Retrofitting Cars to Plug Into the Grid
By Brett Bumeter - 26.01.2008
I’d like to talk about a concept idea for a solar power concept. One of the issues with building out an electric car infrastructure deals with the existing cars on the road. It would take a massive effort to replace all the very heavy cars and gas guzzlers in general. Some progress is made these days when people make three wheeled cars as they are categorized as motorcycles and have fewer safety requirements.
Well, this evening I was thinking about many of the new solar photovoltaic products designed to be applied to surfaces that today do not generate any electricity, like applying film to skyscraper windows to generate some electricity.
It may not generate all the power needed, but some power is better than no power!
That got me thinking about all those existing cars. What if it were possible to resurface existing cars with photovoltaic materials (possibly yet to be developed that could turn say a 57 chevy or a pickup truck into a solar power gathering device. The electricity does not necessarily have to be used to power the car itself to benefit the cars owner.
A person could essentially park their car outside at work or at home, collect rays and store the electricity in batteries (at home or in the car). That power could then be used to assist in powering the home or in sending back to the grid.
Many of those existing gas guzzlers could be retrofitted with the material and start to help offset some of their costs. Picture going to Auto Zone or Pep boys to pick up some body shop supplies to paint your car with something like a nanoparticle like paint that captured energy in photovoltaic cells and then transferred that energy through circuits to a battery or grid.
