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      04-27-2013, 04:58 PM   #1
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BMW and Solarwatt partner to bring solar powered charging for BMW i

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BMW and Solarwatt partner to bring solar powered charging for BMWi
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German based Solarwatt and BMW have partnered to provide a solar-panel system to be placed on home/garage roofs as part of a broader support system for the upcoming BMW i3 and i8 vehicles. The systems will be branded as 360° ELECTRIC which aim to be both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional, bringing efficient solar powered charging to your car.

Potential customers will be able to purchase the Solarwatt system at the same time as they purchase their BMWi or at a later time. The goal here is of course to create a truly sustainable backbone for owning a BMWi.




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      04-27-2013, 05:08 PM   #2
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I hate all this solar stuff, but still a good job.
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      04-27-2013, 05:09 PM   #3
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      04-27-2013, 05:16 PM   #4
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I'm I ntrigued by this but hope to be ///M esmerized when thy finally throw a V8 or 10 in it
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      04-27-2013, 05:36 PM   #5
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Solar power on a car would be interesting stuff. Hopefully it will work in practice.
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      04-27-2013, 05:53 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by touringfanatic View Post
Solar power on a car would be interesting stuff. Hopefully it will work in practice.
Solar power ON a car isn't all that practical except to maybe keep the battery charged up while parked and off. Now, there have been a bunch of long-distance solar car races, but those have the entire body covered with solar cells, bicycle wheels (typically), and weird shapes (and no internal combustion engine). This project is to provide a solar powered charging station for the vehicle. The only place on a vehicle I could see solar cells being installed is maybe on the sunroof (and some vehicles already do that). With the area involved, that might provide in the order of 50W at full sunlight...enough to maybe power the ventilation fan and radio, not move it.
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      04-27-2013, 06:27 PM   #7
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Awesome! I like this a lot. We really need a more efficient solar panel or I don't think solar panel will ever be practical enough for the mass. I'm really interested in what they are going to offer.
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      04-27-2013, 07:16 PM   #8
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This is really for rich people to be/pretend to be more green. The electric bill to charge the car is already so low.... But you want to spend a significant amount of money to remove that insignificant cost?

Now if you can power your entire house that's a different story...kinda
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      04-27-2013, 07:28 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamspeed
This is really for rich people to be/pretend to be more green. The electric bill to charge the car is already so low.... But you want to spend a significant amount of money to remove that insignificant cost?

Now if you can power your entire house that's a different story...kinda
If you can afford it, occasionally people do something to benefit society and the planet, rather than just their pocket books.
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      04-27-2013, 07:43 PM   #10
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Exactly.

I think it is super cool, what a great partnership.



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Originally Posted by gvega702 View Post
If you can afford it, occasionally people do something to benefit society and the planet, rather than just their pocket books.
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      04-27-2013, 08:16 PM   #11
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Best idea for charging your electric car by far.
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      04-27-2013, 08:26 PM   #12
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      04-27-2013, 08:50 PM   #13
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Good idea. Any figures as to expected power output? How long of a timeframe for a full charge?

I understand it is not cost beneficial, but I do like the idea.
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      04-27-2013, 09:08 PM   #14
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Makes for a cool picture
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      04-27-2013, 09:12 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gvega702 View Post
If you can afford it, occasionally people do something to benefit society and the planet, rather than just their pocket books.
Oh God; exactly how does it benefit the "Planet"? I live on the "planet" too, I could give a rat's ass if someone drives an electric car recharged by the sun. I'd rather see people spend their money now on keeping people on the "planet" from starving to death today.
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      04-27-2013, 09:30 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vinny84 View Post
Best idea for charging your electric car by far.
Do the math. The square footage of a typical garage roof isn't going to charge jack squat. Like someone said, not much more than keeping the battery topped off. Plus it's going to be 10 times the cost of retail electricity. And unless you work nightshift, it's not going to do most people much good. Pairing this up with the sale of a car is nothing but marketing. If it's a good idea, then do it anyway, even if you don't have an electric car. Economically, it's not a good idea. Which would explain why solar companies are going bankrupt left and right, even with a shitload of government subsidies. Most people who think this kind of stuff is "cool" don't do the math. A coworker has struggled the last few months with a Nissan Leaf. With 120 volt charger in his garage and a 25 mile commute to a 12 hour shift, it was not enough time to completely charge. He could do 2 days in a row, but by the third day, it wasn't charged enough to make the round trip. Better now that he had a 240 volt charger installed, but he's still driving in the cold with no heater, bundled up like he's going skiing, and this summer he'll be sweating his ass off 'cause he won't be using the AC. This stuff just isn't ready for mass consumption yet.
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      04-27-2013, 09:54 PM   #17
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      04-27-2013, 11:49 PM   #18
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We are getting ahead on ourselves. Solar panel on the car as others have mentioned will not provide enough power to nudge the car better yet move it. It might provide the extra juice you need to make an emergency phone call if you are stuck in the desert and a dead cell phone battery.

This is not practical to go very far.
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      04-28-2013, 12:33 AM   #19
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This would only work in a small percentage of places that receive enough sun throughout the day/year to power a large bank of batteries that would then, in turn charge the car at night when you're in bed. Photo-voltaic tech is still so expensive, I don't want to even guess at what a solar panel covered car port w/battery bank costs..... (Ok I'll guess... As much as the car you are parking in it.)

I think it's great they're testing the tech as it's the only way to improve it enough to make it practical and affordable.

However, it's still not going to be practical for the parts of the world that have more seasons than just summer, which makes it impractical for car manufacturers to really invest too heavily (very small market share if you look at geography limitations + people that can afford new vehicles (never-mind a BMW) + cost of maintenance/replacement on battery banks, solar panels, and car batteries).
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      04-28-2013, 02:22 AM   #20
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Good Lord there's been huge advancement to Solar Panel Technology that is now affordable and a clear winner in the long run when it comes to sustainable living.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Oh God; exactly how does it benefit the "Planet"? I live on the "planet" too, I could give a rat's ass if someone drives an electric car recharged by the sun. I'd rather see people spend their money now on keeping people on the "planet" from starving to death today.
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      04-28-2013, 02:38 AM   #21
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I see mostly the people who are negative about this doesn't have much info about it.
Maybe it's an idea to learn more about it before judging it?
I think the idea is great, how it performs is cruical though.
And about those panels, it's not beeing charged just by sun, but by lights...
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      04-28-2013, 05:26 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gvega702 View Post
If you can afford it, occasionally people do something to benefit society and the planet, rather than just their pocket books.
I love my electric car. I would say I am driving it twice as much as my 2011 BMW. Smooth, instant torque, no gear changes, and absolutely silent. Not to mention I have achieved up to 130mpge. Yes, the costs don't always pen out, but the concept of driving on sunlight is awesome in my opinion. I am in the planning process right now of putting up a $24,000-$30,000 solar system within the next few months. I was absolutely surprised how many Nissan Leaf customers are the same ones buying the $100,000 Tesla and $60K solar systems.

Here is an example of a modern solar installation:

https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/...tems/2Kkg31401

You can see real time production per panel. If you push the play button when looking to today's production, you can see how each panel reacts throughout the day.

An average 250 watt 3.2 ft x 5.5 ft solar panel will put out 1.2-1.3kWh daily in Southern California. My 12 miles of daily driving to/from work would be covered by just 4 panels. Pretty remarkable stuff. Soon as battery technology gets better, the electric car will become more mainstream. The LEAF battery is reported to cost $12000-$18000 to replace, and deteriorates every year. But, as it is, a Tesla S Performance sedan can fit 4 adults, and 2 kids. Has a front hood area with huge storage capacity. cg of only 17" above the ground (same as a Z06). Can run 0-60 in 4.1 second, and low 12 second qtr mile times. Won the Motor Trend Car of the year award, and absolutely stunned Road and Track. R&R stated that without the 640hp Viper (On the front cover of the 4/13 edition) clutching and revving its engine, it would lose in a 5mph-60mph race with the Tesla. And the Tesla does it with an engine the size of a small office trash can nestled between the 2 rear wheels. And it can get 88mpge, or much better efficiency than a Prius. Two of these small motors would be putting out 800+hp and around 900lbs of torque! When battery tech evolves, then we will start seeing some amazing performance numbers. Just look at the top $1M Mclaren P1 and Ferrari coming out. Both have electric motors to boost their performance. The future is going to be fascinating for electric drive technologies.

Even my LEAF has 80,000 watt motor which is quite amazing. 200lbs torque at 0rpm. A Tesla has a 320,000 watt motor (400+lbs tq at 0 rpm). Kind of amazing if you put it in 12volt terms, that would be 6666amps for the LEAF and 26,666 amps for the Tesla. The fast charger on these cars be can deliver over 50000 watts. My LEAF is loaded with heated steering wheel, heated front/rear seats, awesome back up camera, comfort access, sirius radio, home link, streaming bluetooth audio, smart phone apps, LED headlights. Very techie stuff.

I'm enjoying driving my electric car so much, my next BMW will most likely be the i3.

FYI: Here is a video I took while doing a 0-75mph run in the $100K Tesla S. With 3 adults in the car.

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Last edited by hotrod182; 05-05-2013 at 12:19 AM..
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