this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2026
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Electric Vehicles

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Kia PV5 passenger with Solar Roof? (slrpnk.net)
submitted 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) by Mangoholic@lemmy.ml to c/electricvehicles@slrpnk.net
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Hi, while looking for a good ev for my family, i came across this new KIA van. Its kinda like the VW ID buzz but seems to have more space. When I saw the wide roof I thought, why not but some solar on top? And with some rough calculation I came up with the following. 3 600w/800w panels which generate roughly 15km of range on an average eu day, would fit on top. This would be perfect for my regular driving needs. Has anyone ever tried to add solar to an ev and has anyone experience with this car?

Just looking for general advice on feasibility of solar mods and the car itself.

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[โ€“] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 15 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Probably easier to hook those panels up to your balcony. You'd charge at home anyways, right?

Are those 15 km under ideal conditions? With static panels you can control those easier. On the car the panels will usually have the wrong angle. Plus the added weight and wind resistance further decreases the effective range they provide.

[โ€“] borkborkbork@piefed.social 1 points 13 hours ago

plus vibration and potholes and all kinds of weather exposure.... all those teeny tiny fine wires connecting each cell up.... would not expect off the shelf solar to cope well with all that.