Fans of solar power and electric cars have been dreaming of the day when EVs will be able to harness the power of the sun while driving down the highway.
As it turns out, that day is already here and advancing quickly.
The Toyota Prius Prime is available with a solar roof outside of the U.S. and Karma has had one since originally launching as a Fisker. And, way back in 2014, Ford showed off a solar roof concept for its C-Max Energi, although it never went into production.
Hyundai’s new IONIQ 5 EV is also offered with a solar roof option in some markets – although not in the U.S. There are more examples, but you get the idea.
So far, solar roofs have generated too little power to significantly increase a car’s range. For example, Hyundai estimates its solar roof can add about three miles of range a day, according to Tech Radar.
Now, an Austin, TX-based startup called EV Solar Kits attempting to ride to the rescue by going after the biggest chunk of the potential solar roof EV-pie. It’s designing a solar-powered, clip-on roof for Tesla’s Model 3 and Y.
EV Solar Kit’s design packs a 400-watt roof panel with a 200-watt sun-shade additional attachment.
In perfect conditions the company claims it can deliver up to 25 miles worth of charge to a Tesla battery in a day.
EV Solar Kits co-founder Steele Wasik said his company is also offering an additional fold-out kit of solar panels that when parked can increase that solar charge number to as many as 60 miles a day – again in perfect conditions.
What makes EV Solar Kits’ roof attachment special is that it can charge the Telsa’s main battery pack while the car is in motion.
During a video interview with EV Rider, Wasik explained how it works: “So our kits are able to install via the interior of the charge port we install – basically without getting too technical – a Y splitter and that way our panel goes right to the inverter and into the into the vehicle.”
The kits come with an inverter and battery that is just big enough to host the current as it moves from the solar panels to the Tesla’s main battery.
The full-blown Overland kit includes 2,200 watts of solar along with a six kilowatt inverter and a one kilowatt battery. The Overland kit weighs in at 25 pounds and costs $3,699 to pre-order at the time of this story’s posting. The additional solar panels are folded out from the trunk when the car is parked.
“We’re still figuring out and playing with different integrations because at the end of the day anybody can make a solar panel. Anybody can buy an inverter. But really, the integration within the vehicles is the innovation for our company. And so dealing with overcharging – certain limits like that – we want to make sure that the product is absolutely safe and is within warranty spec for all vehicles that we release a kit for,” said Wasik.
EV Solar Kits is starting with Tesla, since it’s the highest volume EV manufacturer in the U.S.
The company hopes to develop solar roof kits for some other EV models down the road. The Tesla kits will be fairly plug-n-play for those that are handy with a screwdriver.
“We are aiming for 100% customer installable and we believe that we can get there, because we’re able to do it, and if I can call my mom up and walk her through it on the phone, then I feel comfortable that pretty much everybody can do it. However, we are going to have authorized dealers do installs as well because at the end of the day it’s very little trouble for us to set that up and we want everybody to be comfortable and be able to have these kits,” said Wasik.
For those that don’t own Teslas, EV Solar Kits is offering a universal version of its Overland Kit that includes the foldout panels, inverter and battery.
Wasik wasn’t able to quote a specific sustained charging speed yet but said his company’s Tesla Overland kit will reach Level 2 charging speeds.
“For the Overland kit, it’s a much larger battery and inverter, and so it actually has like 220-volt capability, which is really interesting. So it can charge, you know, by the definition of, I guess that fast charge definition, which is like level 2, I believe which is, upward or right around, like 30 miles a charge per hour.”
Wasik also sees a big future in developing solar-charging kits for delivery vehicles in the next phase of his company’s development.
“So where we want yo go from there is really into delivery vehicles, so we have Rivian making 300,000 vans for Amazon. You have the (U.S. Postal Service) USPS switching over to all electric trucks. Every type of logistical vehicle is going electric and with that comes an interesting opportunity. Because these vehicles – if you look at a mail truck – a mail truck really drives 30 to 40 miles per day. It just stops so much, so these vehicles don’t have to have large batteries. So another plus for some kind of application for us, and so we look at, OK are they going to have this massive charging infrastructure at all their sites, which requires massive investment?”
Wasik continued, “Or, could we retrofit these vehicles with solar and they’re gonna be outside all day, moving slowly, not driving a lot of mileage. We can really cover, basically, their entire commutes, and so that’s something that we’re going to start to branch off towards in the future, is going for these kind of commercial markets, and that’s what we’re really excited about, whether it be a semi cargo van, or you know, an electric pickup truck.”
EV Solar Kits is taking preorders now for its EV automotive kits and hopes to start shipping them in late 2022.
Wasik said if for any reason his company can’t bring the kits to market, pre-order customers will be eligible for a full refund.
He didn’t elaborate on any specifics of his investment funding, so as with any startup that has yet to actually launch a product, ordering at this point does entail a leap of faith – just something to keep in mind if your interested in pre-ordering one of the kits.
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