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Why do electric cars not have solar panels?
I live in California, where we have high emission standards for vehicles, and a lot of the homes here also have solar panels. Why do electric cars not have solar panels on the top of the vehicle? Are they too large?
Jason Crosby · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great point! However, the answer isn’t so simple. The primary reason that
electric cars
do not have solar panels is because these panels wouldn’t actually produce enough energy to power the vehicle while it’s being driven. If solar panels were on top of a car, they’d only be producing 15-20% of the energy needed to power the car. In other words, they just don’t convert enough energy fast enough to power a moving EV.
Most professionals estimate that solar panel-powered cars would only produce enough juice to get the car 3 miles down the road. If you have a short road trip or commute in mind, then give it a shot. But otherwise, it’s not an efficient fuel source.
Solar panels would also cost automakers a lot to put on top of a vehicle—and if you’ve ever tried to purchase them for your home, you’d know that they aren’t cheap. This would tack on an additional $6,000 in costs for EV manufacturers
The last reason has to do with the size of a car compared to the size of a home. A car with a hardtop (the only way that panels could be attached) doesn’t have the surface area that’s needed for panels that would be large enough to power the EV.
EVs won’t be powered by solar panels in the future, but your future savings could start today by discovering the easiest way to save money on your car insurance:
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MORE: More Companies Are Designing Solar-Powered Electric Vehicles
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