Wherever the sun is shining there is the ability for solar panels to produce electricity. With the popularity of electrical cars rising, some of the companies are considering adding solar panels directly onto the cars so they will have power while on the go.

Can Solar panel cars actually be a legitimate product?

‘Solar panel car’ is typically used to describe any vehicle with solar cells integrated into its design to provide extra energy while on the go. Right now there aren’t cars with this type of solar technology on the market in the United States today.

However, there are companies such as Sono Motors and LightyearOne that have both promised cars that can either partially or even completely charge themselves with solar.

There are significant barriers that solar cars will have to overcome before they can become a reality.

The first issue that solar cars will have to overcome is that the amount of energy that is produced by the panels on the car would not be enough to power the whole car.

Because solar panels convert sunlight to usable electricity around 20 percent at the high end, a car that is covered in solar cells may be able to produce just enough energy to power an electric car for 20 to 25 miles. That is only if there is a full day of sunlight with absolutely nothing blocking the panels.

But that doesn’t mean that idea of solar panel cars is impossible. For drivers in sunnier states like, California, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii and South Carolina, that  don’t have a long commute, solar panel cars could be a good fit.

These cars would let drivers save a little extra money while driving solely on the sun’s power. But there are hardly any companies that are investing in solar panel cars.

Car manufacturers that are making solar panel cars

Though the production of solar cars is not popular, there are a few car manufacturers that are participating in the production of solar panel cars.

Sono Motors

Sono Motors is a car manufacturer that started on Germany. This company is working to run solely on the sun’s energy. This car is going to be called the Sion and is scheduled to be released at some point in 2019.

This car will feature 330 integrated solar cells over the whole car. From the roof to the side doors to the back. These cells are expected to provide an extra 30 kilometers of range according to the company.

Lightyear

Lightyear is a dutch start up that is working towards having a solar panel car on the road on 2020. This car will be called Lightyear One.

The Lightyear one is supposed to come with either 400 or 800 kilometers of range, in addition to the energy that the solar cells on the car can pump into the car’s battery. The company states that the car will be able to travel anywhere between 8,000 and 10,000 kilometers in a year based on solar energy alone.

Toyota 

Toyota actually currently has cars with solar cells that are on the market in Japan. This car has a solar panel roof that is made by solar manufacturer Panasonic. The car is called the Prius Prime and the solar panel roof would be able to add up to 3.7 miles of driving range per day.

How solar panel cars work  

If these car manufactures can figure out how to improve the technology so it would become more efficient and more effective, they would work similarly to the way home solar panel installation works.

How home solar panels are typically mounted on the rooftop, a solar car has solar cells installed on the exterior of the car where the sun’s rays hit. The solar cells convert the sunlight that hits the car to electricity, that would then be used to recharge the electric vehicle’s battery. Which is similar to how home solar panels provide electricity for home appliances.

You can use solar power to power electric cars 

Solar panel car technology is still not efficient and impractical right now, but it is still possible to use solar power to help power your electric car. If you install a solar panel system on your property, you can use the solar power that is generated from the solar panels to charge your car if it is electric.