Basically its a roof rack solar panel with a battery inside (includes AC outlet), extra fold out panels that cover the length of the car, and a charge cable for the car. They’re about $5000 USD and are shipping the first ones out in Q3 this year.
As someone who lives in an appt and commutes, this would make an electric vehicle much more viable as there is no charging stations in my building or at my work. I saw this and immediately began researching what vehicle models would be coming to Canada in 2028.
A lot of people are understandably focused on how little range you’ll get from even an all-day session out in the sun, but there’s a cost angle, too. If you can’t charge at home, then relying on public chargers can be pricey. Those near me charge anywhere from $.35 to $.99 per kWh (US). With 1100w capacity under ideal conditions, I think around 2kWh per day in Canada. That’s maybe 8 miles per day of range for the most efficient Tesla Model 3, but $1 to $2 per day of charging replaced. At that system cost, assuming daily charging, payback is in 6.8 years, in a best-case scenario.
I built a small 1.8 kWh (4 panels) system that takes up a patio shade structure, with a 5 kWh battery as a buffer, but that could be cut down to make the cost lower. With similar panels going for as low as $82 US as I type this, plus inverter and battery cost, you could build a small fixed system that pays for itself in as little as a year or two.
I was thinking about the apartment angle, too, but also in terms of convenience. Getting range out of the sky without thinking about it and reducing trips to public chargers sounds pretty great.