-long-distance charging in "three-body".

At first glance, solar energy seems to be the easiest to achieve. After all, photovoltaic power generation has a long history and is now widely used. Even in the rural hometown of Xiaotong, Skyworth has received advertisements for roof solar devices.

(photo Source: pixabay) as for nuclear power batteries, they should be called isotope batteries, which are widely used in the aerospace field at present, but on the one hand, they are expensive, and on the other hand, the power is too low to carry cars. Ultra-long-distance power supply also has problems, you know, the current space charging can only achieve more than ten watts, many people are already worried about the radiation problem.

Although it is only electromagnetic radiation, but if applied to cars with power up to hundreds of watts, the amount of radiation will reach a very frightening value. However, even the solar car, which seems to be the easiest to achieve, is still so far away that eternal energy may be an unreachable dream.

Perhaps in the future, mankind will develop all kinds of new energy sources to get rid of the trouble of electricity and fossil fuels, and make small aircraft with more useful value a reality, but that day may not come until a long time later. Do we still have a chance to see it?

Cover image source: pixabay

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: ID:dianchetong233, author: lost Soul.

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