Audi Pushes Forward With Solar Cell Sunroofs

one day... i will be able to zoom to the moon

Actual implementations of solar roof technology in cars has already been done. It has shown us that:
- It's an expensive option that never recovers its cost
- It generates nowhere close to enough energy to recharge a EV's propulsion system
- It generates just enough energy to power a tiny fan, which might be useful to keep air flowing in a parked car during super sunny days, and cool the greenhouse effect from a blistering 160'F to a mere scorching 140'F.

At this time, it's an expensive, dumb idea, without a meaningful and cost-effective application. But for folks who like buzzwords and tech and "I got solar panels on my car" bragging rights... go for it.

Well, it can generate a bit more power than that today (over 100W) and the cost of the solar cells has gone down significantly. I don't think "bang for the buck" is a main criterion when choosing an Audi product, performance and innovation on the other hand are. The new Prius Prime sports a photovoltaic roof option that is double in area (whole roof) from the prev. gen. Prius (rear half, front was a pano roof). So does the Karma.

vdiv: While a photocell car roof can deliver "over 100W" (watts per hour) of electrical charge, please note that a typical EV car's battery pack capacity is measured in units called kilowatt-hours. 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery has the ability to deliver 1,000 watts (=1 kilowatt) continuously for 60 minutes (=1 hour). As an example, the base Tesla S has a 75 kWh battery pack. That means these batteries can deliver 75,000 watts per hour of electrical "power" to drive the car. Relate that to the 0.1 kWh (100 watts) you cite as a meaningful number.

When you do the math, having a photocell roof in very sunny weather all day long will give your EV about a 5% advantage for about the first hour of operation. Try to amortize the multi-thousand dollar cost of a photocell roof option across this pittance of an advantage, and (hopefully) you'll begin to understand what I'm talking about.

Mind you, if having a photocell car roof is a big deal for you (just because you like it), and you're not concerned about the meagre benefit it delivers or the cost of this pricey option, or relating the two (cost/benefit analysis), then by all means, get what you want! I can't fault you for liking what you like.

Audi had solar panels in the A8 sunroof shade already to keep the car cool. But with your line of thinking we would not have any type of innovation in the world. Things must be put out there and improved to get where we are in the day. I hope you're not as negative in your everyday life.

bw5011 wrote "...with your line of thinking we would not have any type of innovation in the world..." -- No, that's just your limited thinking, externalizing your own beliefs and assumptions, and attributing them to others.

Would it be accurate for me to say to you, "With YOUR line of thinking, you'd think it's a good idea to pay $3000 for a solar panel car roof rather than $40 for a window shade to get the same benefit"? I don't think that's the case, but it demonstrates that same sort of erroneous strawman argument.

No, TheSteve, I don't understand what you are talking about. Having a limited utility or a high price is not a reason to exclude features from high-performance cars where every percent matters, they are full of those.

vdiv wrote “…I don't understand what you are talking about. Having a limited utility or a high price is not a reason to exclude features…”

I agree! And please note that I did NOT suggest that they should! I was making the following points:

1) Photovoltaic cells on a car’s roof do not generate nearly enough electrical current to power an air-conditioner, or to make a meaningful contribution to a car’s propulsion system.

2) Photovoltaic cells on a car’s roof *can* generate sufficient current to power a small fan that could, in a scorching sunny condition, reduce a car’s interior temperature from “a blistering 160'F to a mere scorching 140'F.”

Those were my points!

*I* would likely not tick the multi-thousand dollar option box to accomplish the same thing a $40 sunshade could do, but that’s just me. I acknowledge that some folks would rather have the high-tech (and high priced) solution, the neat-o factor, or whatever turns their crank. I don’t see anything wrong with that. In fact, I said so when I wrote “…I can't fault you for liking what you like.”

I’m okay with you liking what you like! I’m expressing that I would not make the same decision with respect to an expensive, low-value option. I also challenged some non-factual statements (e.g., that roof photocells can power car A/C or recharge an EV’s drive batteries). THAT’s what I’m talking about.

This technology isn't remotely new.

"The solar-embedded panoramic roofs are expected to be transparent, and will generate enough energy to power a vehicle’s air conditioning system, heated seats, onboard electronic devices, and other accessories. Audi believes that the solar roof could one day be used to charge electric vehicles.
“That would be a milestone along the way to achieving sustainable, emission-free mobility,”"
Audi isn't using pv, at this time, to charge the EV. Although, in their opinion, it should be possible to do so in the future. So why argue about the merits of using PV as a charger?
The point of this article is that Audi is integrating a solar roof that will run a number of things reducing the drain from the EV batteries.
PV's have dramatically decreased in price and increased in performance over the past 30 years. And the technology going forward will make them better and better.

re "...[the car's solar panel roof] will generate enough energy to power a vehicle’s air conditioning system, heated seats, onboard electronic devices, and other accessories..."

Nope. Talk to people who have a camper-trailer with a solar panel array option, and they'll tell you from experience that their solar panels generate enough electricity to perhaps run a small fan, or to recharge the batteries so you can run your interior LED lights (very low power consumption) at night. Solar cells on a car roof are nowhere close to providing the electrical current required to operate high-current-drawing items, like an air conditioning compressor. Not even close.

That's the reality we are in today, for the time being. Maybe, some day in the future after someone devises a breakthrough in a new, orders-of-magnitude more efficient photovoltaic cell technology, these dreams might be possible. Until then, they are only dreams, and not reality.