Your own “charging station” on the roof: Not particularly pretty, but potentially very practical. (Image: Reddit – u/somid3)
The idea of being able to charge an electric car using solar energy without a charging station is not new. But so far she hasn’t been able to assert herself. A Tesla driver from Los Angeles did the whole thing himself, as shown above, and says he has already invested over $50,000.
The community expresses concern about theft: Im Foren-Thread The hobbyist answers the project under the user name somid3
not just questions about the costs, which are expressed alongside a lot of admiration. One of these further questions is: How do you prevent theft?
.
For the current phase of the project, the somid3 as Beta2
he gives the honest answer: No idea
. At the same time, he assures that he is thinking about a suitable solution for the already planned Beta3.
In any case, this is not particularly easy-to-transport stolen goods, even if the solar system is clearly more compact when folded, as can be seen in the following picture. But what exactly does the Tesla driver achieve with this powerful solution from the brand? Homemade
?
What the high investment brings to the Tesla driver
This is what the craft solution looks like when it has been folded up for the trip. (Image: Reddit – u/somid3)
somid3 describes the core of it all in the first two sentences of the forum post. He has been working on installing a 2,000 to 4,000 watt solar system on his Tesla Model Y for the past two years all around the world
to be able to charge.
According to him, he can reliably gain around 30 to 95 kilometers of range per day using the system. He even has one own website set up for this. At the same time, he offers to pass on the plans for the necessary parts that come from the 3D printer free of charge.
A very important factor in its solution: The Tesla’s maximum permitted weight for roof loads must not be exceeded. According to somid3 it is 165 pounds or almost 75 kilograms.
In order to stay underneath, he uses telescopic tubes made of carbon fiber in addition to wood. In contrast to the Beta1, which you see in the picture below, the Beta2 is designed to do without wood.
Other advantages and disadvantages of the project
The first version of the project combines wood with significantly lighter carbon fiber tubes. (Image: Reddit – u/somid3)
Many questions focus on the additional air resistance caused by the roof attachment. Coupled with the higher overall weight of the car, this leads to a loss of range.
The hobbyist states that the values are within a similar range as when installing Tesla’s standard roof rack. According to comments, the corresponding loss of range is around ten to 30 percent.
But a possibly more surprising advantage is also mentioned there: the additional shadow cast when unfolded. It makes the car cooler, as somid3 confirms. This potentially saves energy when using the air conditioning and overheating protection.
The hobbyist wants to add tangible comparative measurements on these and other aspects later. We already find the ambitious project from the USA interesting, despite all the question marks.
In the following article, our long-time author Markus Schwerdtel describes to you how it is to switch from a gasoline engine to an electric car without any additional solution:
What do you think of the project seen here? Would you find it very practical to be able to charge your electric car anywhere? Instead, is it no problem to find a free charging station or to plan routes so that charging outside of your home garage is hardly necessary? Or do you generally not want to rely on an electric car? Feel free to write it in the comments!
