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Comment by abetusk | Hacker News Reader

Maybe this is a stupid question but is there any value in trying to put solar panels on the roofs of trucks to offset fuel costs?

Solar panels are (new) around $0.75 / Watt and less than that used. Maybe you could fit 9 or so on the top which, depending on what panels you use, could be about a 1kW or so in sunlight. Maybe it's too much of a stretch to ask for a modified engine but heating the driver cabin or even providing some type of heating or cooling to the container might help offset costs.

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Solar powered 'reefer' trailers have been around for a long time, just not economically viable until recently. Dozens of companies showed new designs last year.

> Maybe this is a stupid question but is there any value in trying to put solar panels on the roofs of trucks to offset fuel costs?

The value is lower than putting the solar panels in a desert where they don't shake around and get worn out quicker. Perpetual solar powered auto-mobiles weight almost nothing and are more like three wheel bikes where you lay down. So on a truck it would be bugger all.

That's a lot of extra weight for maybe 9-10kWHr of energy at most (assuming a full day of perfect summertime conditions)... One gallon of diesel fuel contains about 35kWHr of energy.

Also would not really work for many truck types: tankers, flatbeds, intermodal containers. And many trucks drive at night because traffic is lighter.

> And many trucks drive at night because traffic is lighter.

It doesnt have to be moving to charge. Provided its parked outside ofcourse.

But whether it pays to have to move around the extra weight for the energy produced is an important point.

My first thought is that the differences in energy in what you can collect from an area the size of a trailer and how much energy it takes to move a 40 ton object make the whole thing seem pretty marginal.

My second thought is that even if the math worked out the incentives might not since it's a combination vehicle and each part of the combination is probably owned by a different entity. That's where a government mandate might be needed.

its definitely been proposed [0]

[0] https://www.ttnews.com/articles/nacfe-issues-confidence-repo...

Aren't most trucks actually hauling intermodal containers? The panels would have to be on the containers themselves, and then they could not be stacked.

Intermodal trailers are fairly common but not the majority. Most trailers are box trailers, where the enclosed "container" part is integral with the trailer chassis. Intermodal trailers are used particularly in conjunction with ports and railyards.

Intermodal is actually a relatively small subset of trucking - probably behind generic dry van, reefer, and flatbed.

That being said, solar panels are great but what happens when they break down or get damaged. I don't think the savings are worth the hassle right now.

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