BMW says solar roof panels could cut fuel bills
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Munich - Future car models from German maker BMW could be equipped with roof-mounted solar panels aimed at saving fuel and cutting pollutants. The energy from the sun would be used to top up the car's battery or else pre-warm liquids in the engine to make cold starts less wearing on mechanical parts and also more fuel-efficient. The solar panels were showcased on a BMW X5 diesel hybrid SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) at the Geneva Show earlier this year but there was no word from Munich on when they might be ready for production cars. According to BMW, a square metre of solar panelling is sufficient to generate enough electrical power to run or charge up onboard systems such as navigation devices and cell phones. It could also be used to pre-warm air-conditioning systems.
Copyright DPA
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PV on BMW
By:
mahonj ,
Thu, 29 May 2008 09:15:15 GMT
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I am not sure this is a good idea.
Solar panels are still production constrained, so putting them on cars that might or might not be parked in the sun is dubious.
If they really wanted to do this, they could sell a separate solar panel to affix to your house facing south which would generate a lot more electricity.
You could have a little badge on the car to say that you had done this and were a good boy.
Better again, you could do the solar offset to a sunny place in the developing world (like Egypt or Morocco) where they could benefit further from it. This would also come with a "good boy" badge.
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