Ford electric truck
On the upcoming Ford electric truck why couldn't they offer a bed cover made up of solar panels? On commuter vehicles that sit in the sun for 8 hours every day it would surely extend the range?
Forum Discussion
Dick_B wrote:
How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.
A rooftop solar panel is only good as a battery maintainer, or running low loads like a cabin ventilator to reduce ambient temps when parked (Prius and Leaf have this option). But a bed cover could fit 2x 500w panels. Aftermarket F-150 EV conversions are rated close to 2 miles per kilowatt-hour. That 1Kw bed cover will probably only see full charging about 3 hours a day, but it could be enough to allow most commuters to recharge less often. A bed cover doesn’t increase drag (if its designed right, it can improve it), so onboard solar might have little downside in this application. On a car, you’ll end up adding more drag than an array would make up for, so that’s why you don’t see it.
