What if it was an interesting idea, and, most importantly, profitable? On the forum reddit, owner Model Y installed a solar panel on his roof.

Contrary to all expectations, the decision is not funny, far from it!

The sunroof on your Tesla Model Y

On January 11, Reddit user r/TeslaLounge posted a slightly less interesting project. As an engineer, Omid Sadeghpour works on a prototype portable sun roofwhich deploys on command.

A project called Beta One is a collapsible solar panel which attaches to the luggage rack of the Y model. It can provide the user with a few extra watts to increase their daily autonomy.

Only 75 kilograms, but not very aerodynamic

The portable shield system consists of nine flexible panels with 175 Wwith Renogy brand. They fold into the roof when the car is in motion, and then telescoping carbon fiber rods and 3D-printed parts allow them to be deployed.

On the second prototype, Omid uses rigid panels with power 200 W. And the good news is that when deployed, they do not affect either the width or the length, thus allowing you to park without disturbing the space around your vehicle.

According to the owner, if there is good sunlight (5 hours a day), the panels allow restore approximately 32 kilometers of additional autonomy per day.

Solar roofs for electric cars: smart, but rare

The owner believes that solar modules value 4000 euros pay off in a “fairly short time”. He also makes an argument about the long idle time of cars in general and the slow charging that spares the batteries.

But his vision goes even further: ” If every electric car today had a 400 W solar roof, it could significantly contribute to meeting the world’s electricity needs“.

A project that is just beginning

The project is still quite far from completion. According to Omid himself, the power prediction is still a work in progress, and that’s partly because the team is still making significant changes to the design, including research cheaper panel manufacturers and development a the best setting.

At the moment, one of the weaknesses of this setup remains its size. When folded, the panel looks like a flat rectangle, which, when placed on the roof, causes the Model Y to lose a bit of autonomy due to the lack of aerodynamics.

But an engineer is already working on a “Beta Two” version that will solve this problem. Omid wants to create a custom aluminum bracket that will provide a more refined custom fit as well as the use of aerodynamic deflectors.

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