Could this be a nice marriage of complementing technologies? Wouldn’t this be sweet?😇
Do you think there could be enough solar light focused, concentrated and directed by a series of Solar tubes mounted in your garage roof above a parked Aptera’s to energize the vehicle’s array of solar cell to still get the Never Charge benefit?
SOLATUBE (s)
I am not sure more than one solar tube would be needed.
(I even understand “SOLATUBE” offers a tube that has an internal PV panel within the tube to power and shed light.... on the Aptera if you like)
Concentrated (magnified) ☀️rays could be focused onto the vehicle’s 180 (?) solar cells, which provides the Never Charge innovation and also power the internal heat venting for the vehicle.
Aptera has plenty on their plate but this might be worth exploring to take their Never Charge technology, at not cost to them, to the next level... 1) offer more possibilities to their customers, 2) addressing some potential buyers concern about leaving the car outside the garage, car port, etc... to reap the benefit all day. I guess a windowed garage with a garage door with windows, especially if it has a south/southwest unshaded exposure...it may add a very slight benefit too. I.e., If the sun angle will bring the sun rays to the array of solar cells.
I have to design a new garage anyhow, so if an Aptera could live there one day, this could serve a dual purpose ( free illumination in the car shelter with “some solar production)
All the best Aptera!
Only to be punny, "What a bright idea!!"
😂 the world needs more pun / fun and from the ☀️ sun
Your garage / car port would need to be made out of glass, in order for the Never Charge cells to work.
Hi Neil,
Not that this means much but.. the Solatube presently allows the sun light to its internal PV panel which is energized and used for down night lighting. Bottom line...
It just so happens that Solatube is down the road from Aptera so...”to be explored”!🤞
But if it works I wouldn’t have to exposed the entire Aptera to the intense southwest sun all day, as the sun here degrades, plastics, rubber and much more. Hoping focused sunlight to just the entire top of solar cells of the vehicle would have net charging benefit.
There should be some net solar gain = some free charging
Presently my solar pump’s PV panel , which are located inside my translucent fiberglass greenhouse , (with UV inhibitor) has successfully allowed charging and operation of my gray-water irrigation pump for years, but again that is not the sophistication of the Aptera’ s 180 (?) solar cells.
I have seen a SolaTube on a bathroom remodeling project I worked on many years ago. It is a bright light - equivalent to a 1000watt light bulb, if my memory serves me. But it is just the 12" diameter dome on the top, and it diffuses the light with a Fresnel lens, so it will barely eek out enough light to make a tiny bit of electricity in the Aptera. If you had a dozen SolaTubes then it might be noticeable in some actual charging.
park outside and get even more Sunshine. I have 2 Solar tube lights in my home. They are good for light but my solar PV is on the roof for full access to the Sun.
I would be interested to learn how much is lost through the solar tubes I know some cone with a small PV inside to power an LED light for limited night lighting.
I always store my vehicles out of the intense AZ sun but...may have to make an exception for an Aptera!
Aptera has to focus on the launch of the vehicle now so doesn’t have the vehicles yet to test under a solar tube.
If your Solar tubes are in the garage maybe you could start to assess when you get yours!
I was thinking of two to three over one bay, where I could park the Aptera but that would be expensive without knowing the net solar return and the light in my garage is adequate now 😔 I believe SolaTube sells banked solar tubes too. I wouldn’t want to compromise the integrity of my flat roof with too many tube penetrations
An interesting product. However, I have an easier to implement idea to protect your Aptera while charging it at home: A specially designed car cover that covers the car, with removeable sections for the solar panels. This cover would protect the rest of the car from the elements when parked while charging. Of course once it has recharged itself from the Sun, you can replace the solar panel covers to protect it completely, and bring it into some shade.
Hey Harry
Like minds... I suggested to Aptera and even mentioned in a blog reply for some folks with the opposite problem “snow”, where in some cases the car cover, some now with a slippery Teflon.... can help remove the snow yet let the sun through.
But like the Solar tube, not sure how much loss may be realized through the clear panel.
A problem here in the remote, SW (although it hasn’t🤞happen to us yet) leaving a car unattended for a long period of time, especially near high grasses can be visited by a packrat, which loves to eat electric wires$$$. A snake looking for a dark shelter could find unattended vehicle interesting too. So my garage is a safe fortress to those possibility!
Thanks for your thought!
I hate to burst the solatube bubble, but I have 5 large (14”) in my house (two in two rooms, one in another), and while they are fantastic for light, the diffusion, by design, takes a small area of collected light and spreads it around the whole room. You’d have to cover the whole roof to get enough diffused light to resemble direct sun.
However, maybe someone could design a conical tube with the same concept that condenses a very large collector into a focused Aptera-panel-sized beam twice the power of the sun in the area the car is parked, and get a 2x charge rate? Most garages have a lot of dead space above them to accommodate the device. There would have to be some sort of shutters that open automatically when the car is pulled into the spot to prevent some nasty sunburns while you’re hanging out in an empty garage though. :)
Sunpower makes a C7 that concentrates light by 7 times higher. It's too much for most Solar panels but their are really great. But they also have to track the Sun to concentrate it. I'd rather just park in my driveway with the back window facing the Sun and plenty of air for cooling.
Yeah I was just trying to “plant a seed”. I read it is working... given the replies.Thx!
All we know from Aptera is the Never Charge panels has the ability to obtain up to 700 watts of power with the three square meters of the PV panels (Solar cells) on the vehicle
The small PV panel inside the Solatube contain only two NiMH 1.2 volt batteries.😞
I could look into just plugging in another PV panel to my existing PV roof system and charge via that added production “when the vehicle is not parked in the sun!”
I love living in the SW, but I protect myself and vehicles from the sun, while taking advantage of the free power it provides.
I am glad it appears Aptera will have PV panels (solar cells) on nearly 100% of the top of the vehicle and dash, maximizing on the benefit power generation. The balance of the body will be vinyl wrapped without direct sun exposure.
Hey, even most of the tires are protected from the sun with the wheel covers!😉