– Why do electric cars not have solar panels on rooftop so they could be charged while driving/parked

Question

– Why do electric cars not have solar panels on rooftop so they could be charged while driving/parked

In: Engineering

Answer 1

There are, a few brands that sell cars with an option for a solar roof. In some markets, Hyundai’s new Ioniq 5 has a solar roof option, for example.

In practice, there’s limited area and solar panels are only so efficient. Solar roofs add cost and complexity, but don’t generate much power (compared to the energy demand for the car). Hyundai says that parked outside on a sunny day, the solar roof for the Ioniq 5 can produce enough power to add up to 6 km of range to the car (a bit less than 1 kWh).

Because it costs more, and it provides marginal benefit (even on a nice clear sunny day), it’s assumed that most people probably wouldn’t buy it. This is probably correct; the glass roof seems like a more popular option.