The experimental Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept incorporates a concentrator to significantly boost solar energy harvesting potential – but it’s not all it may initially seem.
Ford says a day’s worth of sunlight will deliver the same performance as the conventional C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid; allowing for around 33 kilometres of battery-only driving. It doesn’t sound like much, but with the majority of urban journeys usually being quite short; this would mean many owners could power their vehicles exclusively via the sun for most of their usage.
Ford says the sun could power up to 75 percent of all trips made by an average US driver in a solar hybrid vehicle. The vehicle also has a charge port, so drivers retain the option to recharge via the grid.
With a full charge and tank, the Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is estimated to have range of nearly 1,000 kilometres.
However, there is a bit of a catch. The concept also involves a canopy-like parking structure that uses Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight on the car and boost efficiency of the solar cells. Additionally, the car needs to move under the canopy during the day to maximise solar harvest.
SunPower researchers developed the off-vehicle solar concentrator that uses a special Fresnel lens to direct sunlight to the SunPower solar cells while boosting the impact of the sunlight by a factor of eight.
The Fresnel lens structure allows for enough solar power to be harvested in a day to equal a four-hour battery charge; which is fine if your car is sitting (and moving) under the structure all day.
Still, it may be a step forward in certain scenarios – but the technology already exists to convert an existing carport into a car charging station using a regular home power solar power system; which can also supply power to the home. The major differences with this concept is that it is totally off grid and the solar panels are on the car rather than a carport roof – but without the structure, the car panels only have an output of around 300 watts.
The C-MAX Solar Energi Concept will be on display at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 7-10.
