Can electric cars run entirely from solar panels on their roofs?

If electric cars are going to be the future, will it not be great if their batteries can be continuously charged from electricity generated by solar panels placed on their roofs?

So, is it possible to run electric cars entirely from panels on their roofs?

The short answer is: No, unless you use the car for very short distances everyday.

Depending on the country and user segment, a car could travel a range of 50 Kms to 400 Kms a day.

Let’s take the lower value: 50 Kms. To power a mid sized car for 50 Kms would require a battery with a total energy capacity of 8 kWh.

To generate 8 kWh of electricity in a day, you will require at least 2 kW of solar panels in most regions in the world. A kW of solar panels will occupy a minimum of 100 sq ft, so that would be 200 sq ft needed on the roof of a car for it to support the required panel.

The roof of a car is about 20 sq ft (2 sqm).

So, unless you wish to use your car for just about 5 Kms a day – a rather poor utilization, in our opinion – you need electricity apart from the solar panels on the car’s roof.

By the way…

• Even for the small amount of electricity that solar panels on a car’s roof can produce, the car needs to be in the sun throughout the day, else the output could be much lower!