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Rooftop solar/gas stations: Difference between revisions
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[[File:GasStationRooftopSolar1.jpg|thumb]] | |||
A gas station roof is potentially a good place to put [[solar]] panels. | A gas station roof is potentially a good place to put [[solar]] panels. | ||
==Viability== | ==Viability== | ||
In peak sunlight, how long might it take to charge one vehicle from 0% to 100%: | |||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
|<nowiki>ev.battery</nowiki> | |<nowiki>ev.battery</nowiki> | ||
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from wikipedia; haven't found original source yet</nowiki> | from wikipedia; haven't found original source yet</nowiki> | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
|ev.battery / (sunlight_peak solar_panel.efficiency gas_station_roof.area) | |ev.battery / (sunlight_peak solar_panel.efficiency gas_station_roof.area) | ||
|minutes | |minutes | ||
}} | }} | ||
<small>Caveats:</small> {{p|- Would take longer if multiple vehicles are plugged in.<br />- Would take less time if the gas station canopy is bigger.<br />- Might take longer due to some minor energy losses. Should <code>li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency</code> be factored in or not?<br />- The more [[solar/ | <small>Caveats:</small> {{p|- Would take longer if multiple vehicles are plugged in.<br />- Would take less time if the gas station canopy is bigger.<br />- Might take longer due to some minor energy losses. Should <code>li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency</code> be factored in or not?<br />- The more [[solar/challenge 1|scaleable solar panels]] might be less efficient, which would also slow the charging. But the panels would be cheaper, so it might still make economic sense.<br />- Is a 0%-to-100% charge even a common customer use-case? Maybe solar gas station rooftops could be mostly just for top-ups, which would be fine if they were commonplace.<br />- Battery/charger capabilities might still limit charge speed in some cases.}} | ||
<!-- TODO: energy storage: daytime-only stations could still benefit from having ''some'', but not as much as 24-hour stations. --> | <!-- TODO: energy storage: daytime-only stations could still benefit from having ''some'', but not as much as 24-hour stations. --> | ||
<!-- TODO: economic viability --> | <!-- TODO: economic viability --> | ||
If all vehicles were electric, and all gas stations were repurposed with solar panels to the roof, would that alone be enough to charge all the vehicles? Short answer: No. Not even close: | |||
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|<nowiki>usa.gas_stations</nowiki> | |<nowiki>usa.gas_stations</nowiki> | ||
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|<nowiki>Top Numbers Driving America's Gasoline Demand</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |<nowiki>Top Numbers Driving America's Gasoline Demand</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | ||
https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2022/05/26/top-numbers-driving-americas-gasoline-demand</nowiki> | https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2022/05/26/top-numbers-driving-americas-gasoline-demand</nowiki> | ||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|vehicle | |||
|1 | |||
||placeholder | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
|usa.gas_stations / usa.registered_vehicles | |usa.gas_stations / usa.registered_vehicles | ||
| | |minutes per week per vehicle | ||
}} | }} | ||
<small>Note: {{x|The USA is used in this calculation, but the answer probably wouldn't be ''much'' different in other countries.}} {{x|The calculation illustrates how little time each vehicle would get for charging. Nowhere near enough, when you consider the earlier calculation.}}</small> | |||
We'd have to build a lot of new [[solar charging stations]] (which might still ''look like'' gas station roofs). Existing suburban houses could ''also'' provide enough [[rooftop solar]] for all the vehicles, but people's cars aren't generally parked at home during the day. Then again, that's not a major problem. Suburban homes could dump their excess energy into the power grid which could charge vehicles elsewhere in the city. | We'd have to build a lot of new [[solar charging stations]] (which might still ''look like'' gas station roofs). Existing suburban houses could ''also'' provide enough [[rooftop solar]] for all the vehicles, but people's cars aren't generally parked at home during the day. Then again, that's not a major problem. Suburban homes could dump their excess energy into the power grid which could charge vehicles elsewhere in the city during the day. | ||
==Design challanges== | ==Design challanges== | ||