Without the power grid to back them up, solar panels are only as reliable as the weather. A week of overcast skies will drain everything you have in your batteries. No output during the night either. There’s also the problem of theft, vandalism, natural wear, and the difficulty of finding replacement parts.
If you have solar energy and a way to store it, it should be used for more vital applications, like lights, cooking, and refrigeration.
I don’t know a lot about solar panels, but wouldn’t they output at least some power with clouds? Like you still get some sunlight through the clouds, wouldn’t the panels be able to use it?
Some, but the output drops significantly. Solar panels like direct sunlight. Even a thin cloud layer can reduce the output just by both blocking and diffusing sunlight.
(The graphs are just for illustration, I have no context for them)
A car-sized EV’s convenience is wasteful when energy is scarce and other options are available.
Seems like e-bike with foldable solar panels would be the best? Because even when there’s no sunlight, you just have a bit heavier bike, but when there is some, you’d go faster.
Clouds.
Without the power grid to back them up, solar panels are only as reliable as the weather. A week of overcast skies will drain everything you have in your batteries. No output during the night either. There’s also the problem of theft, vandalism, natural wear, and the difficulty of finding replacement parts.
If you have solar energy and a way to store it, it should be used for more vital applications, like lights, cooking, and refrigeration.
And how much gasoline are you refining in your backyard on those cloudy days?
I don’t understand, please show me which part of this bike needs gasoline to function.
I don’t know a lot about solar panels, but wouldn’t they output at least some power with clouds? Like you still get some sunlight through the clouds, wouldn’t the panels be able to use it?
Some, but the output drops significantly. Solar panels like direct sunlight. Even a thin cloud layer can reduce the output just by both blocking and diffusing sunlight.
(The graphs are just for illustration, I have no context for them)
A car-sized EV’s convenience is wasteful when energy is scarce and other options are available.
Seems like e-bike with foldable solar panels would be the best? Because even when there’s no sunlight, you just have a bit heavier bike, but when there is some, you’d go faster.